The Power Of Clotel: Tragic Moulatto Women

Color boundaries define an individual’s position in life. From the antebellum south of the United States to the late 19th century pre-Harlem renaissance, ethnicity has been shown to influence the power and prestige bestowed upon African American men and women. Two tales– Clotel (1853) by William Wells Brown and “Natalie” (1898) by Alice Dunbar-Nelson - exemplify the trials and racism that mulatto women historically contended with through the trope of the tragic mulatta. Clotel upholds the traditional version of the tragic mulatta and “Natalie” transforms it into a play of power and success.

The term mulatto is a color classification that refers to bi-racial men and women of Caucasian and African American descent. The trope of the tragic

mulatta uses the term to its fullest potential to comment on racism and commodification of African American people. In Clotel, William Wells Brown masterfully uses this trope with his heroine, Clotel.

Clotel represents the struggle the institution of slavery and it’s innate biases to reunite herself with her young daughter, Mary. Clotel is a mixed race woman that is displaced in her own lineage as well as society. Born to Thomas Jefferson and his slave Currer, Clotel is representative of the farce of color lines. (Wells Brown, 50) Her “real albino” complexion and “pure chastity” – both Caucasian attractions – serve to commoditize her, bringing her monetary value to 1500 dollars. (Wells Brown, 53) Clotel embodies contradictions as the tragic mulatta should. She appears white but is black under the law. She upholds white morals, yet still functions as a sexual commodity to her new owner and pseudo-husband Horatio Green. She is an individual, but she is property. The real tragedy is found not in the sale of human flesh, but in the separation of family. After Clotel bears Horatio a child, his affections begin to dwindle as political ambition infects his heart and mind. Horatio marries a white woman named Gertrude to further his political gain and jealousy reigns in their relationship. Clotel is sold to another slave owner and Mary is brought under the frigid auspices of the Green home. (Wells Brown, 128) The

final tragedy for Clotel occurs as a direct result of the separation of mother and child. Death is typically the final act in the play of the tragic mulatta. Clotel’s attempts to reunite with her daughter, Mary, results in her imprisonment and in a desperate attempt to continue her search, the “cradle of liberty…rock[s] the child to death.” (Wells Brown, 197) Clotel’s brash attempt to escape prison ends in a dive into the Potomac. Thus, she takes her life to escape from the murderous hands of America’s faux freedom. (Wells Brown, 196) Clotel is beautiful, mixed race, displaced, and sexualized. As a result Clotel upholds many of facets of the tragic mulatta. Alice Dunbar-Nelson’s “Natalie” takes the classic representation of the tragic mulatta - as demonstrated in Clotel - and revitalizes it with a positive twist.
Health and vitality are vividly apparent in Dunbar-Nelson’s representation of the tragic mulatta. While the heroine Natalie Leblanc upholds some of the tenants of the trope, she also diverts away from the tragedy inherent in the role. Natalie is a young creole (mulatta) woman who refuses to incorporate herself into white society. Natalie is self appointed ruler her own kingdom - Mandeville. Unsurprisingly, she is still sexualized through her appearance. Her white companion, Olivia Spiers, describes Natalie as “awfully pretty, and nice, and so smart…and she’s so healthy and strong…” (Dunbar-Nelson, 32) Olivia’s description lacks the racism typically fired towards the tragic mulatta. However, it also notes her desirability in the form of a masculine description reminiscent of male virility. Natalie’s attractiveness does not remove her from the hatred of white society. In fact, white supremacy still attempts to shove her into the role of an inferior.
High on the loft of white supremacy Mrs. Carrie Spiers, Olivia’s mother, attempts to reign in Natalie’s sense of superiority and enforce the sense of displacement inherent to the role of an inferior or the tragic mulatta. Mrs. Spier’s reaction to Natalie use of Olivia’s given name is a weak attempt to force white superiority into Natalie’s world. “I want you to call my daughter Miss Olivia. I require that of all inferiors.” (Dunbar-Nelson, 34) However, Natalie’s mental strength has no qualms with fighting against the system of racism around her. In fact she strongly beliefs that she “[is] not an inferior… [she is] superior to Madame herself.” (Dunbar-Nelson, 34) Therefore, Natalie is comfortable in her life, never to be displaced from her throne by the knife of white supremacy. She is not a fragmented personality, nor a desperate one. Natalie is a powerhouse, a role model, and even in the face of potential tragedy – a survivor.
The irony cannot be ignored in the conclusion of “Natalie.” A violent storm spooks the formerly forbidding and racist Mrs. Spiers into begging Natalie for help in her family’s escape from Mandeville. The lack of surrounding servants and of a strong male figure intimidates the older woman into a state of fear and desperation. In this, Natalie holds all the cards. It is only “for Oleevia” that Natalie would lower herself to helping the desperate matriarch. (Dunbar-Nelson, 37) Once more power and virility are injected into Natalie’s position. She becomes a sexual figure and a savior – a role normally reserved for a man. She “plunge[s] the boat through a stubborn swell” as she strains and pulls every nerve in her body. (Dunbar-Nelson, 38) It is in the concluding scene that Natalie removes herself from the stereotypes of the tragic mulatta and reminds the reader that she is not constrained by the male and Caucasian-dominated society around her.
The tragic mulatta faces strife and fights with the expectations of the society around her. She is sexualized, beautiful, and healthy. She is displaced and disparaged. She is a commodity. Often the hypocrisy of the society around her forces her to take her own life. Natalie Leblanc is sexualized and placed in a masculine role. When confronted with the wrath of society, she is strong in her identity and she holds all of the cards. Natalie combats the beliefs of white supremacy with sarcasm and strength and doesn’t allow society to trap her in its prison. She is celebrated and yet still degraded as a “plucky little girl.” (Dunbar-Nelson, 38) Natalie is both representative of the tragic mulatta and the antithesis of the trope because she holds to her “guns” and does not allow her world to reprimand and displace her.