“Black” as a negative and othering descriptor 

Throughout the 1808 novel The Woman of Colour, the anonymous author uses the word “black” to label negative situations and characters of color as others. The term “black” is frequented by the novel’s white characters like little George and Augustus Merton to categorize individuals of color as a different sect of humans who are exotic and inferior to white people. Despite being a black woman, protagonist Olivia Fairfield also uses the word “black” to repeatedly describe her life’s unfortunate moments. Through the repeated use of “black” as a pun to label both people of color and situations faced in the novel as unfavorable, the anonymous author conveys the hegemonic perception of black inferiority and how black individuals internalize white society’s negative connotation of their skin color.

The Woman of Colour’s anonymous author has white characters repeatedly use “black” when oppressing characters of color or referring to Olivia as an exotic being rather than an equal human to convey the chronic othering of black individuals during the Romantic period. For example, during the novel’s infamous breakfast scene, George refers to Dido as a “dirty” (TWOC 78) and “nasty black woman” (78), to which Olivia explains how those with “black” (79) skin come from “the same God” (79) and are no less human than those who are white. By having a white character associate the word “black” with negative descriptors like “nasty” and “dirty” in the context of people of color, the anonymous author conveys the severity of racial discrimination during the long 18th century. George’s tainted perceptions of black individuals as socially inferior demonstrate the consequences of raising impressionable younger generations to associate negative connotations with “black” skin tone. Augustus also uses “black” when describing his infatuation with Olivia in a letter to Lionel Monkland: “In the animation of her brilliantly black eye, there is something peculiarly interesting […] I feel for her situation and pity her—a stranger in a strange country” (102). While Augustus’ use of the word “black” to describe Olivia is arguably more positive than George’s line, the sentence in which “black” is used implies a diluted form of othering. By associating the term “black” with words like “peculiar,” “interesting,” and “strange,” Augustus admires Olivia in a manner that perceives her as subhuman or a separate category of being he is unfamiliar with. In her article, “Interracial Sex and Narrative Crisis in The Woman of Colour,” Joyce Green MacDonald explains how Olivia’s black female body excludes her from her new world despite how she is otherwise suited to it by being “well-educated, well-dressed, beautifully mannered” (MacDonald 66). Instead of solely complimenting Olivia on her personality traits and individual characteristics, Augustus emphasizes her otherness in England, further conveying the Romantic period’s oppressive perception of the word “black” in the context of individuals of color. 

To delve even deeper, “black” is used as a synecdoche that describes Olivia’s personhood solely through “the animation of her brilliantly black eye” (TWOC 102). Augustus describes Olivia’s eye as “black,” implying harm done to her, and “brilliant,” emphasizing the magnitude of his description of her. Perhaps, Augustus’ focus on Olivia’s “black eye” conveys how the color of her skin, what marginalizes her, is Olivia’s defining feature and what white characters identify her personhood with. Similarly, in a letter to her friend Miss Danby, Letitia calls Olivia “Miss Blacky” (101). MacDonald explains how, like the other white characters, Mrs. Merton sees Olivia nothing more as “an exotic stranger, a racial inferior, or a proto-tragic mulatta, but she cannot see her for who she is: the rich, cultivated, witty, observant young biracial woman” (MacDonald 74). Once again, “black” is used as Olivia’s identifier and descriptor of her personhood, further conveying the word as a marker for othering and marginalizing individuals of color. 

While “black” can refer to negative white hegemonic perceptions of black people, it can also relate to the internalized racism experienced by Olivia throughout the novel. Olivia repeatedly and exclusively uses the word “black” to describe events in her life as unfortunate or unfavorable when she could use any other negative descriptor. For example, she describes Mrs. Merton’s deception as “a black part in order to rob” (TWOC 145) Olivia’s fortune, her guilt as “so black a scene” (169), and the “revenge” of her illness as “laid as black” (177). By Olivia associating the word “black” with negative scenes of deceit, guilt, and revenge, the anonymous author conveys a sense of Olivia’s internalized racism. After growing up as one of the only black people among white Britons, perhaps the negative white supremacist perspective of black skin became ingrained in Olivia. 

