The tragic mulatto is a stereotypical

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

that appeared in American literature during the 19th and 20th centuries, starting in 1837. The "tragic mulatto" is a stereotypical

mixed-race Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-eth ...

person (a " mulatto"), who is assumed to be depressed, or even

suicidal Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and subs ...

, because they fail to completely fit in the "white world" or the "black world". As such, the "tragic mulatto" is depicted as the victim of the society that is divided by race, where there is no place for one who is neither completely "black" nor "white".

Tragic mulatta

The female "tragic

octoroon In the colonial societies of the Americas and Australia, a quadroon or quarteron was a person with one quarter African/ Aboriginal and three quarters European ancestry. Similar classifications were octoroon for one-eighth black (Latin root ''oc ...

" was a stock character of abolitionist literature: a light-skinned woman, raised in her father's household as though she were white, until his bankruptcy or death has her reduced to a menial position and sold. She may even be unaware of her status before being so reduced.Kathy Davis.
Headnote to Lydia Maria Child's 'The Quadroons' and 'Slavery's Pleasant Homes'.
This character allowed abolitionists to draw attention to the sexual exploitation in slavery; and unlike the suffering of the field hands, did not allow slaveholders to retort that the sufferings of Northern mill hands were no easier, since the Northern mill owner would not sell his own children into slavery. The "tragic mulatta" figure is a woman of biracial heritage who endures the hardships of Africans in the Antebellum South, even though she may look white enough that her ethnicity is not immediately obvious. As the name implies, tragic mulattas almost always meet a bad end. Lydia Maria Child's 1842

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

"The

Quadroon In the colonial societies of the Americas and Australia, a quadroon or quarteron was a person with one quarter African/ Aboriginal and three quarters European ancestry. Similar classifications were octoroon for one-eighth black (Latin root ''o ...

s" is generally credited as the first work of literature to feature a tragic mulatta, to garner support for emancipation and equal rights. Child followed up "The Quadroons" with the 1843 short story "Slavery's Pleasant Homes", which also features a tragic mulatta character. Writer Eva Allegra Raimon notes that Child "allowed white readers to identify with the victim by gender while distancing themselves by race and thus to avoid confronting a racial ideology that denies the full humanity of nonwhite women." The passing character, Clare Kendry, in

Nella Larsen Nellallitea "Nella" Larsen (born Nellie Walker; April 13, 1891 – March 30, 1964) was an American novelist. Working as a nurse and a librarian, she published two novels, ''Quicksand'' (1928) and '' Passing'' (1929), and a few short stories. Tho ...

's '' Passing'' has been deemed a "tragic mulatta". Generally, the tragic mulatta archetype falls into one of three categories: * A woman who can "pass" for white attempts to do so, is accepted as white by society and falls in love with a white man. Eventually, her status as a bi-racial person is revealed and the story ends in tragedy. * A woman who appears to be white and thus passes as being so. It is believed that she is of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

descent. She has suffered little hardship in her life, but upon the revelation that she is mixed race, loses her social standing. * A woman who has all the social graces that come along with being a middle-class or

upper-class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...

white woman is nonetheless subjected to

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. A common objection to this character is that she allows readers to pity the plight of oppressed or enslaved races, but only through a veil of whiteness—that is, instead of sympathizing with a true racial "other", one is sympathizing with a character who is made as much like one's own race as possible. The "tragic mulatta" often appeared in novels intended for women, and some of the character's appeal lay in the lurid fantasy of a person just like them suddenly cast into a lower social class after the discovery of a small amount of "black blood" that renders her unfit for proper marriage.

In popular culture

Literature featuring "tragic mulatto" and "tragic mulatta" characters in pivotal roles

*'' Le Mulâtre'' 1837 (French) * ''Sab'' by Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, 1841. *'' The Quadroons'', 1842 short story by Lydia Maria Child (introduced the literary character of the tragic mulatto) *''Slavery's Pleasant Homes'', 1843 short story by Lydia Maria Child *''

Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...

