Olivia as the Middle (Wo)Man

In The Woman of Colour, we see through Olivia that even more of the limitations that were put on women, especially women who were not of the European middle to upper classes. She says on the very first page, "The illegitimate offspring of his slave could never be considered in the light of equality by the English planters" (53). However, because Olivia is in a strange place socially, she is better able to discuss the prejudice that black people face in a white community that ostracizes them. She recognizes the social inequality, as she is treated worse because of her situation as half black and half white, but is in a unique place because of this to be able to gain empathy. She is of a lower social class, but is exposed to the upper class because of her father.

Olivia has a great understanding of her odd position, and uses that to make people see her as more of a person, and less as property. This comes about when she is talking to Mr. Honeywood, when he says, "You will shame our English ladies - or rather, you are going where your virtues will not be known or appreciated!" to which she wittily responds, "Does Mr. Honeywood imagine that he only has discernment to discover those great and extraordinary virtues that I possess?" (65). Honeywood is essentially saying to Olivia that he has found a diamond in the rough when it comes to her, but that no Englishwoman will acknowledge this. She, however, says that virtue is not only visible to him, and that she will not only make an impression on him, but everyone, simply because of her skin tone.

Olivia, then, begins to serve as the person that incites empathy to her situation. Olivia is well spoken, beautiful, and quick, and regardless of the fact that she is black and thought unable to, she is still behaves like the woman of the upper class would. Even critical Augustus aligns herself with her emotions, saying, "I feel for her situation and pity her, - a stranger in a strange country, where she is more likely to receive contumely than consideration; at the next, I see in her a superior being; and again I behold the child of humanity, the citizen of the world, with  a heart teeming with benevolence and mercy toward every living creature!" (102-103). He is almost surprised by her heart, and feels pity that she will be treated poorly simply because of her skin color. This is interesting, because it wasn't necessarily in line with the upper class thoughts on slavery.

Because of her unique situation, she gets both extreme ends of the social spectrum. She is born of a slave, which is the lowest of the low, sadly. However, she is also born to a higher class man, and interacts with people of that class despite her mother's lower social class. Because of her beauty and wit, she is admired, but in a way that people admired animals in a zoo, as a marvel instead of an upstanding citizen. Throughout the letters, Olivia straddles the line of these two classes, and because of this, we as the readers are better able to empathize with her situation, and understand that perhaps it isn't your social class that defines virtue, but rather the opposite.

This article explains what was going on in the 17th and 18th centuries with European slavery, so we can better understand the position of slavery in English society.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is Olivia's social position, and what effect does that have on her reputation, or how people perceive her?

2. How does this unique position between two majorly different social structures allow the character of Olivia to shed light on bigger social injustices?