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“By the standards of antebellum America, the distinction was not accidental or minor. Contemporary attitudes about the difference between Negro and mulatto related to fundamental racial ideas. For many years Americans from both the North and South openly expressed a marked bias favoring the mulatto over the Negro” (Toplin 185). When initially being introduced to Victor Sejour’s text titled, “The Mulatto” it is natural for one’s historical and social knowledge to contribute to a formation of assumptions.
Based on the previous quotation it is clear that historically and socially the “mulatto” has been preferred over the “negro” or a person from two parents of African decent.
Beginning to read Sejours text there is the assumption that “The Mullato” will be a privileged individual, whether he is a slave or a free man, his status as a mulatto will place him above those black persons who are not mulattos. When examining the Oxford English Dictionary definition of mulatto, there is a very clear and precise way to identify one as a mulatto, “A person having one white and one black parent.
Freq. more generally: a person of mixed race resembling a mulatto” (OED). The fact that a mulatto is a person of mixed race, it is implied that the “white blood” present will enable that person specific privileges and options that otherwise wouldn’t be available in the absence of their “white blood. ” Instead of privileges and opportunities, Georges or “The Mulatto” is presented with tragedy, a nonexistent identity, death and misfortune.
His mulatto status does not manifest itself how the definition implies.
Instead it manifests itself in the complete opposite manner. Due to the fact that Georges had one white parent and one black parent, he is by definition a mulatto. Considering the social and historical implications of antebellum America it is assumed that Georges would have an easier time socially as a slave. Instead Georges is faced with severe identity issues that seemingly cannot be eradicated. As a product of rape he pleads with his mother to reveal his fathers identity. Something she doesn’t do. “What does that matter, Georges shouted impetuously.
At least I could reproach him for his unspeakable conduct” (Sejour 356). The language here is that of a person lacking identity and someone who is desperate for answers. At one point he even says he’d give ten years of his life to have known the name of his father. Instead Georges is instructed to wait twenty-five long agonizing years to find out who fathered him. As a result of this unknown parentage, Georges experiences intense remorse, Long after his mothers death Georges deals with a sense of emptiness, discontentment. Georges had all the talents necessary for becoming a well-regarded gentleman; yet he was possessed of a haughty, tenacious, willful nature; he had one of those oriental sorts of dispositions, the kind that, once pushed far enough from the path of virtue, will stride boldly down the path of crime” Sejour 357). Again here, paying close attention to Sejours word choice to describe “The Mulatto. ” All words reminiscent of a disdainful, bitter, displaced person. Qualities, a mulatto person in antebellum America was not thought to have.
Georges is faced with a serious nonexistence of an identity. Similar to his mother and his uncle Jacques, the mulatto in a figurative sense is an orphan. In order to cope with the unknown identity of his father, who is in fact his master; Georges finds comfort in his wife who is also a mulatto. Immediately once she is introduced, there is an inevitable feeling that he will loose her, just because of his misfortune as a mulatto man. When it is revealed that his wife it to be killed because of the actions of Georges master, he has an intense urge to seek revenge.
He says, “I think my vengeance is worthy of your own… I would have sold my soul to the devil, had he promised me this moment” (Sejour 363). It is here where we see Georges inner identity issues, his anger, discontentment and resentment surface. He is nonchalant to his master’s cries and pleads as he prepares to murder him. The roles have been reversed and Georges is certain about the murder he is about to commit. There is finally an opportunity for him to gain some control over his life and who he is.
Also notable is the fact that the word mulatto is used interchangeably when death, or defiance is present in the text. Sejour refers to Georges and his wife as mulatto in moments of distress or death, for instance, when Georges is about to kill his master or when his wife’s body is found dead. This reinforces obvious negative connotations connected to the word mulatto in this text. Connotations that otherwise would not have been thought to be related to the word mulatto. “Georges shrugged his shoulders.
Master, isn’t it horrible to die when you’re happy; to lie down in the grave at the moment you see your fondest dreams coming true… oh! it’s horrible, isn’t is, said the mulatto with an infernal laugh…” (Sejour 363). Present, is some internal hope for this mulatto after he kills his father who is his master. Unfortunately, that changes. Georges identity as a mulatto, fosters an interesting relationship between him and his father and master, Alfred. This relationship is a consequence of the black and white connections dictated by the systemic structure of slavery.
All of this fueled by his existence as a mulatto man. Without the presence of one white parent and one black parent Georges wouldn’t be faced with identity struggles and a tragic demise. Feelings of immense guilt for killing his father wouldn’t be prominent. Again, the existence of the mixture of “white” and “black” blood is to blame for story of “The Mulatto. ” When examining the OED definition, and referencing antebellum American societies there seems to be hope for mulatto people.
There is this truth that the “white blood” will lift some of the tension off of being a slave. Instead “The Mulatto” functions to disprove those notions set forth by the OED definition of having one white parent and one black parent. At the very end when Alfred reveals that he is Georges father, the mulatto’s struggle becomes extremely apparent. “Georges at first believed he had misheard, but the word father, like a funeral knell, rang in his ears. To be certain, he opened the fateful pouch… Ah!
He cried out, I’m cursed… An explosion was heard; and the next day, near the corpse of Alfred, was discovered the corpse of the unhappy Georges…”(Sejour 365). As the story concludes, it becomes obvious that his life was nothing more than a sustained cycle of unhappiness, discontentment and a desperate search for identity. Again it is evident that any “white blood’ present within him does nothing for him in anyway. In “The Mulatto” –when referencing the OED definition- the presence of white blood does nothing for Georges and his wife.
In this story, no one wins. There are no special privileges governed to anyone. Once Georges avenges his wife’s murder by killing his father, he had successfully destroyed his entire family. Referring back to the OED definition of the word mulatto and the historical and social implications behind it, we can see that there might be some minor contradictions. In fact, Georges existence as a mulatto could actually be the existence of the stereotypical “tragic mulatto. ” Being a mulatto, in this case is in many ways more defeating for Georges and his wife.
Both who end up tragically killed and Georges having gained nothing in the process.
1. Sejour, Victor. "The Mulatto. " The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. By Henry Louis. Gates and Nellie Y. McKay. New York: W. W. Norton &, 1996. 352-65. Print.
2. Simpson, J. A. , and E. S. C. Weiner. "Mulatto. " Def. 1A. The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon, 1989. Print.
3. Toplin, Robert B. "Between Black and White: Attitudes Toward Southern Mulattoes, 1830-1861. " The Journal Of Southern History 45. 2 (1979): 185-200. JSTOR. Web. 3 Nov. 2011.
Mulatto Functions Research. (2020, Jun 02). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/mulatto-functions-research-essay
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