the octoroon summary
It is an adaptation of Dion Boucicault's The Octoroon, which premiered in 1859. The most overt of this is Zoes status as an Octoroon, a person who is one-eighth black. Abolitionist John Brown was hanged just three days before the play's debut, which is seen as one of the catalyst events that started the Civil War. Suspense the melodramatists best friend is sent up even as its savored. The Octoroon; or, Life in Louisiana by Dion Boucicault premiered in New York City on December 6, 1859. Boucicault), transforms himself into the Native American character Wahnotee by smearing his face with red makeup. You're no negro" (p.43). The drama tells the moving story of Zoe, the mixed-race daughter of a rich Southern judge and plantation owner by his black paramour. The Octoroon is a play by Dion Boucicault that opened in 1859 at The Winter Garden Theatre, New York City. With the judge's death, Zoe loses his protection, and her. Being considered one-eighth black, she is called an "octoroon." I wondered if I might be moved to tears at my return to the theater, but instead I felt grateful and relieved that human ingenuity wasnt thwarted by a virus. The Octoroon or, Life in Louisiana; A Play in Five acts Author: Dion Boucicault Release Date: June 24, 2014 [EBook #46091] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE OCTOROON *** Produced by Roger Burch, from scans obtained from the Internet Archive THE . MClosky asks Scudder to help him, but he instead simply gives him his bowie knife and leaves him to his own defenses. Picquet recalls that slaves were stripped of their clothes to be appraised and then sold to the highest bidder. [21] The limited season at Peet's Theatre is ran from June 23 to July 29, 2017. The most striking characterization is by Pam Trotter, who as Minnie, one of the enslaved workers at the house, seizes every moment of her stage time. Three years later, in 1850, Louisa married Henry Picquet. Minnies hilarious advice to Dido: I know we slaves and evurthang, but you are not your job captures both the madness of slavery and the stupefying cruelty. Those qualifications have much to offer, but what An Octoroon needs is an auteur whos alert to the way the tempo and visual composition of a scene can shape its meaning. The buyers gather to take away the slaves they have purchased on a steamship. The men accuse Wahnotee of the murder, and McClosky calls for him to be lynched. Join StageAgent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. She was born to a slave, but her father, Randolph, was a free man and her master. New York, NY, Escape To Margaritaville George photographs Dora with his camera while she and Zoe plot to make George marry her. Then Playwright and Assistant put on redface and blackface paint. Zoe also uses the same term unlike in the . Scudder and Pete enter to tell the group of MCloskys guilt when MClosky enters and is quickly rushed on by Wahnotee. The Reverend Hiram Mattison (1811-1868) was born on February 8, 1811, in Norway, Herkimer County, New York. [12], An Octoroon premiered Off-Broadway at Soho Rep on April 23, 2014 and closed on June 8. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, An Octoroon (New York: Onstage Press, 2014), 121. The Octoroon who is hiding in some bushes nearby, sacrifices her chances of freedom by leaping into the water and rescuing the young girl. They are all distraught and she cries over her fate, as that means she could be sold to someone else at the slave auction. Shakespeare in the Woods 2023 Season When George asks why, Zoe explains that she is an octoroon, and the law prevents a white man from marrying anyone with the smallest black heritage. The word Octoroon signifies "one-eighth blood" or the child of a Quadroon by a white. 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. BJJ clarifies that in the time of the play, a photograph was a novel/innovative/contemporary way for the plot to be resolved. 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. The Octoroon The Octoroon Play Writers: Dion Boucicault Monologues Sorry! Zoe is then put up for sale during the slave auction, and despite bids from George, Mr. Sunnyside, and Doraand George pulling a knifeMClosky buys her for $25,000. In race-conscious societies, the prospect of racial mixture could threaten the precarious stability of the dominant order. Zoe calls Dido Mammy, and she puts on a mammy character as they argue. After some time, they had two more children named Sarah and Thomas. THE OCTOROON 1 Hail! Join StageAgent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance 'An Octoroon': Intellectual rollercoaster ride of a play about race in 2 Come with Act V begins in the slave quarters, where Zoe approaches one slave woman, Dido, to ask for a liquid to use for curing fevers. Sign up today to unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Paulwith the mailbagsstops to take a photo of himself with Georges camera. Dora, oblivious to George's lack of affection for her, enlists Zoe's help to win him over. Works Consulted: Barthelemy, Anthony G., ed. Sara Krulwich/The New York Times. The Octoroon Analysis - eNotes.com A photograph of a real murdered human contrasts with the original play's use of a photograph for justice.