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Mari Lopp

Professor Lopp

GEW 101B

10 April, 2020

Annotated Bibliography

Bentley, Nancy. "White Slaves: The Mulatto Hero in Antebellum Fiction." American Literature:

A Journal of Literary History, Criticism, and Bibliography 65.3, 1993, pp. 501-522. MLA

International Bibliography, doi: 10.2307/2927391.

Bently argues that the mulatto figure in antebellum American novels represents bodily

differences in a genre that tries to portray the sameness of souls. Bently compares the

“mulattoes” in texts of various African American novelists but focuses on Stowe, Hildreth, and

Brown’s texts. Bently argues that the mulatto figures are symbols of repressed guilt of the South.

She says that the characters are always paralleled with “mulattoes” in real life. “Mulattoes” were

not able to identify fully with blacks or whites which caused them to be figures of anxiety. The

mixed race reminded the southerners that the boundary between black and white has been

crossed. The mulatto figure became a symbol of fascination because of their exoticness which

became appealing to African American novelists. Bently furthers her argument by arguing that

there is a difference between “mulatto” and “mulatta” characters. “Mulatta” characters function

differently by focusing on their soul apart from their body. She says that violence that happens to

the mulatta figures puts value on their souls and the spiritual realm rather than the body and

physical realm. She uses Clotel’s suicide as an example of this claim. Bently says that since

Clotel ended her physical life this puts emphasis on her soul. It’s not about the death of her
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physical body but about the life of her soul which cannot be killed. However, the mulatto figure

focuses on the body in response to slavery violence. In Hildreth’s novel, the “mulatto” character

fights back against slavery violence. The “mulatto” novels focus on the power of the body and

the power that it can enforce on others.

I agree with Bently’s overall argument that the mulatto/a figure is a symbol of the South’s

guilt and that they were symbols of anxiety. In the novel Clotel, the “mulatta” characters never

quite find a space to call their own. They are either being sold with their black counterparts or are

mistreated in their white relationships. Clotel and the other women in her family can’t find a

place of safety in either communities. Even though it is true that Clotel attacks her body by

killing herself, I don’t buy the argument that this proves that mulatta figure always puts an

emphasis on the soul. Clotel is the only mulatta figure in the text who kills herself. Clotel’s

mother and sister both die from an illness while in slavery. Clotel’s niece dies from a broken

heart because she is unable to escape the institution. Bently supports her “mulatta” claim by

giving one example from Clotel but there are many other female characters that don’t fit her

claim. I think the second part of her argument is underdeveloped.

This paragraph will consist of your explanation of how you plan on using this source in

your research paper. Connect the ideas that you pointed out with your ideas for your topic. This

paragraph should answer why you are choosing this particular article to include in your research

paper.