Whiteness as property: Angelina, Olivia, and Dido

Throughout The Woman of Colour, the ways in which Angelina, a white woman, Olivia, a mixed-race woman, and Dido, a black woman, interact with one another convey the spectrum of racial marginalization during the long 18th century. Despite being equal human beings, I noticed a hierarchy in how each woman treats and almost worships whoever has higher social or racial status or whoever obtains the property that is “whiteness.” In her critical article “Whiteness as Property,” Cheryl Harris explains that only those that do not present a trace of non-whiteness possess whiteness, a highly valued form of property that provides livelihood benefits “affirmed, legitimated, and protected by the law” (Harris 1713). Through Dido’s pride in being legally contracted to serve Olivia and Olivia’s feelings of indebtedness to Angelina, the anonymous author conveys racial identity as a spectrum and whiteness as “exclusive property” (1724) that guarantees white or “passing” individuals more socioeconomic privileges at the expense of individuals of color who cannot pass, like Dido, or only can selectively, like Olivia.

Despite being two marginalized black women, as a mixed woman, Olivia has more access to the privileges of the white world than Dido due to her prolific white father, conveying the concept of whiteness as a “treasured” (1713) type of property. For example, Dido is legally bound to serve and care for Olivia, which would not be the case if Olivia did not obtain “whiteness” and the public and private privileges that come with it from her father. According to Olivia, Dido declares, “But Mrs. Merton’s maid treats me, as if me was her slave […] and Dido was never slave but to her own dear Missee, and she was proud of that” (TWOC 100). As he explains in the introduction, Lyndon Dominique notes Dido’s use of the past tense in this sentence as an indication that Dido considers herself a former rather than a current slave (Dominique 34). Olivia Carpenter furthers this point in her article “Rendered Remarkable: Reading Race and Desire in The Woman of Colour” by explaining how Dido not only embraces but also takes pride and identity in the institution of slavery with her loyalty and legal ties to Olivia and Fairfield plantation (Carpenter 249). Throughout the novel, Olivia also has moments that appear as grateful for her whiteness or as internalized racism, like when speaking to George about his perception of Dido being “dirty” (TWOC 78) and white people being “clean” (78): “‘I am glad it does not look so very dirty’ […] but you will be surprised when I tell you that mine is quite as clean as your own’” (78-79). Olivia’s patience and remarks of appeasement interpret as gratefulness––perhaps rooted in internalized racism––for obtaining certain privileges that come with whiteness as property that Dido could never have due to her inability to transcend into the white subset of humanity.

Moreover, Olivia feels a similar indebtedness to Angelina, who obtains even more of the property of whiteness as a white woman described by Olivia as having “dove-like eyes” (155) and a “transparent complexion” (155) that “rendered her a most interesting object” (155). For example, after discovering that Angelina is alive, Olivia feels compelled to gift her wedding jewels to her: “The jewels which had been presented to me on my marriage by Mr. Merton, it was my firm resolve to give to Mrs. Augustus Merton; I had also a great curiosity to see her, and I resolved to be the bearer of them myself!” (149). Olivia puts the needs of others, specifically white characters, before her own feelings or experiences, conveying her mixed-race body as a vessel for the happiness of those with more whiteness than she could ever attain. Angelina’s imagery also represents the white patriarchal male gaze of the ideal woman as being transparent, fairytale and dream-like, and overall dependent. While Olivia does not receive a fantasy, angel, or dream-like description as Angelina does, she faces the same patriarchal expectation of women waiting to be saved by men, conveying a sect of whiteness that Olivia does not attain as she is still mixed-race; black women often are cast to the side in conversations of systematic oppression. The differing social perceptions of Angelina, Olivia, and Dido convey a racial hierarchy of privileges that coordinate with how much property of whiteness one obtains.

The critical conversation surrounding whiteness as property throughout The Woman of Colour contributing to the socioeconomic exclusion of marginalized individuals reminds me of another primary text we read during Dr. Leuner’s ENGL 147 course, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands. For example, during Seacole’s travels, she recounts how “Americans (even from the Northern States) are always uncomfortable in the company of coloured people, and very often show this feeling in stronger ways than by sour looks and rude words” (Seacole 20-21). Seacole continues by explaining the severity of racial harassment she has encountered: “Is it surprising that I should be somewhat impatient of the airs of superiority which many Americans have endeavoured to assume over me? Mind, I am not speaking of all. I have met with some delightful exceptions” (20-21). Seacole’s sustained understanding and care toward the white people who are exceptions convey how genuine her character is, despite the marginalization she has seen and experienced. Seacole’s witness literature of the prejudice and “sour looks” (21) of white supremacists conveys a similar message as The Woman of Colour of whiteness as property and the power dynamic of individuals of color as vessels or punching bags for white feeling. Seacole, Olivia, and Dido’s existences and black female bodies all serve and come second to those who hold more property of whiteness than they ever could attain. While the reconceptualization of racial identity sounds ideal, humans are creatures of habit, and if one benefits from their property of whiteness, will they ever let it out of their grasp, or will they forever be grateful for it? This question leads to an inquiry into the nature of history, which may not necessarily be a linear narrative but rather a collection of fabricated events, potentially leaving room for a break in cyclical behavior if a shift in cultural enlightenment is to occur. 

Related Page Numbers in The Woman of Colour: 57, 60, 66, 78, 79, 80, 100, 115, 116, 120, 127, 141, 149, 158, 167, 174, 176, 178, 188

Works Cited

Anonymous. The Woman of Colour, A Tale. [1808]. Ed. Lyndon J. Dominique. Broadview, 2008. Print.

Carpenter, Olivia. “‘Rendered Remarkable’: Reading Race and Desire in The Woman of Colour.” Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture, vol. 50, 2021, p. 247-263. Project MUSE.

Dominique, Lyndon. “Introduction.” The Woman of Colour: A Tale. Ont: Broadview, 2008, pp. 11-42.

Harris, Cheryl I. “Whiteness as Property.” Harvard Law Review, vol. 106, no. 8, 1993, pp. 1707–91. JSTOR. 

Seacole, Mary. The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands. London: Penguin Classics, 2005. Print.