Mr. Peyton is dead and his widow, Mrs. Peyton, and their nephew, George Peyton, are left to try to salvage the estate from all of the debts and liens against the property. McClosky desires Zoe for himself, and when she rejects his proposition, he plots to have her sold with the rest of the slaves, for he knows that she is an octoroon and is legally part of the Terrebonne property. The Octoroon Summary. Dora then reappears and bids on Zoe she has sold her own plantation in order to rescue Terrebonne. With the judges death, Zoe loses his protection, and her situation becomes precarious. This play is set in Creole Louisiana, before the Civil War, on a plantation called Terrebonne. He is a prominent figure in Victorian era drama and is said to belong to more than one national literature, Irish, English and the United States. The last date is today's Picquet was sold to Williams of New Orleans and her mother was sold to Texas. Although she and her children were free, Picquet was stuck in New Orleans until Williams' brother gave her a portion of the proceeds from selling Williams' furniture. Mary Elizabeth Braddon - Wikipedia George Peyton returns to the United States from a trip to France to find that the plantation he has inherited is in dire financial straits as a result of his late uncle's beneficence. [7][8] It was originally directed by Gavin Quinn of the Irish theatre company Pan Pan, but Jacobs-Jenkins took over the role after Quinn quit several weeks into rehearsals. McClosky, however, outbids her for Zoe; George is restrained from attacking him by his friends. MClosky announces that Terrebonne is for sale and plots to steal Zoe; because she is an octoroon, she is a piece of property and therefore a part of the estate. Extremely popular, the play was kept running continuously for years by seven road companies. Being considered one-eighth black, she is called an "octoroon." As indicated by the inscription on the base of the statue, she is instead an octoroonthat is, an exceptionally light-skinned person of mixed race, technically defined as one-eighth black and the rest white. Later, her husband Henry served in the Union Army until receiving a medical discharge, leaving Louisa as the household's sole provider. His parents, Solomon and Lydia Mattison, raised him and his eleven siblings in the Methodist Episcopal Church. eNotes critical analyses help you gain a deeper understanding of The Octoroon so you can excel on your essay or test. The play is an adaptation of Dion Boucicault's 1859 abolitionist melodrama retold through Jacobs-Jenkins eyes. An Octoroon review - blackface meets whiteface in quicksilver drama Zoe enters along with Mr. Sunnyside, a plantation owner, and his Southern belle daughter, Dora, who tells Zoe she is in love with George. A theatrical, melodramatic reality is created to tell the story of an octoroon woman (a person who is black) named Zoe and her quest for identity and love. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of The Octoroon by Dion Boucicault. This page is not available in other languages. She faces the horrible prospect of being sold at auction, most likely to share the fate of her mother as the mistress of a rich white man. The second date is today's The title refers to a person who is one-eighth black. MClosky, who everyone agrees is awful, falls in love with her, as does George, and Scudder is already in love with her. Mattison glosses over this violence, stating that "it is too horrible and indelicate to be read in a civilized country" (p. 15). Hiram Mattison, Louisa Picquet, the Octoroon: or Inside Views of Southern Domestic Life. Act IV takes place by Captain Rattss Steamer Magnolia, where Wahnotee has been captured. George offers to take her to a different country, but Zoe insists that she stay to help Terrebonne; Scudder then appears and suggests that George marry Dora. [12], An Octoroon premiered Off-Broadway at Soho Rep on April 23, 2014 and closed on June 8. Vanessa Claire Stewart, who plays Dora, a rich Southern belle infatuated with George, and Ratts, the captain of a steamer open to buying some human chattel, works her costumes to funny effects. Summaries. In Bells mind the sentimentality and clamor of the stage were elevated to a higher conceptual plane that confronted the viewer with the image of Zoe in her most vulnerable state. Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists. After sparring with Scudder over their role in the Peytons downfall and offering Zoe the chance to be the mistress of her own plantation (she refuses), MClosky goes through the judges desk and finds Zoes free papers, realizing that due to the judges debts, Zoe, an Octoroon, is still a slave. This pocket Bluetooth printer lets you print your precious memories before they hit Instagram. At about two months old, Picquet and Ramsey were sold to David R. Cook from Jasper County, Georgia. The men leave to fetch the authorities, but McClosky escapes. New York, NY, SM for Poor Yella Rednecks caucasian southern mannered kind motherly genteel southern accent widow antibellum slave owner. Quadroon. At the time of its presentation at the annual exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1868, Bell stood at the height of his career. After Williams sickened and died, Picquet describes her relief at his passing; to celebrate her freedom from sexual abuse and "sin", she attended church that very Sunday (p. 22). Harder to overcome will be the discovery by MClosky, the villainous overseer who now owns half the estate, that Zoes freedom papers are not valid and therefore shes to be sold with the rest of the enslaved. While posing, MClosky comes from behind and kills Paul to take the letter. All monologues are property and copyright of their owners. Shakespeare in the Woods 2023 Season The female "tragic octoroon" 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. His work typically mixed the conventional standards of classical form with the emotive pathos of contemporary romanticism. Mary Elizabeth Braddon. There are also the two Sunnysides: Mr. Sunnyside and his daughter, Dora. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. Paul was beloved and also valuable, and so the whites want to find what has happened to him. publication in traditional print. New York, NY, Escape To Margaritaville He soon meets and falls in love with an "octoroon", a young woman who is one-eighth black. New York, NY, SM for Poor Yella Rednecks Sara Krulwich/The New York Times. Pete sends Paul to go find a letter that would promise enough money to save Terrebonne. Hired out by Cook to the Bachelor family, Picquet labored in Mrs. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, An Octoroon (New York: Onstage Press, 2014), 121. The Octoroon quickly garnered popular and critical acclaim. How to End "The Octoroon", John A. Degen, Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Octoroon&oldid=1114317331, This page was last edited on 5 October 2022, at 22:08. [10] Vallejo Gantner, artistic director of PS 122 along with theatre critics Elisabeth Vincentelli and Adam Feldman, argued that although it was not unethical to publish the email, it may not have been "nice" to publish it. Minnies banter with Kacie Rogers Dido and bickering with Leea Ayers Grace provide choral commentary with a jaded Gen X twist. In 1850, Mattison became a Professor of Astronomy at Falley Seminary in 1850. An Octoroon begins with a prologue, in which a surrogate for the author, BJJ, introduces himself to the audience as a Black playwright, a label he doesnt fully comprehend. MClosky vows to own that Octoroon (37) and get the mailbag before Paul and Wahnotee, so that he may steal the letter and prevent the Peytons from saving their estate. The group immediately calls for his lynching, but they agree to try him first. The play then ends with a final image of Wahnotee standing triumphantly at Pauls grave over MCloskys dead body. The tragic ending was used for American audiences, to avoid portraying a mixed marriage.[4]. But white cast members, offended by the unapologetic racism of their nasty slave-owner characters, dropped out. Picquet recalls that slaves were stripped of their clothes to be appraised and then sold to the highest bidder. Jacob McClosky, the man who ruined Judge Peyton, has come to inform George and his aunt (who was bequeathed a life interest in the estate) that their land will be sold and their slaves auctioned off separately. When Paul goes missing, Wahnotee is the first person blamed for Paul's death, until it is revealed that M'Closky is responsible. Louisa Picquet, the Octoroon: or Inside Views of Southern Domestic Life (1861) is not so much a narrative as a series of Picquet's first-person answers to Mattison's questions, which seem to have transcribed verbatim, along with his own commentary. Nagle overdoes it in the early going as Playwright and Wahnotee, but by the time he plays LaFouche, an auctioneer, he has a better handle on the cartoon dial. Cora, educated in Britain, returns to her fathers plantation in Louisiana to explore the truth about her mother's. date the date you are citing the material. The Octoroon Characters - eNotes.com So, instead of giving up, he decides to play the white male roles himself. This is no easy task, and the cast has mixed results. May-be. In Mobile, Picquet describes her love interest with a "colored man more white than [she was]" (p. 683 Words; 3 Pages; Open Document. Pete is Paul's grandfather. Ed. Mattison resumed pastoral work in Watertown, New York in 1842 and then in Rome, New York in 1844. After various slaves are auctioned off, George and the buyers are shocked to see Zoe up on the stand. After some time, they had two more children named Sarah and Thomas. [17], Company One Theatre in Boston co-produced the play with ArtsEmerson, directed by Summer L. Williams. The Octoroon; or, Life in Louisiana by Dion Boucicault premiered in New York City on December 6, 1859. Salem Scudder, a northerner who has been serving as the plantation's overseer, bears some responsibility for the poor state of affairs at Terrebonne. The Dissonance of An Octoroon | HowlRound Theatre Commons One man, Jacob MClosky, is driven into such a frenzy by Zoe that he is willing to lie, cheat and kill in order to own her. Return to North American Slave Narratives Home Page, Louisa Picquet, the Octoroon, or, Inside Views of Southern Domestic Life, Speaking Lives, Authoring Texts: Three African American Women's Oral Slave Narratives, Work Here, Rest Hereafter: Or, The Life and Character of Rev. The title of the play refers to a character named Zoe. Everything was