Leonora Sansay’s Secret History; or, The Horrors of St. Domingo was a novel that was written in the form of a series of letters from an American woman in Haiti to Aaron Burr that provided a historical narrative surrounding the Haitian Revolution. Written in an “unknown-known” fashion, the novel offers a voice of the Haitian Revolution that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. Sansay offers a number of stories that portray the early republic of Haiti’s political unconsciousness and the republic’s dominant but repressed problem—one that had been founded on liberty that held segments of the population in bondage. In the first few letters of the novel, Sansay talks about to the unfathomable occurrences and conditions of the republic as a result of the revolution, specifically highlighting the domestic tensions that existed in the republic in relation to the politics of race and French colonial power. Sansay also gives a number of examples describing the revolutionaries’ barbaric methods and of the horrific scenes of warfare that took place during her time in St. Domingue. Specifically demonstrated through Clara’s relationship with her husband St. Louis and general Rochambeu, Sansay also portrays the oppression that women endured during their time in Haiti and the tyranny that they were subjected to at the hands of their male counterparts. Sansay’s novel also showed the similarities between the Haitian Revolution and the American Revolution, with securing liberty and equality for their people as the ultimate goal.
In the very first page of Letter I, Leonora Sansay gives insight on the reason for her arrival in Haiti. “The society of my fellow-passengers was so agreeable that I often forgot the inconvenience to which I was exposed. It...
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...ction with other men (specifically Rochambeu), he lashes out on Clara with violence and imprisons her in the house, threatening to kill her. The marriage between Clara and St. Louis is a perfect example of how marriage was a tyrannical institution and how domesticity was viewed in a closed, private sphere. Clara’s relationship with General Rochambeu also demonstrated how these male-female relations had a direct impact on the colonial politics. Instead of focusing on the task at hand (beating the revolutionaries), Rochambeu spent an enormous amount of time, energy and money trying to lure In Clara and destroy St. Louis. Through his extravagant displays of wealth, Sansay shows how Rochambeau’s tactics were executed in an effort to uphold European supremacy and as a way for the French to convince themselves of their ability to recapture their colonial possessions.
The Return of Martin Guerre, written by Natalie Zemon Davis, is the tale of a court case that takes place in sixteenth century France. Martin Guerre is a peasant who deserted his wife and family for many years. While Martin Guerre is gone, a man named Arnaud du Tilh arrives at Martin’s village and claims to be Martin Guerre. Bertrande, who is Guerre’s wife, Guerre’s sisters, and many of the villagers, accepts the imposter. After almost three years of being happily married, Bertrande takes the fraud to court under pressure of Pierre Guerre, her stepfather and Guerre’s brother. Arnaud du Tilh is almost declared innocent, but the real Martin Guerre appears in the courthouse. Throughout this tale, many factors of the peasant life are highlighted. The author gives a very effective and detailed insight to a peasant’s life during the time of Martin Guerre. Davis does a successful job of portraying the peasant lifestyle in sixteenth century France by accentuating the social, cultural, and judicial factors of everyday peasant life.
