Representing Mixed Race In Jamaica And England From The Abolition Era To The Present (routledge Research In Postcolonial Literatures)

This study considers cultural representations of "brown" people in Jamaica and England alongside the determinations of race by statute from the Abolition era onwards. Through close readings of contemporary fictions and "histories," Salih probes the extent to which colonial ideologies may have been underpinned by what might be called subject-constituting statutes, along with the potential for force and violence which necessarily undergird the law. The author explores the role legal and non-legal discourse plays in disciplining the brown body in pre- and post-Abolition colonial contexts, as well as how are other bodies and identities – e.g. black, white are discursively disciplined. Salih examines whether or not it’s possible to say that non-legal texts such as prose fictions are engaged in this kind of discursive disciplining, and more broadly, looks at what contemporary formulations of "mixed" identity owe to these legal or non-legal discursive formations. This study demonstrates the striking connections between historical and contemporary discourses of race and brownness and argues for a shift in the ways we think about, represent and discuss "mixed race" people. Arts, Language & Literature Book Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 8 Figures 10 1 Introduction: The Mulatto in Law and Literature 12 2 Pre-Emancipation Stories of Race: Marly and The Woman of Colour 54 3 Legitimacy, Illegitimacy and Citizenship in the Nineteenth Century: Dinah Craik’s Olive and Richard Hill’s Lights and Shadows 94 4 Mulattos in the Contact Zone: Mary Seacole and Ozias Midwinter 132 Coda: Modern Mulattos: Mona Lisa and The Crying Game 175 Notes 186 Bibliography 202 Index 210 This book examines the representation of 'mixed race' female identities in colonial and postcolonial societies, from the 18th century onwards. It demonstrates the striking connections between historical and contemporary discourses of race and argues for a shift in the ways we think about, represent and discuss 'mixed race' people