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Rachel: A Play in Three Acts
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!
85 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1920
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About the author
Angelina Weld Grimké
36 books32 followersAmerican journalist, teacher, playwright and poet who came to prominence during the Harlem Renaissance. She was one of the first women of color to have a play publicly performed.
Not to be confused with her great-aunt Angelina Emily Grimké, an abolitionist author.
Not to be confused with her great-aunt Angelina Emily Grimké, an abolitionist author.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
February 7, 2017
I was introduced to this play during my research on a piece on women writers in 1916, and I'm glad to have read it. Rachel (also titled Blessed are the Barren) is by turns charming and heartbreaking; though it is over a century old, it will have relevance as long as this country has racism (so, probably forever).
Rachel Loving is a funny and spirited seventeen-year-old girl at the beginning of the story, distinguished by her love for children and her ambition to be a mother. She lives with her brother and mother in a cozy urban apartment described in painterly detail by Grimke, who spends a great deal of time on stage direction and setting but little on costume or the intended appearance of the actors beyond their race. Rachel plays with children in her apartment building, teases her brother, helps her mother, and flirts with a client. These interactions did show some the age of the play - some of her dialogue with her brother was clearly meant to come across as endearing and innocent, but reads differently after watching Game of Thrones. And her much older suitor was era-appropriate but would not pass muster on reddit relationships today.
Soon into the first act, her mother changes her life and her outlook forever by revealing forgotten horrors of her young childhood. Mrs. Loving gives a gripping soliloquy that I didn't anticipate even though I knew it was the subject of the play. From that point forth, the play moves into a dissection of the myriad impacts of racism on their day-to-day lives. Grimke does not focus singularly on the most violent and horrifying expressions of racism. Instead, she uses each of the characters - their ambitions, their work, their love for each other - to explore the web of white supremacy, in which no injustice is isolated from another. The trauma of each violent strand creates a net that holds the characters back from where they want to go and what they want to do.
Given the age of the material and the seriousness of the subject, I was surprised at how accessible I found this play to be. Rachel especially is a compelling character whose plight was thoroughly sympathetic, and the action of the play was engaging and memorable. The play is not flawless - my five stars are rounding up - and it's certainly not an uplifting read. But it is a worthwhile dramatic exploration of racism, motherhood, and mental illness that holds great value. I recommend that my friends interested in history and resisting racism read Rachel here.
Rachel Loving is a funny and spirited seventeen-year-old girl at the beginning of the story, distinguished by her love for children and her ambition to be a mother. She lives with her brother and mother in a cozy urban apartment described in painterly detail by Grimke, who spends a great deal of time on stage direction and setting but little on costume or the intended appearance of the actors beyond their race. Rachel plays with children in her apartment building, teases her brother, helps her mother, and flirts with a client. These interactions did show some the age of the play - some of her dialogue with her brother was clearly meant to come across as endearing and innocent, but reads differently after watching Game of Thrones. And her much older suitor was era-appropriate but would not pass muster on reddit relationships today.
Soon into the first act, her mother changes her life and her outlook forever by revealing forgotten horrors of her young childhood. Mrs. Loving gives a gripping soliloquy that I didn't anticipate even though I knew it was the subject of the play. From that point forth, the play moves into a dissection of the myriad impacts of racism on their day-to-day lives. Grimke does not focus singularly on the most violent and horrifying expressions of racism. Instead, she uses each of the characters - their ambitions, their work, their love for each other - to explore the web of white supremacy, in which no injustice is isolated from another. The trauma of each violent strand creates a net that holds the characters back from where they want to go and what they want to do.
Given the age of the material and the seriousness of the subject, I was surprised at how accessible I found this play to be. Rachel especially is a compelling character whose plight was thoroughly sympathetic, and the action of the play was engaging and memorable. The play is not flawless - my five stars are rounding up - and it's certainly not an uplifting read. But it is a worthwhile dramatic exploration of racism, motherhood, and mental illness that holds great value. I recommend that my friends interested in history and resisting racism read Rachel here.
February 14, 2017
Never has a play torn me up so much as this one did.
October 27, 2022
It’s in the beginning of the twentieth century that this play starts.
The first public show produced, directed, and acted by African Americans.
The story revolves around Rachel, a young black woman in a hostile white person's world.
It bespeaks feminism and women’s rights but, in the end, it is about the racism of that era.
It’s an unctuous and over-the-top drama, but one must applaud the effort and courage of this writer in those uncertain times.
