65 pages • 2 hours read
Ed. Lyndon J. Dominique, AnonymousA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Content Warning: This section of the guide refers to enslavement and discusses scenes from the source text that include anti-Black slurs, outdated and offensive terminology, and racist sentiments and language.
“I say our, for though the jet has been faded to the olive in my own complexion, yet I am not ashamed to acknowledge my affinity with the swarthiest negro that was ever brought from God’s coast.”
By reflecting on her feelings about her own race and the race of those around her, Olivia demonstrates that she is conscious of race politics and that she does not feel any shame about being a person of color.
“An unportioned girl of my colour, can never be a dangerous object; but in the habits of intimacy which our present situation naturally produces, confidence usurps the place of common-place politeness, and I insensibly talk to Honeywood as I should do to a brother.”
Olivia continues to think about her own social presence as a woman of color, specifically in the context of her relationships with men. This quote also highlights the way relationships and interactions change according to geographical location: In this case, because Olivia and Charles are in the middle of a long ocean voyage, they are able to develop a unique kind of platonic emotional intimacy.
“Mrs. Milbanke, I do not wish to be uncharitable or harsh in my judgement; but did we not every day see matches made in Jamaica, for which gold was the only inducement?”
Here, Olivia openly acknowledges that problems can arise for couples whose marriages exist primarily as financial partnerships and foreshadows potential issues she and Augustus may experience if they end up marrying. This quote also points out that life for wealthy West Indians is not that different from life for wealthy Brits.
By these authors
Arabian Nights
Anonymous
Arden of Faversham
Anonymous
A Woman in Berlin
Anonymous
Bible (New Testament): English Standard Version
Anonymous
Bible: Old Testament: English Standard Version
Anonymous
Deuteronomy
Anonymous
Diary of an Oxygen Thief
Anonymous
Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep
Anonymous
Everyman
Anonymous
Hebrew Bible
Anonymous
Holy Bible
Anonymous
Homeric Hymns
Anonymous
Judith
Anonymous
Laxdaela Saga
Anonymous
Lazarillo De Tormes
Anonymous
Mahabharata
Anonymous
Nibelungenlied
Anonymous
Njals Saga
Anonymous
One Thousand and One Nights
Anonymous
Popol Vuh
Anonymous
Black History Month Reads
View Collection
Books that Feature the Theme of...
View Collection
British Literature
View Collection
Colonialism & Postcolonialism
View Collection
Colonialism Unit
View Collection
Equality
View Collection
Fate
View Collection
Historical Fiction
View Collection
Marriage
View Collection
Valentine's Day Reads: The Theme of Love
View Collection