Similar to MacDonald’s article “Interracial Sex and Narrative Crisis in The Woman of Colour,” Leigh-Michil George’s “‘Mind Is Revealed in the Countenance’: Subversive Laughter and Caricature in The Woman of Colour” also discusses how Olivia’s black body excludes her from the white world she finds herself in but uses “color” in more general terms to corroborate this point. George describes how “the contrivance of Mrs. Merton’s blush implies a defect underneath the façade. She physically exhibits fair features, but there is an affectation to her femininity. The naturalness of Olivia’s complexion—her ‘cheeks glow’ (TWOC 75), her ‘burning blushes’ (89), her ‘crimson’ (82) face—is highlighted in opposition to Mrs. Merton’s artifice” (George 50). While Olivia’s emotions are visible through her blushing, Mrs. Merton’s are hidden, albeit not well. Ultimately, this acts as a commentary against white British women, further differentiating how Olivia’s black body does not fit in with them. Whether by explicitly using the word “black” or analyzing other bodily differentiations between black and white characters, Olivia’s otherness, socioeconomic marginalization, and overall personhood are commonly marked by differences in color.

The critical conversation surrounding the word “black” as a negative descriptor throughout The Woman of Colour, as well as color in general, being a catalyst for the socioeconomic exclusion of oppressed 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, Mary Seacole recounts when the War of Office rejected her despite having glowing patient accounts confirming her medicinal skills and good character: “Was it possible that American prejudices against colour had some root here? Did these ladies shrink from accepting my aid because my blood flowed beneath a somewhat duskier skin than theirs? Tears streamed down my foolish cheeks” (Seacole 73-74). Nightingale’s companions refused Seacole’s skills, conveying how white counterparts historically overshadow black women despite them being a vital part of the backbone of the long 18th century. Black women often had and still do feel obligated to go the extra mile to prove their value in society due to skin color differences when white individuals, and even white women like Florence Nightingale, are never undermined and receive the credit for the work of individuals of color. Seacole’s black female body is considered inferior similar to how Olivia is consistently othered by her white counterparts; the word “black” operates as a negative descriptor, not only as a general adjective but also as a socioeconomic isolator.

In essence, the repeated use of the word “black” as a negative descriptor by white and black characters in The Woman of Colour conveys the severe marginalization of black individuals during the Romantic period and the internalized racism that comes with white hegemony. The novel’s white characters’ use of “black” to oppress people of color or describe them as exotic perpetuates the chronic othering of black individuals during this time. Furthermore, the internalized racism experienced by Olivia, as seen in her frequent use of “black” to describe unfavorable events and herself, underscores the long-lasting effects of white supremacy and the negative connotations associated with black skin color. The repeated use of the word “black” can be viewed as a deliberate choice by the anonymous author as it is a pun that refers to both white hegemonic racial prejudice and how people of color internalize it. Through its depiction of racial discrimination and internalized racism, The Woman of Colour is a powerful reminder of the enduring impact of systemic oppression on marginalized communities and how it will continue to impact humanity if ignored.

Related Page Numbers in The Woman of Colour: 75, 78, 79, 80, 82, 85, 89, 100, 101, 102, 137, 141, 142, 145, 164, 166, 169, 177, 188

Works Cited

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

George, Leigh-Michil. “‘Mind Is Revealed in the Countenance’: Subversive Laughter and Caricature in The Woman of Colour.” Eighteenth-Century Fiction, vol. 35, no. 1, 2023, pp. 43–64. Project MUSE, https://doi.org/10.3138/ecf.35.1.43. 

MacDonald, Joyce Green. “Interracial Sex and Narrative Crisis in The Woman of Colour.” Eighteenth-Century Fiction, vol. 35 no. 1, 2023, p. 65-80. Project MUSE, muse.jhu.edu/article/880270.

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