The first public show produced, directed, and acted by African Americans.
The story revolves around Rachel, a young black woman in a hostile white person's world.
It bespeaks feminism and women’s rights but, in the end, it is about the racism of that era.
It’s an unctuous and over-the-top drama, but one must applaud the effort and courage of this writer in those uncertain times.
September 13, 2025
“Rachel” is not a play that is necessarily known for its great technical skill or is even regarded as a great play. Rather its importance lies within its construction by Grimké, Du Bois, and the NAACP as a propaganda play. The play was meant to reject prominent white supremacist narratives that were reinforced/supported by D.W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation” film at the time. The technique of the NAACP and Grimké was to counter white supremacist propaganda featured in the film with their own propaganda through the form of a play, which sought to present different narratives about black people to a specifically white audience. “Rachel” directly counters the narrative that the black female body is hypersexual and promiscuous, for instance, by presenting Rachel Loving as a fundamentally pure character. She expresses no sense of sexual maturity or any sort of sexual desire in general, reducing her to an infantilized individual that the intended white Christian female audience could resonate with and perhaps pity. Since the intended audience was white Christian women, Grimké and the NAACP took special care to ensure that Rachel, Tom and John Strong were presented as pure, non-threatening individuals, since the audience would’ve been looking for characters that feed into current narratives about black sexuality, black men, etc. Tom and John Strong are meant to counter the dangerous narrative that black men are overly sexual, aggressive, dangerous, etc. by showing their characters as fundamentally hardworking men who want to provide for the women in their lives (for Tom, for his mother and sister; for John, for Rachel, who he loves). Tom is frustrated at the oppression they face as black people, but his frustration is limited to his words; Grimké seems to purposefully avoid any character really showing any sort of anger towards anti-black racism to ensure the audience saw them as fundamentally non-threatening. Even the setting and scene design is intention. Grimké includes Angel-like and heaven-esq paintings that are part of the Western artistic canon; presenting images of white figures that are divine, familiar, and comforting to the white female audience. But one painting shows black women working in a field and is meant to signal to the audience that this family values hard work and engages in it in their lives. It’s worth noting “Rachel” is the first play written by a black woman that was performed by an all-black cast for an all-white, mainstream audience. It is also the first play to explicitly protest against racial violence and lynchings, which were at an all time high when “Rachel” was written. However, Grimké was widely criticized at the time by fellow black writers and intellectuals. They debated on the nature of black art or black drama/theatre, what made something “black art,” who it should be for, and how it should be used. One of the major points of contention around “Rachel” was that because it catered to a white audience, it operated within the confines of the white perception of black people, rather than a play that truly spoke to and represented the real lived experiences of black people and black culture. This is clear if you consider Rachel Loving, who instead of being depicted as a grown woman with her own desires and needs, she is infantilized to avoid the entire association between a black female body and a hypersexual persona. It’s important to keep in mind what the NAACP and Grimké wanted to do with the play (counter white supremacist propaganda with their own form of propaganda) but it’s also worth considering what her black contemporaries thought of her play and what role black art should serve in society.
November 15, 2024
Er is toch iets met de aantrekkingskracht die melancholische vrouwen op een podium hebben.
March 19, 2013
I read this for a Civil Rights class, and although it's hard to put yourself into that place in time, the reality of Rachel's feelings are hard to ignore. I'm sure it would be a very moving play to see acted out; I'll have to look for a video. Reading this after Southern Horrors and The Red Record (both Ida B Wells) makes the characters and story very believable. Though only 3 acts long, the message speaks volumes.
October 14, 2024
Es una lectura que sin saber todo lo que padeció la comunidad negra en EEUU a consecuencia de la esclavización y tras Guerra Civil, con las Jim Crow laws, segregacionistas, racistas, que legalizaron los linchamientos a "criminales" (en realidad, personas negras; se fundo el kkk tb), se anunciaban en periódicos, iba la gente blanca a aplaudir, sin hacerse idea del terror, la miseria, la desesperanza, el sufrimiento... no se entendería. El sentimiento de muchas artistas respecto a gestar y traer a ese mundo a peques era de no querer condernarles a ese infierno de vida. Hoy escuchamos en video a niñas gazaties diciendo k preferirían morir ya para no seguir viviendo el horror k están viviendo. Pues todo esto tiene k ver. En la obra, no obstante, lo k leen kienes no saben, es k Rachel se vuelve loca sola. En fin. Puro y viejo patriarcado de violencia prevalencia, racista y misogino
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January 29, 2024*remember the cultural context remember the cultural context*
This is such a subversion of the morality play
This is such a subversion of the morality play
February 6, 2017
Though living in poverty, Rachel and her mother have a Loving relationship and an enviable bond. Rachel desires nothing more than to have children of her own someday, but the oppressive divisions in society disrupt her mother's happiness, and eventually her own. How is it that invisible forces can tear a dream from a young woman and leave her forever empty? While Grimke's writing seems PollyAnnish, this helps create a dichotomy of the inner world of Rachel and her family in contrast to the devastating environment that surrounds them. The short play is a quick read that still resonates with today's society.