'', 1852 novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe (published serially 1851–1852) *'' Clotel; or, The President's Daughter'', 1853 novel by

William Wells Brown William Wells Brown (c. 1814 – November 6, 1884) was a prominent abolitionist lecturer, novelist, playwright, and historian in the United States. Born into slavery in Montgomery County, Kentucky, near the town of Mount Sterling, Brown escap ...

*''The Garies and Their Friends'', 1857 novel by Frank J. Webb *'' The Octoroon (Life in Louisiana)'' 1859 play, by Dion Bocicault * '' A Escrava Isaura'', 1875 novel by Brazilian author

Bernardo Guimarães Bernardo Joaquim da Silva Guimarães (; August 15, 1825 – March 10, 1884) was a Brazilian poet and novelist. He is the author of the famous romances '' A Escrava Isaura'' and '' O Seminarista''. He also introduced to Brazilian poetry the ''verso ...

* ''

Iola Leroy ''Iola Leroy'', ''or Shadows Uplifted'', an 1892 novel by Frances E. W. Harper, is one of the first novels published by an African-American woman. While following what has been termed the "sentimental" conventions of late nineteenth-century writ ...

'', 1892 novel by

Frances Harper Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (September 24, 1825 – February 22, 1911) was an American abolitionist, suffragist, poet, temperance activist, teacher, public speaker, and writer. Beginning in 1845, she was one of the first African-American women to ...

* ''Désirée's Baby'', 1893 short story by

Kate Chopin Kate Chopin (, also ; born Katherine O'Flaherty; February 8, 1850 – August 22, 1904) was an American author of short stories and novels based in Louisiana. She is considered by scholars to have been a forerunner of American 20th-century femini ...

* '' Pudd'nhead Wilson'', 1894 novel by Mark Twain *'' The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color-Line'' by

Charles W. Chesnutt Charles Waddell Chesnutt (June 20, 1858 – November 15, 1932) was an American author, essayist, political activist and lawyer, best known for his novels and short stories exploring complex issues of racial and social identity in the post-Ci ...

(1899) *''

The House Behind the Cedars ''The House Behind the Cedars'' is a 1927 silent film, silent race film directed, written, produced and distributed by the noted director Oscar Micheaux. It was loosely adapted from the The House Behind the Cedars (book), 1900 novel of the same ...

'', 1900 novel by Charles W. Chesnutt *"Talma Gordon," 1900 short story by

Pauline Hopkins Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins (1859 – August 13, 1930) was an American novelist, journalist, playwright, historian, and editor. She is considered a pioneer in her use of the romantic novel to explore social and racial themes, as demonstrated ...

*''

The Marrow of Tradition ''The Marrow of Tradition'' (1901) is a novel by the African-American author Charles W. Chesnutt, portraying a fictional account of the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 in Wilmington, North Carolina, an event that had just recently occurred. Plo ...

'', 1901 novel by Charles W. Chesnutt *''

The Clansman ''The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan'' is a novel published in 1905, the second work in the Ku Klux Klan trilogy by Thomas Dixon Jr. (the others are ''The Leopard's Spots'' and '' The Traitor''). Chronicling the American Civ ...

'', 1905 novel by Thomas Dixon, Jr. (the source material for

D.W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the na ...

's ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Clan ...

''). * ''Summer'', novel by Edith Wharton published in 1917 *"Cross", poem by Langston Hughes published 1925 *''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...

'', 1926 novel by

Edna Ferber Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 – April 16, 1968) was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels include the Pulitzer Prize-winning '' So Big'' (1924), ''Show Boat'' (1926; made into the celebrated 1927 musical), '' Ci ...

(also the source material for the 1927 stage musical). *"Mulatto", poem by Langston Hughes published 1927 *''The White Girl'', 1929 novel by Vara Caspary *'' Passing'', 1929 novel by

*''Dark Lustre'', 1932 novel by Geoffrey Barnes *'' Light in August'', 1932 novel by

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most o ...

*'' Imitation of Life'', 1933 novel by

Fannie Hurst Fannie Hurst (October 18, 1889 – February 23, 1968) was an American novelist and short-story writer whose works were highly popular during the post-World War I era. Her work combined sentimental, romantic themes with social issues of the d ...