handled with extraordinary care and concern, from the ticketless check-in to the spacing of the quite comfortable chairs. This guide details the original Boucicault script and associated productions. Jacobs-Jenkins reframes Boucicault's play using its original characters and plot, speaking much of Boucicault's dialogue, and critiques its portrayal of race using Brechtian devices. ZOE is declared a slave as well and is put up for sale. Age Range. Directed by Sarah Benson, featuring music by Csar Alvarez (of The Lisps), choreography by David Neumann, set design by Mimi Lien, and lighting design by Matt Frey. The Octoroon or The Lily of Louisiana is a dark tale of crime, race and slavery. The show was directed by Peter Hinton and designed by Gillian Gallow. Zoe tells George: Of the blood that feeds my heart, one drop in eight is blackbright red as the rest may be, that one drop poisons all the blood (43). Paulwith the mailbagsstops to take a photo of himself with Georges camera. The Octoroon - M. E. Braddon - Google Books Just getting the production up and running in this new outdoor playing area was miracle enough. Though it would hardly seem likely at first glance, this pallid image of slavery directly addresses the condition of black bondage. Minnie comforts Dido and they look forward to their new lives on Captain Ratts boat. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Both Scudder and M'Closky claim to be in love with Zoe as well. Is the Octoroon a Typical Victorian Melodrama - Phdessay The condition was reached by gradual degrees of miscegenation, or racial mixing, until the complexion of an individual often became indistinguishable from a person of pure white ancestry. Chapter-by-chapter summaries and multiple sections of expert analysis, The ultimate resource for assignments, engaging lessons, and lively book discussions. Brooks' idea is that melodrama is about binaries and opposites, where there is always good and bad with no gray area. [24], The Canadian premiere of An Octoroon was produced by The Shaw Festival for its 2017 season. Set in the pre-Civil War South, The Octoroon deals heavily with racial themes. MClosky steals the letter, leaving before Wahnotee finds Pauls dead body and smashes the camera to pieces in grief. The Octoroon Summary and Analysis (like SparkNotes) - Free Book Notes She may even be unaware of her status before being so reduced. George does not care about her mixed racial ancestry and wishes to marry her, despite the illegality of a mixed-race marriage. Sign up today to unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Set on the fictional Terrebonne Plantation in Louisiana, The Octoroon depicts life in the American South with honesty and empathy. Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude. This issue arose because at first glance Picquet looked to be "a white lady" (p. 5). A spectacular collision of the antebellum South and 21st century cultural politics, An Octoroon is a gasp-inducing deconstruction of a moustache-twirling melodrama by 19th century playwright Dion Boucicault that twists a funhouse world of larger-than-life stereotypes into blistering social commentary. 'An Octoroon': Intellectual rollercoaster ride of a play about race in This outdoor production is an ideal way of easing back into this most public of art forms, free of any pandemic misgivings about breathing the same air of fellow theatergoers. The founding director of the Hutchins Center is Henry Louis Gates Jr., who is also chairman ofThe Root. Download the entire The Octoroon study guide as a printable PDF! The Octoroon was written by Dion Boucicault and was adapted from the novel The Quadroon by Thomas Mayne Reid. Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street. Tragic mulatto - Wikipedia After she takes the liquid, Scudder enters and informs them of MCloskys guilt and the found letter, but it is too lateZoe is dying. Act II begins with Scudder showing off his camera, when Pete, an older slave, enters to say the estate has officially been put up for sale. I feel like it has interesting connections to "Lady Audley's Secret," though. eNotes Editorial. He and Zoe admit to their love of each other; a heartbroken Dora leaves. MClosky asks Scudder to help him, but he instead simply gives him his bowie knife and leaves him to his own defenses. The Octoroon Themes | SuperSummary Bells conflation of the carved simulacrum of the nude female slave with the theatrically inspired concept of the mixed-race woman glosses the reality of slavery with a more broadly nuanced commentary on the role of race in the self-definition of an entire culture. Here Mattison asks what her feelings were living with Williams in sin and Picquet discusses her distress. Collected Black Women's Narratives, New York: Oxford University Press, 1988; Minor, DoVeanna S. Fulton, and Reginald H. Pitts, Speaking Lives, Authoring Texts: Three African American Women's Oral Slave Narratives, Albany: State University of New York Press, 2010; Thomson, Edward, and N. Vansant, Work Here, Rest Hereafter: Or, The Life and Character of Rev. Zoe also uses the same term unlike in the . Boucicaults racial attitudes are both progressive for his day and unmistakably traditionalist, which is to say white supremacist.
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