When looking at the word “gender” in The Woman of Colour, I think it is important to focus particularly on the way in which Olivia’s gender alone plays a role in her experiences. During this time women had strict societal expectations, various limitations, and often faced disadvantages. This is exemplified in Olivia’s interactions with men, specifically those in a higher position of power than her. This hierarchy of status emphasizes how even though Olivia is wealthy, the fact that she is a woman changes the perceptions of men around her.  While race is a central focus of the novel, and often intertwines with Olivia’s femininity, being a woman at this time carries challenges of its own and I think it is interesting to dive into the intricacies of gender and the effects that this word has on Olivia’s time in England.

Within this, I want to first look at the driving force behind this novel, which is Olivia going to England, sent by her father, to marry a man she does not know. “I see the generous intention of my father’s will; I see that he meant at once to secure to his child a proper protector in a husband, and to place her far from scenes which were daily hurting her sensibility and the pride of human nature!—But, ah! respected Mrs. Milbanke! in guarding against these evils may he not have opened the way to those which are still more dangerous for your poor Olivia?” (TWOC 55). Here we see the way in which Olivia is being forced to undergo this journey. Although she clearly does not want to go, as she pleads to Mrs. Milbanke, she seems to not blame her father. Rather, she says that she understands why he is sending her to this place and why she needs to have a husband. It is all particularly anti-feminist as it expresses the importance of finding her a “protector” as if she cannot protect herself. Thus, Olivia’s gender plays a large role in the movement of the novel as a whole and is the main reason for this journey.

If Olivia was a man, she would have not been forced to marry someone against her will in order to receive access to her money. At this time, women could only have what they were given, “For the most part, genteel Regency women were entirely reliant on their male relatives for any “loose cash” for their own personal expenses. As an unmarried woman, she would only have what money her father or a close male relative gave to her (or left to her)” (Dodge). If they needed more, they would have to ask whatever male figure was in their life, to lend it to them. In this way, even though Olivia had way more money than most women at this time, she did not have access to it and thus, was required to follow what her father had outlined in the will. This is also emphasized in the article “Interracial Sex and Narrative Crisis in The Woman of Colour” by Joyce MacDonald, where we see the quote, “The material presence of Olivia’s Black female body marks her as out of place in her new world, despite the ways in which she is otherwise very much suited to it: well-educated, well-dressed, quietly witty, and beautifully mannered, she reads the Tatler and even quotes a little Shakespeare.” (MacDonald 66). As a Black woman, she is out of place not only by the color of her skin, but also her gender. This highlights the fact that these factors will never be ignored no matter how suited to the environment she is.

Despite this, by the end of the novel, Olivia comes out breaking gender norms and emphasizing independence. “In this status, Olivia not only refuses to succumb to the dependence, protection or anonymity of marriage, she also gets to control her own destiny within a marriage market that, under Mr. Fairfield and the Mertons, has already shown itself to be governed by the wills of white Englishmen that are precarious, and flawed, and negligent” (TWOC 41). This vast change from what we have seen at the beginning of the novel showcases Olivia’s strong-willed feminine power. It allows for her gender to be highlighted as this was controversial for the time period. This reminded me of the article “Sentiment and Sexual Servitude: White Men of Feeling and The Woman of Colour” by Rebecca Barr, where we see the quote, “The novel reveals kindly patriarchs as linchpins of racial capital and exposes the damaging self-involvement of sentimental manhood and its capacity to indulge in tactics of sexual extortion that approximate coercive control. By discrediting white masculinity and firmly quashing the expectation of heterosexual union raised by the traditional marriage plot, the novel rejects the moral authority, romantic consolation, and property inheritance proffered by white propertied men” (Barr 82). By staying unmarried, she is taking control of her own destiny, and not following the conforms created by the men around her. This ending also reminded me of Mary Prince in The History of Mary Prince, “By publishing her life story, Prince engages in two kinds of ‘life-saving’, writing herself and her people into existence and thus preserving ‘the life of the race’ and writing to save her own life” (Prince xii). This emphasizes the extremely powerful nature of both of these individuals and is one of the most important messages behind this novel, thus creating a perfectly feminist ending.

It is clear that gender plays a big role in Olivia’s experience throughout the novel. Especially during this time period, women were way more enclosed and shut out than they are today. Olivia is a prime example of this in effect, which is only multiplied by the fact that she is Black. Additionally, she did not have control over her own choices, as shown by how she must follow her father’s wishes. Thus, The Woman of Colour exemplifies the significance of gender in Olivia’s experience and showcases the challenges that women in this time period faced. Even so, Olivia emerges from the novel as a symbol of feminine resistance and power, effectively challenging the gendered expectations set for her. 

Works Cited

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

Barr, Rebecca Anne. “Sentiment and Sexual Servitude: White Men of Feeling and The Woman of Colour.” Eighteenth-Century Fiction, vol. 35 no. 1, 2023, p. 81-102. Project MUSE muse.jhu.edu/article/880271.

Dodge, Rachel. “Regency Women: Pin Money and Private Expenses.” Jane Austen’s World, 6 Jan. 2022, janeaustensworld.com/2021/10/11/regency-women-pin-money-and-private-expenses/.

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.

Prince, Mary. The History of Mary Prince, A West Indian Slave. [1831]. Ed. Sara Salih. London: Penguin, 2004. Print.