Clotel · Chapter
Truth Stranger Than Fiction explained
In the summer of 1831, a devastating yellow fever epidemic sweeps through New Orleans, killing thousands including Henry Morton and his wife Althesa.
What happens
In the summer of 1831, a devastating yellow fever epidemic sweeps through New Orleans, killing thousands including Henry Morton and his wife Althesa. After their deaths, Morton's brother James arrives to settle the estate and discovers that Althesa was a slave, making her daughters Ellen and Jane slaves as well. The girls are seized by creditors and sold at auction. Ellen, sold to an old man as a housekeeper, commits suicide by poison. Jane, sold to a profligate young man, is imprisoned in his remote mansion. Her lover Volney Lapuc attempts to rescue her with a rope ladder but is shot dead by the master. Jane dies of a broken heart shortly thereafter.
Themes in this chapter
Family Destruction Under Slavery
The Morton family is torn apart by slavery: Althesa's hidden status leads to her daughters being sold and dying tragically, illustrating how slavery destroys families.
Sexual Exploitation and Racial Passing
Ellen and Jane, who appear white and are the granddaughters of Thomas Jefferson, are sold at high prices for sexual exploitation; Jane is imprisoned and pressured to yield to her master.
Dehumanization and Commodification
The girls are treated as property, sold at auction like cattle, and their value is increased by their lineage; Ellen's suicide and Jane's death highlight the dehumanizing effects of slavery.
Characters to notice
- Althesa
Dies of yellow fever alongside her husband Henry Morton; her status as a slave is revealed after her death, leading to her daughters being enslaved.
- Henry Morton
Dies of yellow fever; his brother discovers that his marriage to Althesa was not legally recognized and that his daughters are slaves.
- Volney Lapuc
Jane's lover; attempts to rescue her with a rope ladder but is shot and killed by the planter.
- Mr. Carlton
James Morton, brother of Henry, arrives in New Orleans to settle the estate and is horrified to learn his nieces are slaves; he tries to save them but fails.
Key passages
“The disorder spread alarm and confusion throughout the city. On an average, more than 400 died daily.”
The epidemic caused panic, with over 400 people dying each day.
Describes the severity of the yellow fever outbreak in New Orleans.
“By the laws of all the Southern States the children follow the condition of the mother. If the mother is free the children are free; if a slave, they are slaves.”
Southern laws dictated that a child's status as free or enslaved was determined by the mother's status.
Explains the legal principle that made Ellen and Jane slaves despite their white appearance.
“Here were two of the softer sex, accustomed to the fondest indulgence, surrounded by all the refinements of life, and with all the timidity that such a life could produce, bartered away like cattle in Smithfield market.”
These two refined young women, raised in comfort, were sold like livestock at a market.
Highlights the brutal commodification of the sisters at auction.