If there are three dates, the first date is the date of the original At the Plantation Terrebonne in Louisiana, Dido and Minnie chat about the arrival of George, and the passing of his uncle, their previous master. I feel like it has interesting connections to "Lady Audley's Secret," though. Dora then reappears and bids on Zoe she has sold her own plantation in order to rescue Terrebonne. They are all distraught and she cries over her fate, as that means she could be sold to someone else at the slave auction. The title of the play refers to a character named Zoe. Tags. This role is played by Matthew Hancock, who while delivering a sprawling monologue, applies whiteface in preparation of taking on the roles of both George and MClosky. The account starts with Louisa's birth in Columbia, South Carolina. In an act of desperation she drinks a vial of poison, and Scudder enters to deliver the good news that McClosky was proven guilty of murdering Paul and that Terrebonne now belongs to George. Zoe also uses the same term unlike in the . With the judges death, Zoe loses his protection, and her situation becomes precarious. Jacobs-Jenkins developed his take on The Octoroon while he was a Dorothy Strelsin Fellow at Soho Rep in the 2009/10 season. George goes to Dora and begins to propose to her; while he is doing so, however, he has a change of heart and decides not to lie to her. 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. [21] The limited season at Peet's Theatre is ran from June 23 to July 29, 2017. one-eighth African American), and how these . Log in here. 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. For refusing to sleep with Cook, however, she was whipped constantly. The Octoroon or The Lily of Louisiana is a dark tale of crime, race and slavery. Take a look at our library of free monologues . Learning that the owner would free Ramsey for one thousand dollars, "she resolved to make the attempt at all hazards," which included "saving every penny she could" and "soliciting money" abroad (p. 36). When Mattison was twenty three, he experienced a profound conversion and shortly after felt called by God to the ministry. Those who could move beyond Bells sentimental conception of the tragic mulatto might have contemplated the wider implications of this degree of miscegenation within the dominant social structures of the time. Set on the fictional Terrebonne Plantation in Louisiana, The Octoroon depicts life in the American South with honesty and empathy. Also, he emphasizes that the defining point of this "whole narrative is the deep moral corruption which it reveals in the families concerned, resulting from the institution of slavery" (p. 50). If there is a The Octoroon SparkNotes, Shmoop guide, or Cliff Notes, you can find a link to each study guide below. An Octoroon, the play that drew us together, is a tricky work to pull off under optimal conditions, and I worried how this postmodern riff on Dion Boucicaults musty The Octoroon would fare under the moonlight, amid the blare of car mufflers and police helicopters. This money was enough to transport her and her family the way to Cincinnati. Later, Mattison returned to the Methodist Episcopal Church in Jersey City and remained with the congregation until his death on November 24th, 1868. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, An Octoroon (New York: Onstage Press, 2014), 121. She explains that she felt that because she was committing adultery, she'd "have to die and be lost" (p. 22). The auction begins and MClosky aggressively bids on Zoe, winning her. When Boucicaults play premiered at New Yorks Winter Garden Theatre in 1859, it was a controversial hit, angering both pro- and anti-slavery factions. A stereo photograph of the original allowed even those of modest means to view it with a convincing illusion of depth. The owner, Mr. Peyton, has died and left a mountain of debts and liens against the property, and this is making it problematic for his wife and daughter. The Octoroon The Octoroon Play Writers: Dion Boucicault Monologues Sorry! Chapter-by-chapter summaries and multiple sections of expert analysis, The ultimate resource for assignments, engaging lessons, and lively book discussions. The Octoroon was a controversial play when it debuted, given its focus on slavery when the pre-Civil War United States was engaged in a heated debate over the institution. Text for each Image of the Week is written by Sheldon Cheek. Female. It is an adaptation of Dion Boucicault's The Octoroon, which premiered in 1859. 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. Between his knavery (according to Scudder) and Scudders own folly, the rest of the plantation is likely to be sold off to cover debts. Johnson openly acknowledged these children and provided the girls with a superior education and marriage to prominent white men. Witnesses offer conflicting accounts, Mars Voltas lead singer broke with Scientology and reunited with the band. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Pete sends Paul to go find a letter that would promise enough money to save Terrebonne. Salem Scudder, a northerner who has been serving as the plantation's overseer, bears some responsibility for the poor state of affairs at Terrebonne. publication in traditional print. Act II begins with Scudder showing off his camera, when Pete, an older slave, enters to say the estate has officially been put up for sale. Note: When citing an online source, it is important to include all necessary dates. George and Zoe reveal their love for each other, but Zoe rejects George's marriage proposal. Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists. 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. By 1863, the London Art Journal reported that Bells statue was well under way, though its formal exhibition took place only several years later, in 1868. The Octoroon Dion Boucicault 36-page comprehensive study guide Chapter-by-chapter summaries and multiple sections of expert analysis The ultimate resource for assignments, engaging lessons, and lively book discussions Access Full Guide Download Save The Octoroon Themes Racial Identification and Discrimination Dissatisfied with ongoing Methodist support for slavery, on November 1st of 1861 Mattison formally withdrew from the church and became a pastor of St. John's independent Methodist church. Here Mattison asks what her feelings were living with Williams in sin and Picquet discusses her distress. Mr. Peyton is dead and his widow, Mrs. Peyton, and their nephew, George Peyton, are left to try to salvage the estate from all of the debts and liens against the property. Enfolded in the mortgage melodrama of a Louisiana plantation is a love story involving George, the young romantic heir of the estate, and the illegitimate daughter of the dead patriarch, Zoe, who was raised at Terrebonne as part of the family. The Octoroon is appropriately considered a sensation drama, though it received the label retrospectively. Summaries. 1 May 2023
