Octoroon: Or, Life in Louisiana: A Play in Five Acts

by Dion Boucicault

Book by Boucicault, Dion

Genres: Plays, Drama, Classics, School, Read For School, Theatre, Historical Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1859

About the author

Dionysius Lardner "Dion" Boucicault (26 December 1820 -18 September 1890) was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the most successful actor-playwright-managers then in the English-speaking theatre.

Reviews

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

A melodrama very much of its time. The Octoroon wants to criticize slavery, but never comes out explicitly against slavery. It does kinda show how slavery can tear families apart, while not digging too far into it. Basically it wants to please both North & South, becoming a semi-bland anti-slavery twitch that is possibly riding on the popularity of Uncle Tom's Cabin. In both stories slavery is portrayed negatively, but racism still prevails. The Octoroon still paints African Americans as ignorant, dumb children. Our token Indian can't even speak a language, reduced to idiotic, bumbling gestures. But even though these silly colored folks might not be on the same level as whites, it probably isn't nice to treat them poorly. That seemed to be the message: be nice to the sub-humans too. And all while trying to tell me how important this message was. I wasn't convinced.

Because this was written during slavery America, maybe some slack should be given. Fair enough. But even then this was not the most enjoyable or interesting play.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

From BBC radio 3 - Drama on 3:
The story centres around the inhabitants of the Louisiana plantation of Terrebonne. Zoe, the "octoroon" of the title, is the daughter of its owner Judge Peyton by one of his slaves, but she has been raised as part of the family. When the Judge dies, the plantation falls into financial ruin and the Judge's handsome nephew George arrives as heir apparent. George and Zoe soon find themselves in love, but their future happiness is thrown into jeopardy by the plantation's evil overseer Jacob McLosky who has dastardly designs on both the property and Zoe. McLosky will stop at nothing - not even murder.

[Aaron Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revisiting this amazingly racist/anti-racist mess of a play for a seminar I'm teaching. It's more shocking every time, I think. Mostly this time I noticed how slavery and blackness are treated as equivalent by the play and how both are easily used as a metaphor for evil or sin or deception. This is an astounding USAmerican document.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh.

[Katya Zablocki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised about how much I enjoyed reading this play. While I got some of the characters mixed up, I don’t think that would happen when watching it on stage.

My copy has a brief introduction talking about the play is neither anti or pro slavery, but I really feel as though it is anti slavery because it shows how vehemently against being a slave Zoe is, even though she grew up on a “nice” plantation, and this goes back to the whole idea that a “good master” is an oxymoron (though the audience knows that M’Closky wouldn’t be a good master to her).

I just thought that it had a very different tone from other plays we read because it was serious but also had comedic elements that didn’t rely on racial jokes. So, I’m pretty proud of it, given the time period it was written in.

I’m not sure who I would recommend this for. It seems pretty important in a theatrical sense, because it was run at the same time that Uncle Ton’s Cabin plays were popular, so you should probably read this to compare the two. It’s also important because the playwright isn’t American, so it’s a bit of a commentary on American slavery, but not overtly so.

[Tia Hines · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wonder if this just sucks now or if it sucked in the 1800s too? Whatever, it does what it needs to do for my dissertation.

[Owen Peak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting to read something anti-slavery that was written pre-abolition and emancipation. The two versions of the ending were intriguing and I was very compelled by George and Zoe’s romance. It would’ve been nice to explore Dora and Salem’s unrequited feelings towards the protagonists more, yet I appreciate that Boucicault wanted to prioritise the storyline surrounding Paul’s death. Also the ending felt unnecessarily bleak.

[John Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating. Read for school. Needs a lot of context, but despite the obvious racism, there's an undercurrent of something interesting and challenging. Also, Boucicault himself is a wild ride. Woo hoo!

[Aidan Vick]

Yikes

[Evelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

And people say I’m melodramatic

[Bettie]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01ryffy

The Octoroon: Episode 2 of 3

Description: The Octoroon, Dion Boucicault's 1859 melodrama, sparked debates about the abolition of slavery and the role of theatre in politics. This production was recorded in front of an audience at Theatre Royal Stratford East, the venue that saw an earlier production of the same play in 1885.

The story centres around the inhabitants of the Louisiana plantation of Terrebonne. Zoe, the "octoroon" of the title, is the daughter of its owner Judge Peyton by one of his slaves, but she has been raised as part of the family. When the Judge dies, the plantation falls into financial ruin and the Judge's handsome nephew George arrives as heir apparent. George and Zoe soon find themselves in love, but their future happiness is thrown into jeopardy by the plantation's evil overseer Jacob McLosky who has dastardly designs on both the property and Zoe. McLosky will stop at nothing - not even murder.

Dion Boucicault's play contains all the elements of great melodrama - doomed love, murder, corruption, and live musical accompaniment throughout.

