An Imperative Duty

''An Imperative Duty'' is a short realist novel by William Dean Howells published in 1891. The novel explores the idea of "passing" through the racially mixed character of Rhoda Aldgate, a young woman whose aunt informs her that she is one-sixteenth African American. Rhoda lived her whole life "passing" as a white person.

List of Characters

*Rhoda Aldgate, a woman of one-sixteenth black ancestry
*Rev. Mr. Bloomingdale, Rhoda's first suitor, a white man
*Dr. Olney, Mrs. Meredith's physician and Rhoda's eventual suitor, a white man
*Mrs. Meredith, Rhoda's aunt, a white woman

Plot summary

The book is about Rhoda Aldgate, a young woman who discovers she is one-sixteenth African American, after living her whole life as a white person. Rhoda's father was Mrs. Meredith's brother, a white man, and Rhoda's mother was a southern woman of one-eighth black ancestry. In the nineteenth century, Rhoda's mother would have been referred to as an "octoroon."

Themes

The book is about a "Tragic Mulatta" character, a stereotype used by 19th-century American authors to explore racial miscegenation.
Daugherty, Sarah B. "'An Imperative Duty': Howells and White Male Anxiety." ''American Literary Realism'', 1870-1910 30.3 (Spring, 1998): 53-64.

References

External links

''An Imperative Duty''
Full text HTML version scanned from 1893 edition published by Harper & Brothers. Scanned and proofread by D. Campbell.

''An Imperative Duty''
1893 edition, Harper and Bros. / Franklin Square, from Google Books

{{DEFAULTSORT:Imperative Duty, An
1891 American novels
Works by William Dean Howells
Novels set in Boston
Realist novels
Harper & Brothers books