(source material for the 1934 film and its 1959 remake) *"Father and Son", short story by Langston Hughes published 1934 *'' Mulatto: A Play of the Deep South'', 1935 play by Langston Hughes *''Lost Boundaries'', 1940 book by William L. White *''The Wind From Nowhere'', 1943 novel by

Oscar Micheaux Oscar Devereaux Micheaux (; January 2, 1884 – March 25, 1951) was an author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films. Although the short-lived Lincoln Motion Picture Company was the first movie company owned and controlled ...

*''The Barrier'', 1950 opera by Langston Hughes and

Jan Meyerowitz Jan Meyerowitz (23 April 1913 – 15 December 1998) was a German–American composer, conductor, pianist and writer. Life Meyerowitz was born Hans-Hermann Meyerowitz in Breslau (today Wrocław), the son of a manufacturer. From 1927, he studied ...

*''African Morning'', 1952 short story by Langston Hughes *''

Band of Angels ''Band of Angels'' is a 1957 psychological drama film set in the American South before and during the American Civil War, based on the 1955 novel of the same name by Robert Penn Warren. It starred Clark Gable, Yvonne De Carlo and Sidney Poitier ...

'', 1955 novel by

Robert Penn Warren Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, and literary critic and was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He founded the liter ...

*''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...

'', 1960 novel by Harper Lee *'' A Soldier's Play'', 1981 play by Charles Fuller *''

Devil in a Blue Dress ''Devil in a Blue Dress'' is a 1990 hardboiled mystery novel by Walter Mosley, his first published book. The text centers on the main character, Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins, and his transformation from a day laborer into a detective. Plot Set ...

'', 1990 novel by

Walter Mosley Walter Ellis Mosley (born January 12, 1952) is an American novelist, most widely recognized for his crime fiction. He has written a series of best-selling historical mysteries featuring the hard-boiled detective Easy Rawlins, a black private inv ...

*''

The Human Stain ''The Human Stain'' is a novel by Philip Roth, published May 5, 2000. The book is set in Western Massachusetts in the late 1990s. It is narrated by 65-year-old author Nathan Zuckerman, who appears in several earlier Roth novels, and who also fig ...

'', 2000 novel by

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophicall ...

*'' Island Beneath the Sea'', 2009 novel by

Isabel Allende Isabel Angélica Allende Llona (; born in Lima, 2 August 1942) is a Chilean writer. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the genre magical realism, is known for novels such as ''The House of the Spirits'' (''La casa de los espír ...

*''

The Vanishing Half ''The Vanishing Half'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Brit Bennett. It is her second novel and was published by Riverhead Books in 2020. The novel debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list, ''The New York Time ...

'', 2020 novel by Britt Bennett

Films featuring "tragic mulatto" and "tragic mulatta" characters in pivotal roles

*''

'' (1915) *''

Within Our Gates ''Within Our Gates'' is a 1920 American silent film by the director Oscar Micheaux that portrays the contemporary racial situation in the United States during the early twentieth century, the years of Jim Crow, the revival of the Ku Klux Kla ...

'' (1920) *''

The Symbol of the Unconquered ''The Symbol of the Unconquered'' (also known as ''The Wilderness Trail'') is a 1920 silent "race film" drama produced, written and directed by Oscar Micheaux. It is Micheaux's fourth feature-length film and along with ''Within Our Gates'' is amo ...

'' (1920) *''

The Virgin of the Seminole ''The Virgin of the Seminole'' (sometimes listed as ''The Virgin of Seminole'') is a 1922 race film directed, written and produced by Oscar Micheaux. Plot The film focused on a young black man who joins the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and be ...

'' (1922) *'' Scar of Shame'' (1926) *''

'' (1927) *''

Veiled Aristocrats ''Veiled Aristocrats'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code race film written, directed, produced and distributed by Oscar Micheaux. The film deals with the theme of " passing" by mixed-race African Americans to avoid racial discrimination. It is a rema ...

