The Woman of Colour: A Tale

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section of the guide refers to enslavement and discusses scenes from the source text that include anti-Black slurs, outdated and offensive terminology, and racist sentiments and language.

Olivia is the novel’s protagonist and the narrator of all but two of its letters. Born and raised in Jamaica, she is the daughter of a Black enslaved woman and a white enslaver father. She is taller than the average woman and has a notably confident gait. Her skin color is the focus of much attention, which indicates that she is readable as a woman of color. Olivia holds both of her late parents in very high regard, almost worshipping them, and in her narration, she takes great pains to point out that despite the nature of their relationship, they loved each other. Olivia is educated and well-read, placing great value on reason, rationality, and the life of the mind. She looks forward to living in England because of the progressive, liberal principles she imagines the English people hold, and she consistently expresses a desire to help people who are less socioeconomically privileged. She despises slavery and hopes to see it ended entirely.

While Olivia seems to appreciate reason over sentiment, she admits to having moments in which her emotions become overpowering.