A fifty-thousand French force of experienced soldiers arrives on the shores of Saint-Domingue. Not ready to give up their freedom and return to their previous servitude, the Africans of the colony defend themselves. Assisted by yellow fever and other diseases, they are a force to be trifled with. By November of the following year, the French surrender and within three months Jean-Jacques Dessalines declares independence from France and the new nation of Haiti is created. Frederick Douglass attributes their great success to the Negros themselves and their manhood, courage, and military skill in his Lecture on Haiti in 1893. He even solidifies these claims by pointing out how their intelligence and bravery has conserved their independence since 1804, almost ninety years prior to his lecture. By this time, Haiti has been around for almost a century and her supporters and opponents debate whether the Haitian revolution was a success or not. The citizens are labeled as lazy and superstitious, stereotyped in that neat little box with no room for movement. Douglass agrees that they can be a bit lazy and are ignorant, but they are not simple idle at all times. By this time, Haiti prospers on a coffee economy and continue to import and export goods from within her borders. Its important to recognize that this nation and its citizens were the first to fight and win their emancipation. The slave revolution in the former French colony of Saint-Domingue was a historic event that brought about universal liberties as other nations followed suit. In solidarity the slaves took up arms and fought until their chains broken. This should vindicate Haiti, at least in the eyes of Douglass. He believes that even though she has not yet met her full potential, she will become a
However, what really frames Francine du Plessix Gray’s biography is not so much the “fin du dix huitième siècle” but the “fin du vingtième siècle” and the “reality” material from Sade’s life that made it possible to represent the Marquis, his sons, his wife, mother-in-law, father-in-law, and uncle as so many of the people who populate the running narrative of criminals, deadbeat dads, incestuous relatives, date-raping playboys, and battered women that fill soap operas, day-time talk, women’s magazines, talk radio, and the tabloids. This paper, then, explores Sade’s biography not as a narrative of (the Marquis de Sade’s) his life, but as a narrative that pleases today’s reader because it serves up a voyeur’s view of (in) his “dysfunctional” family life “at home” that we are all too familiar with. This becomes abundantly apparent when du Plessix-Gray’s rendering of the Marquis and the Marquise’s lives are superimposed over the récit of lives that we read about all the time in the popular press and observe in television soaps and other series. Ultimately, we are interested in what such a reading, writing and representation of Sade’s life does to Sade’s persona and status, both in the world of letters, but more importantly, in the world at large.
Once on board the San Dominick, to step in and save it from “distress,” the American mariner Amasa Delano “assured [Cereno and the pitiful Spanish crew and black slaves] of his [American] sympathies...with...all the...pumpkins on [Delano’s ship]...and a dozen bottles of..cider.” Diplomatically, Delano made inroads with the San Dominick’s Spanish and African passengers to find out information about the ship’s cargo and destination. Through such inquiries, Delano sought to incorporate both Spaniards and slaves into the American calculus of “cleaning up” the Spanish “messes” left after Haiti and the Napoleonic Wars. Out of fear for potential chaos, Delano acted hospitably to quell the possibility of another Spanish or slave mutiny. Seeing that the white European captain had capitulated to the slaves onboard, Delano seized his liberty to take charge of the ship as a leading white man, reconfiguring patriarchy as an opportunistic American
Les Misérables (1862), a novel set in early nineteenth century France, presents a story of obsessions in honor, love, and duty, and through it redemption and salvation. It is the story of the poor Jean Valjean, condemned to an unfair amount of time in prison and a life on the run for stealing a loaf of bread for his starving family. The kind act of forgiveness from a Bishop with whom Jean Valjean stays one night, changes the course in which he chooses to live his life. Under a different identity, he becomes wealthy from a business he starts and later is elected mayor of the small town of Montreuil. He falls madly in love with Fantine, one of the workers in his factory. Because Fantine, one of the very poorest and most pitiful residents of Montreuil, has a child born out of wedlock, Jean Valjean as the respected mayor must keep his love for her a secret. When Fantine dies unexpectedly, Jean Valjean vows he will raise her daughter Cosette, and shield her from all the evils in the world. Through all of this, Jean Valjean is being pursued by Javert, a policeman whose entire life has been dedicated to finding Jean Valjean. While running from Javert, Jean Valjean and Cosette find themselves in Paris in the middle of the 1832 Revolution. As Cosette matures, she falls in love with Marius, a young revolutionist. Despite the objections of Jean Valjean, Cosette continues to secretly visit Marius at night. During the revolution, Marius is injured badly and Jean Valjean, after finding a love note from Marius to Cosette, quickly comes to the rescue of the wounded gentleman. Eventually Jean Valjean and Marius' Grandfather consent to the wedding of Cosette and Marius. In this novel, "there is a point at which...
