# IX: The Man of Honour explained — Clotel > Chapter companion for Clotel by William Wells Brown. ## What happens Henry Morton, a young physician from Vermont, boards with James Crawford in New Orleans and falls in love with Althesa, a beautiful white slave girl of fifteen. He purchases her and marries her, and they live happily. Althesa attempts to redeem her mother Currer from Mr. Peck but fails. ## Themes in this chapter ### Sexual Exploitation and Racial Passing Althesa, a white-appearing slave, is purchased and married by Henry Morton, reflecting the intersection of racial passing and romantic exploitation. ### Family Destruction Under Slavery Althesa's attempt to reunite with her mother Currer is thwarted by Mr. Peck's refusal to sell, underscoring the systemic destruction of enslaved families. ## Character check-ins ### Althesa Purchased by James Crawford, then bought and married by Henry Morton; seeks to redeem her mother Currer. ### Henry Morton Young physician from Vermont who purchases Althesa and marries her; refuses to own slaves. ### Mr. Carlton James Crawford, the purchaser of Althesa, from Vermont; initially opposed to slavery but persuaded by his wife. ### Currer Althesa's mother, held by Mr. Peck and not sold despite Althesa's efforts. ### Mr. Peck Refuses to sell Currer, claiming she is a good housekeeper. ## Key lines > My tongue could never learn sweet soothing words, But now thy beauty is propos’d, my fee, My proud heart sues, and prompts my tongue to speak. Shakespeare The speaker admits he is not naturally eloquent, but the beauty of the person addressed inspires him to speak. _Epigraph foreshadowing Morton's love for Althesa._ > The young physician had been in New Orleans but a few weeks, and had seen very little of slavery. In his own mountain home he had been taught that the slaves of the Southern states were negroes, if not from the coast of Africa, the descendants of those who had been imported. He was unprepared to behold with composure a beautiful young white girl of fifteen in the degraded position of a chattel slave. Morton, new to the South, is shocked to see a white-appearing girl enslaved, contradicting his prior beliefs about slaves being Black. _Highlights the theme of racial passing and the arbitrary nature of racial categorization._ > There was but one course left; that was, to purchase the young girl and make her his wife, which he did six months after her arrival in Crawford’s family. The only option Morton saw was to buy Althesa and marry her, which he did half a year later. _Illustrates the limited agency and commodification of enslaved women._ > Dr. Morton soon obtained a large practice in his profession, and with it increased in wealth⁠—but with all his wealth he never would own a slave. Morton became wealthy through his medical practice but refused to own slaves despite his prosperity. _Contrasts Morton's moral stance with the slaveholding society around him._ > An agent was immediately despatched to hunt out the mother and to see if she could be purchased. The agent had no trouble in finding out Mr. Peck: but all overtures were unavailable; he would not sell Currer. Althesa sent an agent to find and buy her mother, but Mr. Peck refused to sell Currer. _Demonstrates the power of slaveholders to deny family reunification._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/clotel_se/chapters/ix-the-man-of-honour - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/clotel_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/clotel_se/chapters