'' (1932) *'' Imitation of Life'' (1934) *'' Ouanga'' (1936) *'' God's Step Children'' (1938) *'' The Betrayal'' (1948) *'' Angelitos negros'', 1948 *'' Lost Boundaries'', 1949 *'' Pinky'' (1949) *'' Il Mulatto'', 1950 Italian film released as "Angelo" in the United States *''

'' (1951) *''

'' (1957) *''

Kings Go Forth ''Kings Go Forth'' is a 1958 black-and-white World War II film starring Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, and Natalie Wood. The screenplay was written by Merle Miller from the 1956 novel of the same name by Joe David Brown, and the film was direct ...

'' (1957) *'' Imitation of Life'' (1959), remake of the 1934 original (with nonminor changes) *''

Shadows A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, ...

'' (1959) *''

I Passed for White ''I Passed for White'' is a 1960 film directed and adapted for the screen by Fred M. Wilcox from a novel of the same name by Reba Lee "as told to" Mary Hastings Bradley. The film stars Sonya Wilde and James Franciscus and features Jimmy Lydon, ...

'' (1960) *''

Flaming Star ''Flaming Star'' is a 1960 American Western film starring Elvis Presley, Barbara Eden and Steve Forrest, based on the book ''Flaming Lance'' (1958) by Clair Huffaker. Critics agreed that Presley gave one of his best acting performances as t ...

'' (1961) *'' The Black Klansman'' (1966), a.k.a. ''I Crossed the Color Line'' *'' Angelitos negros'' (1970), remake of the 1948 original *'' A Soldier's Story'' (1984) *''

'' (1995) *''

'' (2003) *'' Passing'' (2021)

Television movies and series featuring "tragic mulatto" and "tragic mulatta" characters in pivotal roles

* '' Alex Haley's Queen'', the acclaimed television series by Alex Haley, offers a subversion of the "tragic mulatta" archetype, while making reference to many of its elements. * '' A Escrava Isaura'' has been adapted to Brazilian television twice, first in 1976 (as '' Escrava Isaura''), and again in 2004. * ''

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

'' (the television series) featured a tragic mulatta character (portrayed by Melissa Marsala) in its 2000 episode " Are You Now or Have You Ever Been". * The television series,

Quincy, M.E. ''Quincy, M.E.'' (also called ''Quincy'') is an American mystery medical drama television series from Universal Studios that aired on NBC from October 3, 1976, to May 11, 1983. Jack Klugman starred in the title role as a Los Angeles County med ...

included an episode, entitled, "passing," that subverts the tragic mulatta trope. A female character raised to believe she is white learns that her deceased father was passing all the time she knew him and that she has been mixed-race all of her life. Instead of viewing the news as tragic, she ends the episode saying, "Black is beautiful."

Folktales

* ''

Haunting of the Octoroon Mistress The Haunting of the Octoroon Mistress is a ghost tale about the haunting of a house on 734 Royal Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. Background The haunting of the Octoroon House is founded on nineteenth-century cultural etiquette surrounding rac ...

'', a ghost story featuring the institution of octoroon balls.

Video games featuring "tragic mulatta" characters in pivotal roles

* '' Assassin's Creed: Liberation'', the first PlayStation Vita installment of the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, has the

playable character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not contr ...

, Aveline, subvert the trope, according to '' Kotaku'' writer Evan Narcisse.

Music

* The 1973 song "

Half-Breed Half-breed is a term, now considered offensive, used to describe anyone who is of mixed race; although, in the United States, it usually refers to people who are half Native American and half European/white. Use by governments United States I ...

" by Cher tells the story of a child rejected by both white and Cherokee society. Although Cher appeared on the single's artwork in a native headdress, and her mother

Georgia Holt Georgia Holt (born Jackie Jean Crouch; June 9, 1926 – December 10, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, actress and model. She was also notable for being the mother of singer and actress Cher. Early life Holt was born Jackie Jean Crouch in ...

at one time claimed Cherokee ancestry, her dark hair and complexion instead came from her Armenian father.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tragic Mulatto Mulatto Multiracial affairs Multiracial literature Stock characters Ethnic and racial stereotypes in the United States Antebellum South