The character of the Creole woman-the descendant of settlers or slaves brought up on the colonial frontier-is a familiar one in nineteenth-century French, British, and American literature. In Creole Crossings, Carolyn Vellenga Berman examines the use of this recurring figure in such canonical novels as Jane Eyre, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Indiana, as well as in the antislavery discourse of the period. "Creole" in its etymological sense means "brought up domestically," and Berman shows how the campaign to reform slavery in the colonies converged with literary depictions of family life.

Illuminating a literary genealogy that crosses political, familial, and linguistic lines, Creole Crossings reveals how racial, sexual, and moral boundaries continually shifted as the century's writers reflected on the realities of slavery, empire, and the home front. Berman offers compelling readings of the "domestic fiction" of Honore de Balzac, Charlotte Bronte, Maria Edgeworth, Harriet Jacobs, George Sand, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and others, alongside travel narratives, parliamentary reports, medical texts, journalism, and encyclopedias. Focusing on a neglected social classification in both fiction and nonfiction, Creole Crossings establishes the crucial importance of the Creole character as a marker of sexual norms and national belonging.

About the Author

Carolyn Vellenga Berman teaches in the Department of Humanities at The New School, a university in New York City.

Reviews
"Creole Crossings makes a significant contribution to several fields, ranging from studies in the novel to transatlantic studies. Carolyn Vellenga Berman asserts that so-called public issues of race and slavery permeate eighteenth- and nineteenth-century French, British, and American domestic fiction. She illustrates her point by analyzing the ways in which the Creole woman born in the 'periphery' troubles plots conceived at the 'center.' The argument is compelling, the writing clear and elegant. Creole Crossings is a pleasure to read." -- Carla L. Peterson, University of Maryland



Book Information
ISBN 9780801443848
Author Carolyn Vellenga Berman
Format Hardback
Page Count 254
Imprint Cornell University Press
Publisher Cornell University Press
Weight(grams) 907g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 25mm