Introduction:

Marriage is ultimately the main goal of The Woman of Colour. Olivia only moves to England because she must marry her cousin in order to receive her late father’s inheritance. The plot follows her journey with Augustus, their wedding, and ultimately their separation. Even though this is an arranged marriage, Olivia is on a quest to find love and she does in fact fall in love with her cousin. Olivia’s primary objective is to locate a suitable marriage partner, as marriage is frequently viewed as a means of securing social position and financial stability. Her mixed-race identity complicates this quest, as she is caught between two cultures and receives rejection from both white and black communities. Olivia’s beauty and unknown racial background make her a target of interest, yearning, and hate for everyone around her. Ultimately, the marriage narrative in “The Woman of Colour” acts as a vehicle for analyzing the interplay of race, gender, and social standing throughout the novel’s historical period. It throws light on the multifaceted realities of mixed-race people in a culture that frequently marginalizes and objectifies them. 

Close Reading: 

Marriage during the early 1800s was not focused on love. It was centered around status, money, and women securing a sustainable lifestyle for themselves. It was almost a way of survival. This is exhibited when “After Olivia’s marriage, she considers herself as “half an English woman and, it has always been [her] ardent wish to prove [her] worthy of the title!” (TWOC 111). It was only when Olivia was married to a financially stable white man when she started to feel like she could possibly fit in in England. Finding a suitable marriage partner is important to Olivia not just for her personal happiness, but also for her social standing and financial stability. 

Olivia’s experiences with marriage proposals and romance in the novel reflect the limited agency and choices accessible to women at the period. On page 26, it is explained that “If Augustus refuses this lucrative arranged marriage, the money goes to his elder brother and sister-in-law, George and Letitia Merton, thereby forcing Olivia into a dependency on them for her maintenance” (TWOC 26). Evidently, Olivia does not have the freedom to inherit her father’s money and live as she pleases. As a woman of color, she must be dependent on these strangers for the rest of her life. She seemingly cannot exist alone. If Augustus denies her marriage, she is simply passed off to another relative as if she is an object rather than a young girl. Olivia cherishes love and companionship, but she is also conscious of the societal pressures and expectations imposed on her. She must maneuver between suitors motivated by social position, financial gain, or fetishization of her multiracial identity. 

Critical conversation: 

Nikrouz Jafarzadeh investigates how, before the eighteenth century, weddings planned by close relatives were common around the world. Arranged marriage can be defined “as a marital union in which intended spouses are selected by parents or respected elders of bride and groom…Arranged and focused marriages are closely linked…women and men are frequently coerced to marry according to their families’ decisions” (Dasgupta 40-42). Olivia is coerced to marry a man chosen by her father’s agreement and decisions. It is not only Olivia that is being pushed into this marriage. Augustus is not the most eager to marry Olivia. He is mostly motivated by her father’s money to go through with the wedding since he comes from a very traditional English family that does not view Olivia as an equal. Augustus already had a great love but he marries Olivia because he knows it is what is best for his family, not him. 

Melissa Adams-Campbell in New Worlds Courtships: Transatlantic Alternatives to Companionate Marriage (2015) argues that Olivia expresses her desire to live her life remaining single. In doing so, she “rejects the two powerful narrative conclusions available for fictional women: marriage or death. By the novel’s end, Olivia’s rejection of both, read alongside the dismissal of the conventional seduction plot serves as a critical commentary on the significance of race and colonial oppression in metropolitan social reproduction (Adams-Campbell 98). Part of the reason The Woman of Colour is such a revolutionary piece of literature is the fact that Olivia redirects her future. As previously mentioned, Olivia had little agency in the direction of her life. However, she develops into this very headstrong character that understands she is the only one looking out for her best interest. Oliva defies every passive and weak expectation of a young woman of color. It is understood how forceful societal pressures of marriage were because just one young girl rejecting them caused a great reaction. 

Conclusion:

This anti-marriage plot in The Woman of Colour can be compared to The Wonderful Adventures of Mary Seacole. Seacole lived an extraordinary life as a nurse helping those in need during the Crimean war in the mid 1800s. However, she does not marry like a woman during this time is expected to. The effect of an anti-marriage plot is exhibiting to readers how women have the right to live their lives exactly as they chose and sometimes that does not include having a partner. In this time period, this plot is much more effective as it was very rare for a woman not to marry.

Work Cited

Dominique, Lyndon Janson. The Woman of Colour: A Tale. Broadview editions, 2008.

Melissa, Adams-Cambell. “New World Courtships: Transatlantic Alternatives to Companionate Marriage .” Dartmouth College Press, vol. 51, no. 3, 2015.

Nikrouz, Jafarzadeh. Race, Mimicry, Ambivalence, and Third Space in The Woman of Colour: A Tale (1808). Mar. 2022.