[4]. Despite being physically separated, Picquet explains, "I often thought her prayers followed me, for I never could forget her" (p. 18). Note: When citing an online source, it is important to include all necessary dates. An extremely beautiful young slave girl, who is treated like a member of the family, Zoe is kind, generous, and adored by every man who lays eyes on her. Dora falls in love with George, but George loves Zoe. However, we have dozens of other scenes that you can read. This page is not available in other languages. The position of the octoroon along the edge of this fragile divide afforded some degree of maneuverability, often termed passing. Before the abolition of slavery, however, such light-skinned mulattoes faced the even more likely prospect of a life in bondage. After a strong start, the production loses its way rhythmically as the plot of The Octoroon is jauntily sketched. The conflict centers around Zoe, the Octoroon, a term used at the time to describe a person who was 1/8 African, 7/8 Caucasian. At the Plantation Terrebonne in Louisiana, Dido and Minnie chat about the arrival of George, and the passing of his uncle, their previous master. Jacobs-Jenkins knows Boucicaults play cant be redeemed, but he challenges us to see whats there. Role Size. It contains elements of Romanticism and melodrama. An Octoroon (Play) Plot & Characters | StageAgent That, however,. Charles McNulty is the theater critic of the Los Angeles Times. The Writer, an African American, stepped into the drama playing the roles of both its male white protagonist and antagonist. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. As such, among many other things, it provides a dramatization of and peek at the plantation pecking order in . 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. Eventually, Zoe takes the poison and runs off. In 1850, Mattison became a Professor of Astronomy at Falley Seminary in 1850. Mattison resumed pastoral work in Watertown, New York in 1842 and then in Rome, New York in 1844. George and Zoe reveal their love for each other, but Zoe rejects George's marriage proposal. Though she remained enslaved and unmarried, Julia bore him two daughters. Sign up today to unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. During the early decades of the 19th century, she maintained an enduring liaison with the Kentucky politician Richard Mentor Johnson. MClosky steals the letter, leaving before Wahnotee finds Pauls dead body and smashes the camera to pieces in grief. 8.) The second date is today's Besides race, what are some representations of slaves and slavery that are not complicity with the dominant ideology of this time? The narrative begins with a description of Piquet's physical appearance as a passable mulatto to emphasize that despite "at first view, [looking like] an accomplished white lady," she was denied of any rights or liberty given to white women because of her African ancestry (p. 5). All Picquet wanted was to "get religion" (p. 22). The most famous one is her first novel, Lady Audley's Secret 1862 , which won her recognition and fortune as well. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. Lafouche comes to run the auction of the property and announces Zoe will be sold. [2], Jacobs-Jenkins researched Boucicault heavily while working on An Octoroon and found an unfinished essay at the New York Public Library saying that theatre is a place for dramatic illusionthe most believable illusion of sufferingand catharsis. It concerns the residents of a Louisiana plantation called Terrebonne, and sparked debates about the abolition of slavery and the role of theatre in politics. Through Brechtian elements such as direct address, Jacobs-Jenkins explores "the idea that you could feel something and then be aware that youre feeling it". Through the playful lens of theater, An Octoroon invites us to take a good long look at the cultural history of slavery. DORA convinces her father to buy Terrebonne. 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. In fact, the subject seems to have been suggested to Bell by the arrival on the London stage in 1861 of The Octoroon, a highly popular play first produced in New York two years earlier by the widely celebrated playwright Dion Boucicault. Log in here. 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. As the men try to put out the fire, MClosky swims away while Wahnotee follows to get revenge. The Octoroon Summary. The title of the play refers to a character named Zoe. Given its 19th century Southern setting, the play is also filled with numerous examples of racial discrimination beyond the institution of slavery, even by the plays more sympathetic characters. (Check schedule for exceptions.) He received his doctorate in dramaturgy and dramatic criticism from the Yale School of Drama. During this time, she was "accused of being an imposter" and fraud because of her skin color (p. 43) On one particular occasion, some of the gentlemen Picquet inquired upon for donations sternly asked her, "You are a colored women? [18], The play was presented at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia from March 16, 2016 to April 10, 2016, directed by Joanna Settle. "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 doesn't fully comprehend. The group also discusses Zoe, who lives at the estate and is the judges illegitimate child, although Mrs. Peyton loves [her] as if shed been her own child (26). publication online or last modification online. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of The Octoroon by Dion Boucicault. The Octoroon (Play) Scenes | StageAgent Yet when the staging must focus attention on an image encapsulating the evil violence of Americas racist past, a picture is not just found but held for a length of time that makes it impossible to look away. The Octoroon was written by Dion Boucicault and was adapted from the novel The Quadroon by Thomas Mayne Reid. 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. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. To notify all her donors, in 1860, Louisa put a notice in the Daily Gazetter telling of her mother's safe arrival in Cincinnati. Ed. Since this letter would allow Mrs. Peyton to avoid selling Terrebonne, McClosky kills Paul and takes the letter. In 1858, Picquet discovered that her mother was still alive and began corresponding with her and with Horton in regards to buying her Ramsey's freedom. date the date you are citing the material. But white cast members, offended by the unapologetic racism of their nasty slave-owner characters, dropped out. [2] Among antebellum melodramas, it was considered second in popularity only to Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852).