April 4, 2019
Rachel is one of the more affecting plays I've read recently. There are many things I want to write about this play, but for now, I suggest reading it and paying close attention to Grimké's use of children as both a dramatic device and a thematic preoccupation because it is astounding. Furthermore, consider the radicality of Rachel's declaration at the end of Act II and again when she echoes it at the end of play.
January 3, 2018
The pain of seeing souls embodied and brought forth into the world. Then, the tragedy of seeing innocent souls suffer as their bodies are wracked with hurt and hardship by the world they never asked to be brought into.
It's a play about the tragedy of parents and children, the suffering they must endure for reasons beyond vocalization. It's all too much to talk about.
It's a play about the tragedy of parents and children, the suffering they must endure for reasons beyond vocalization. It's all too much to talk about.
February 2, 2015
Please read this play. It's short but leaves you heartbroken.
March 19, 2022
Holy shit
May 27, 2020
Fantastic anti-lynching play.
February 17, 2021
CONTENT WARNING: racial slurs, description of lynching, descriptions of violence/brutality, descriptions of severe bullying, talk of death/mercy killing.
I read this play for my American Theater & Drama class. I read it all in one sitting because I knew if I stopped halfway I may not be able to finish it. The characters really drive this story and their struggles through the years make it all the more heartbreaking. This is unlike the melodramas we were originally reading for class as it is not about the spectacle but about how the characters grow and experience life.
The focus on how Black children are forced to grow up fast and understand that there is no way for them to pursue their dreams in a rigged system is heartbreaking. The play has a steady progression of life for Rachel and her family, it doesn't beat you over the head with its message, but the message is still the forefront of the story. The way that Rachel and her brother see examples of adults in their life trying their best to make it in the world and struggling makes their transition from childhood to being adults upsetting. It feels like there is hope and life in the first act, but the more you read and see how life-altering moments affect Rachel and her family that slowly goes away. There are moments of levity and beauty in the story that breathe depth into the characters, which makes the reality of being Black and living in America all the more tragic and real.
In summary there is no way to read this play and not be emotionally affected by it.
I read this play for my American Theater & Drama class. I read it all in one sitting because I knew if I stopped halfway I may not be able to finish it. The characters really drive this story and their struggles through the years make it all the more heartbreaking. This is unlike the melodramas we were originally reading for class as it is not about the spectacle but about how the characters grow and experience life.
The focus on how Black children are forced to grow up fast and understand that there is no way for them to pursue their dreams in a rigged system is heartbreaking. The play has a steady progression of life for Rachel and her family, it doesn't beat you over the head with its message, but the message is still the forefront of the story. The way that Rachel and her brother see examples of adults in their life trying their best to make it in the world and struggling makes their transition from childhood to being adults upsetting. It feels like there is hope and life in the first act, but the more you read and see how life-altering moments affect Rachel and her family that slowly goes away. There are moments of levity and beauty in the story that breathe depth into the characters, which makes the reality of being Black and living in America all the more tragic and real.
In summary there is no way to read this play and not be emotionally affected by it.
January 29, 2021
I read this for the first week of a grad course in African American Drama. It was paired with Georgia Johnson's, "A Sunday Morning in the South" and Willis Richardson's "The Broken Banjo." All three plays were written and set in the 1920's. The other two (shorter) plays are set in the American south and depict black men caught up in what passed for the justice system at the time--Sunday Morning ends in the lynching of an innocent man and Broken Banjo involves black men using the police as a weapon against one another. Having read those two plays first, I entered this one braced for tragedy.
Rachel is set in the north and deals with a somewhat different perspective on the (obviously still oppressive) racism of the times. The violence of the south is mentioned (as memory) but the depiction of oppression in the north is just as vibrant and heartbreaking. Rachel's maternal benevolence and the almost saccharine portrayal of family life serve to underscore the devastation of living in a society that refuses to allow you to be whole. It was quite troubling and moving.
