Depiction of Race in William Wells Brown's Clotel

The Depiction of Race in William Wells Brown's Clotel

by Liliana Hewitt and Maddilyn Harris

William Wells Brown and Mixed Race

William Wells Brown is widely known as the first African American to publish a novel. Brown’s Clotel explores the figure of the "Tragic Mulatta." There are many moments throughout this compelling novel when Brown explores the complexities of mixed-race identity in the context of slavery, in addition to the specific impact and moments of racism after slavery. The representation of the "Mulatta" is an important factor for understanding how the system of slavery operated on a foundation of racism. Not only did mixed-race people experience brutal oppression and exploitation from white individuals but also African Americans. Brown employs the dismissive attitudes towards mixed-race individuals, from those who are lighter skinned and those who darker skinned. In so doing, he shows how mixed-race identity is inherently not accepted by the black or white race. This conundrum raises the question of where they would fit into society, and it seems to be something Brown was interested in bringing awareness of through the novel.

George and Mary Green

George Green is a significant character in the novel due to his race and his romantic relationship with Mary Green. He was a slave too. Horatio Green, was the first man to purchase Clotel after Jefferson's death. Brown describes George as “white as most white persons” and explains that he joined a revolt against racism (188). He pleads, “your fathers were never slaves, ours are; your fathers were never bought and sold like cattle, never shut out from the light of knowledge and religion, never subjected to the lash of brutal task-masters” (189). George did not appear to be of African American heritage and still he was treated with violence and oppression. His character further shows a parallel of a man who is "white as most white" advocating for African Americans when we see the exact opposite with the servant Sam. The daughter of Horatio Green and Clotel, Mary, “was white” (126). George and Mary were in love, but the hurdles put into place by systemic racism made it nearly impossible to have the hope of being married one day. The cook on the estate stated “dees white n*****s always tink dey sef good as white folks” and “ I don’t dees mularter n*****s, no how; dey always want to set dey sef up for something big” (126). This excerpt is important when acknowledging that there truly was no place for the mixed-race. They were receiving backlash from the black and white race.

Clotel

Clotel is a character of mixed-race identity and is depicted as the daughter of President Thomas Jefferson and Currer, an enslaved woman. The novel explores Clotel's tragic experiences as a mixed-race woman, and her pursuit of freedom. Clotel's story is a powerful example of the injustices people of mixed race endured in America during the 19th century. Near the end of the novel, Clotel commits suicide, as she “raised her eyes toward heaven, and begged for that mercy and compassion there, which had been denied her on earth” (182). This exemplifies the idea that the only escape for a mixed-race woman during this time was death. “Such was the life and such the death of a woman whose virtues and goodness of heart would have done honour to one in a higher station of life, and who, if she had been born in any other land but that of slavery, would have been honoured and loved” (183). These excerpts are representative of Clotel's experience with miscegenation, and show the prevailing societal attitudes, legal restrictions, and racial ideology of the time. It is important to understand these are intentional obstacles put into place to hinder individuals like Clotel, who can only achieve freedom through death.

Prejudice Within

Brown uses a character named Sam, who is a servant, to communicate the discrimination mulattoes were experiencing during the 19th century. Brown writes, “the nearer the negro or mulatto approaches to the white, the more he seems to feel his superiority over those of a darker hue” (103). Ironically Brown writes, "Although Sam was one of the blackest men living, he nevertheless contended that his mother was a mulatto and no one was more prejudiced against the blacks than he" (105). This could be an example of how racial discrimination starts with generations that have come before. He claims his mother had been of the lighter skin tone, and possibly the advantages she experienced because of her light skin tone, instilled in Sam that the lighter skin tone was superior.

Works Cited

Johnson, Ivy. “Three Ways to Avoid Colorism in Visual Communications.” MP&F Strategic Communications, 28 Apr. 2022, mpf.com/three-ways- to-avoid-colorism-in-visual-communications/.

Professional Store Declaration of Independence, et al. “Declaration of Independence - Digital Files - SVG, AI, PNG, EPS, DXF.” Patriot Nation Designs, patriotnationdesigns.com/professional/p/decl aration-of-independence. Accessed 11 Feb. 2024.

Jones-Branch, Cherisse. “The Arkansas Association of Colored Women and Early Twentieth-Century Maternalist Political Activism.” The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, vol. 79, no. 3, 2020, pp. 218–30. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/27019091. Accessed 19 Feb. 2024.