[3]. After she takes the liquid, Scudder enters and informs them of MCloskys guilt and the found letter, but it is too lateZoe is dying. The Octoroon quickly garnered popular and critical acclaim. Salem Scudder, a kind Yankee, was Judge Peyton's business partner; though he wishes he could save Terrebonne, he has no money. To settle his debts, the creditors made Cook sell his slaves, so at thirteen, Picquet was separated from her mother, who was sold to Colonel Albert Clinton Horton of Wharton, while Picquet went to New Orleans with Mr. John Williams. After various slaves are auctioned off, George and the buyers are shocked to see Zoe up on the stand. All monologues are property and copyright of their owners. George doesnt know at first that Zoe is an octoroon, meaning shes 1/8th Black, but he refuses to let miscegenation law stand in the way of his hearts desire. Tags. M'CLOSKY shows great interest. [25], Artists Repertory Theatre, located in Portland, Oregon, was to stage An Octoroon from September 3 to October 1, 2017. In order to ask for donations, Picquet travelled across the Northeast. Because of a nefarious plot by Mr. MClosky to buy the plantation out from under its inheritor, Mrs. Peyton, the estate is put up for auction along with all of the slaves, including Zoe. Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. By extension, the work seems to invite the viewer to ponder the very nature of chattel slavery and its implacable determination by race, just as the issue was being so tempestuously decided in the United States. When Dora finds out, she is very angry at them and asks her father to buy the plantation, which he does. This guide details the original Boucicault script and associated productions. Similar classifications were octoroon for one-eighth black (Latin root octo-, means "eight") and quintroon for one-sixteenth black. Paul's best friend, the Indian Wahnotee, discovers Paul's body; he can speak only poor English, however, and is unable to communicate the tragedy to anyone else. Later, her husband Henry served in the Union Army until receiving a medical discharge, leaving Louisa as the household's sole provider. The Octoroon auction scene The plantation and townsfolk attend the auction of Terrebonne and all of its slaves. The aesthetic effect of the figure is essentially theatrical, encouraging the strongly empathetic participation of the viewer with both form and meaning. He has, evidently, sunk quite a bit of money into his inventions, and they have all been giant failures. Brooks' idea is that melodrama is about binaries and opposites, where there is always good and bad with no gray area. Last Updated on June 19, 2019, by eNotes Editorial. 13 According to the formulaic plot that defined the octoroon genre, the enslaved mixed-race beauty was understood to be the product of a sexual relationship between a white male slaveholder and an enslaved woman of African descent. The Octoroon (Play) Plot & Characters | StageAgent Just as the men circle Wahnotee, getting ready to lynch him, Scudder finds that a nearby camera (which Wahnotee had broken, believing that it was a gun that killed Paul) took a picture of Paul and MClosky just as the latter was using a tomahawk to kill the former. This shuffle of identities is insouciantly performed as a minstrel carnival. 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). The Fountains ambition in reopening the theater with this multilayered play must be acknowledged and applauded. He gives it a try but quickly realizes that getting white, male actors of today to play evil slave owners is not an easy task. eNotes.com Note: Dion Boucicaults original play was adapted by Branden Jacob-Jenkins in 2014 into a new play entitled An Octoroon which premiered at Soho Rep. New York, NY, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent 2020. [15] In his review for The New York Times, Ben Brantley called the play this decades most eloquent theatrical statement on race in America today.[16] The production transferred to Theatre for A New Audience's Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn and ran from February 14, 2015 to March 29, 2015. Later, Mattison returned to the Methodist Episcopal Church in Jersey City and remained with the congregation until his death on November 24th, 1868. Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. The Octoroon takes place on the Terrebonne plantation in Louisiana, which is home to Mrs. Peyton, the widow of a judge. Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street. Is the Octoroon a Typical Victorian Melodrama - Phdessay Louisa Picquet, b. The play begins with BJJ, in a black box telling the audience a conversation he and his therapist had, to get him excited about playwriting and to overcome depression. eNotes.com, Inc. Summary In 1828, Louisa Picquet (1828-1896) was born near Columbia, South Carolina to fifteen year old Elizabeth Ramsey, a quadroon slave, and John Randolph, Ramsey's white master, which made her an octoroon, or an individual with one black and seven white grandparents. Although Sunnyside calls Wahnotee a nuisance, Zoe defends him as a gentle, honest creature who loves Paul with the tenderness of a woman (30). Pete is Paul's grandfather. She explains that she felt that because she was committing adultery, she'd "have to die and be lost" (p. 22). 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. Jacobs-Jenkins developed his take on The Octoroon while he was a Dorothy Strelsin Fellow at Soho Rep in the 2009/10 season. Jacobs-Jenkins himself took on the role of Br'er Rabbit and Captain Ratts.[14]. The title of the play refers to a character named Zoe. 1 May 2023Fred Hagen Net Worth, Matt Lafleur Politics, Juanita Titus Obituary 1994, Seagull With Broken Wing Who To Call, Legacy Health Email Login, Articles T