The Age of Revolutions was a period of time in which many global revolutions took place, especially within America and Europe. A revolution is an overthrow of government or social order in favour of political change. There were many revolutions that took place between 1760 and 1840, most notable being the American Revolution from 1775 to 1783, and the French Revolution beginning in 1789 and ending in 1799. These, along with the Napoleonic Empire, which carried on from the French Revolution and lasted until 1815; all greatly transformed the Atlantic world. This occurred through these global revolutions, which inspired another revolution within the slave island of Haiti. The focus of this essay will be on the aforementioned revolutions,
Had she lived by Prof. William James? advice to do one thing a day one does not want to do [in Creole Society, two would perhaps be better], flirted less and looked after her children more, or even assisted at more accouchements- her chef d?auvre in self denial- we need not have been put to the unpleasantness of reading about her and the temptations she trumped up for herself. (96)
The San Domingo revolution led to the abolition of slavery, independence of Haiti from France and the proclamation of a black republic. However, unlike many historians, CLR James in his work, The Black Jacobins, does not depict the struggle for independence as merely a slave revolt which happened to come after the French Revolution. He goes beyond providing only a recount of historical events and offers an intimate look at those who primarily precipitated the fall of French rule, namely the black slaves themselves. In doing so, James offers a perspective of black history which empowers the black people, for they are shown to actually have done something, and not merely be the subject of actions and attitudes of others.
...e exact opposite, rendering his dedication and involvement in the Milice questionable. In this sense, Lucien, is portraying the typical bourgeois collaborateur as a human being who is capable of love, quite unlike the traditional image of a “monster”. However, Lucien and his motives remain ambiguous to the audience due to his questionable treatment of France at certain points within the film. Whilst Lucien is “courting” France, he demands that she escort him to a dance at the hotel which has become a gathering place for the Milice, against her will and her father’s will. This is a highly selfish act on Lucien’s part, as France is in great danger the entire evening since the generals within the Milice are well aware of her status as a Jew, creating doubt withing the audience over the authenticity of Lucien’s love and his capability to think and feel in a moral manner
The Marquis’ father made up for the loss of his mother by having a close relationship with his son, but that did not help the negative opinion the young child was already forming about women. The personality conflicts that later arise in de Sade’s life are said to come from his hatred of women because his mother was not present in his childhood (Lever 14). The relationship between the father and son was described as “This symbiosis was undeniably emotional, a pr...
Historical novels written by authors who experience the history are great sources for a more first hand account of history that is often one sided and simply based on facts. Historical fiction can make the history more personal and enjoyable to the reader reading it, but it can also be deceiving if the reader is not already at least vaguely familiar with the history. God’s Bits of Wood and No Longer at Ease express and explain colonization and the way that it affected those who were colonized in a way that textbooks often cannot. When comparing the two novels, differences in the nature of the ruling and similarities in the impact it has on various social classes and generations are evident. Though historical novels are a great source, it must be kept in mind that they are novels and should not be relied on for one hundred percent factual evidence.
...ael; Heinl, Nancy Gordon (2005) [1996]. Written in Blood: The Story of the Haitian People, 1492–1995 (2nd Ed.). Lanham, Md; London: Univ. Press of America
St Augustine instilled a profound impact in the interpretation of the new religion of Christianity. Augustine was well versed in various subjects such as metaphysics and politics but the most important was his engrossment in the Platonic Ideas. His understanding of the body and the soul made him one of the founding philosophers to define Christianity and how one must interpret the scriptures of God. In his era, 400 BC Christianity was emerging as a young faith with know concrete bounds; St. Augustine created a sophisticated doctrine of Christian way of life by not only incorporating but appropriating ideas taken from Platonic ideas as well as Neo-Platonism beliefs. In this philosopher’s eyes, Plato’s idea of a universal being was God himself;
“Les Misérables Historical Context.” Novels for Students. Sheryl Ciccarelli, Marie Rose Naipierkowski. Detroit: Gale Research, 1999. 242-244. Print.
	 Montraville was a soldier in the army who was about twenty three years old, and Charlotte was only fifteen. He was much older than Charlotte. Montraville influenced her in evil ways; he impressed her with his knowledge of love and the world by writing her a letter and giving it to her personally . Montraville knew this was forbidden but gave it to her anyway.