Rachel is set in the north and deals with a somewhat different perspective on the (obviously still oppressive) racism of the times. The violence of the south is mentioned (as memory) but the depiction of oppression in the north is just as vibrant and heartbreaking. Rachel's maternal benevolence and the almost saccharine portrayal of family life serve to underscore the devastation of living in a society that refuses to allow you to be whole. It was quite troubling and moving.
February 14, 2024
very interesting read as a childfree Black Afab
It was really good. As all books about racism and sexism…it still holds true. Rachel grappled with the harsh realities of teaching Black students (as I also do) and the reality of patriarchal expectations of marriage and motherhood. The racial climate in the. US was not designed for raising happy Black children then or now. I felt that. The patriarchal expectations of society also make motherhood undesirable. I’d be remissrd if I didn’t acknowledge her struggles with mental health because of her role in society.
I found Rachel relatable. My heart broke for her at the end. In my mind, I hope she lives a happy life making her own choices that make her happy. This is yet another book that confirms my child freedom I refuse to put anyone else on this planet to deal with this *waves vaguely*.
It was really good. As all books about racism and sexism…it still holds true. Rachel grappled with the harsh realities of teaching Black students (as I also do) and the reality of patriarchal expectations of marriage and motherhood. The racial climate in the. US was not designed for raising happy Black children then or now. I felt that. The patriarchal expectations of society also make motherhood undesirable. I’d be remissrd if I didn’t acknowledge her struggles with mental health because of her role in society.
I found Rachel relatable. My heart broke for her at the end. In my mind, I hope she lives a happy life making her own choices that make her happy. This is yet another book that confirms my child freedom I refuse to put anyone else on this planet to deal with this *waves vaguely*.
January 27, 2021
I read this play in an African American Literature course my sophomore year of college, and fell in love. An underrated classic. A beautiful and haunting story illustrating the psychological pain discrimination and racism have on people of color even when their lives may seem alright from the outside.
February 9, 2021
*4.5
I’ve thought about this play a lot since I finished it and I can really see it as a NT production. The stage directions of the set are very vivid and puts you right there.
The build up of emotions and Rachel’s inner perspective was so well done. It is a very raw and intimate play that explores the extremes of how racial oppression was and still is.
I’ve thought about this play a lot since I finished it and I can really see it as a NT production. The stage directions of the set are very vivid and puts you right there.
The build up of emotions and Rachel’s inner perspective was so well done. It is a very raw and intimate play that explores the extremes of how racial oppression was and still is.
October 19, 2024
I’m conflicted…
I love that this play was written by a black female author in 1916. I think the message is incredibly powerful and the content important - especially coming from her perspective.
However… I didn’t enjoy the style of the play. It felt long and the writing style at times hard to read.
I love that this play was written by a black female author in 1916. I think the message is incredibly powerful and the content important - especially coming from her perspective.
However… I didn’t enjoy the style of the play. It felt long and the writing style at times hard to read.
March 9, 2021
Ground breaking and haunting. Almost too difficult to read.
May 7, 2021
Harlem in the early 20th century. Exploration of how it is to be black in the USA. Tragic. Infuriating. Emotionally difficult.
September 3, 2021
It’s so thoughtfully written and profound. It’s honestly such a gorgeous and raw play. I cried so many times while reading it, therefore I would be crying the entire time if I saw it performed.
October 23, 2021
READ FOR AFRO AM 677:
I liked it! Easy read, good points, heartbreaking but not explicitly graphic!
I liked it! Easy read, good points, heartbreaking but not explicitly graphic!
September 10, 2023
4.5
What a nice, quick read. I enjoyed the scene settings and all of the emotions I experienced throughout this play. This one got me good....."If he saw me, he might not love me any more." 😭
What a nice, quick read. I enjoyed the scene settings and all of the emotions I experienced throughout this play. This one got me good....."If he saw me, he might not love me any more." 😭
November 1, 2023
3.5 stars. it would’ve been a four star read if a bit more happened in the play, but it was still very powerful with lots of themes of african american literature.
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September 14, 2024absolutely heartbreaking but incredibly poignant and important
September 15, 2024
broke my damn heart
October 1, 2024
it was alright but it’s SO clear it was catering to white audiences
April 2, 2025
Sobbing
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