The Woman of Colour: A Tale

What does The Woman of Colour suggest about the institution of marriage? Use the married couples that appear throughout the novel as textual evidence.

How does the novel represent city life and rural life? Choose specific locations in the text to compare and contrast the ways those locations are depicted.

In an imaginative essay, write a letter from the perspective of a character other than Olivia, Letitia, or Augustus. Using evidence from the text, imagine how that character would describe the events that take place in the narrative.

Choose one important geographical location in the novel and analyze the relationship between that location and the characters who inhabit it.

The novel is full of paired characters, or characters whose personalities are revealed primarily because of their dynamic with another character. Choose one pair or set of characters and write an essay analyzing their roles in the narrative. Look closely at how the text uses them to develop each other.

Choose one character and explore how they change over the course of the novel. Consider the specific events, interactions, and beliefs that lead to those changes.

Olivia talks frequently about fate, although she often Christianizes it by thinking of it as divine providence. What role does fate play in Olivia’s personal development?

Analyze the meta-narrative elements of the text (instances in which the text references its own constructed nature). For example, look at moments in which Olivia refers to the process of writing letters, or examine the role of the unnamed editor and their interjections into Olivia’s letters. What effect do you think these moments have on the novel as a whole?