[Debbie J · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Octoroon, a short play set during the antebellum era, deals with legally forbidden love and people attempting to take others’ belongings. And oh yeah, racism.

In retrospect, I’m unsure why I put such a dated melodrama on my “to read” list. I had difficulty parsing writer Dion Boucicault’s flowery mid-19th century language and therefore had trouble following the plot.

Near the end, the author reveals how a crude camera had inadvertently captured a brutal murder, leading to the unexpected discovery of the villain’s dastardly deeds. This development paralleled today's use of cell phones to record momentary violence which would otherwise have remained hidden from public (and punishable) awareness.

Regardless, I don’t think The Octoroon merited the time or effort I spent reading it.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

As social commentary and the like – that is to say, considering its historical popularity and all that – it , and notable that it not only has whites and blacks but also features a native american – but this is somewhat on the side. Sure, it was somewhat progressive ish. Sure, it still manages to be quite racist. But I cannot judge a work for being a product of its time. So on to the content/style/

A drama, yes, a very normally structured, not exactly predictable but not thrillingly inventive in any way. Clear nods to R&J which I didn't mind. I don't see why I'd really remember it in a year's time, I suppose. I do not like reading in dialect, is another note.

Well. I guess I just don't have that much to say. I'll leave it there, then.

[Ruth Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to prepare for reading the contemporary adaptation "An Octoroon" by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, which I needed to read to prepare for a primary sources instruction session. This original version is fast paced and high melodrama (full of the wringing of handkerchiefs and twirling of moustaches, as the New York Times observed), so it is quite entertaining. Same era as Uncle Tom's Cabin, but it doesn't question the existence of slavery or challenge the belief that blacks were inferior to whites. The moral of the story seems to be "Zoe is a lovely young lady who looks white and acts white, so it's such a shame that she's actually black. Oh well. That's the way it is in our world."

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boucicault's drama provided nineteenth-century audiences with a compelling analysis of the ill effects of slavery, providing a simplified plot that is accessible to all audience members regardless of education or social status, something that in this period led to substantial rifts in society, and effectively segregated theatre-goers based on the level of thought they were willing to put into watching a play. Boucicault's message echoes out today in providing readers with an understanding of the nuances of drama at the time, and the various racial issues that were discussed in the form of plays and dramatizations from both sides of the argument over abolishment. A simple, but a good read.

[Mandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't help it, I'm bored by 19th c drama.

Though the play was pretty controversial at the time for being anti-slavery, it - unsurprisingly - hasn't aged well. American audiences got a tragic ending, while British audiences got a happy one, and I am a bit interested in the reasoning for that (though not interested enough to look it up on my own, I'll wait for class).

[Annathelle26 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing special. Just another melodramatic theatrical play I had to read for University. The writing flowed, and it was an easy read; I was thankful for that. Generally, stories that take place in the American South interest me, but the plot in this one was too plain, so... I'm indifferent towards it.

[Emily Fortuna · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a story of Romeo and Juliet, set in the plantation American South, filled with stock racist characters. :-/ I read this because I wanted to read the source material for Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's recent adaptation: An Octoroon. I've gotta say, a notion I was NOT struck with reading this was "I should make a new adaptation of this." On to read the adaptation next I suppose....

[Tom Romig · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like melodrama, look no further. This tempestuous story of forbidden love tackles issues of race, justice, and evil in a surprisingly nuanced way for the time (first produced in 1859). I read this after seeing Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's provocative An Octoroon, which is based on this earlier play.

[Monique Roddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A play set in the Deep South written by an English guy. I would have preferred his ending for the English audience, instead of the tragic one for the American audience in the edition I read. And then I turn the page to the next play, by Gilbert & Sullivan, and it's so hard to stay gloomy.

[Nicole Gervasio · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play may be hard for our modern, liberal stomachs to digest (it's patently racist, and the plot is absurd, as any melodrama would be), but it remains an important transnational social commentary on American slavery through British eyes.

[Seamaiden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually liked this melodrama. It had feelings. It was funny at some moments (well the dialect made it funny), but also had a main point, something dramatic stretched out in such a way to be melodramatic but also realistic.

[Mackenzie Pope · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. I probably wouldn't read it again, but it did criticize slavery and also valued the quality of being honest. It wasn't fantastic, but it also wasn't a waste of time because there are some things that may be learned from it.

[Gena Lott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful piece of Dramatic writing.

[Decker Cavosie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unimaginative, predictable melodrama. The plot, slightly progressive for the 1850s, earns it two stars.

[Stefani · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kinda boring and definitely racist. Waste of paper and ink, wouldn't read again unless I had to. Not the worst thing I've read, hence the 2 stars, but I did not enjoy it.

[Lucía · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just another 19th century melodrama, full of stereotypes, not particularly witty or funny. Nothing special.

[Courtney]

Hard to get through due to tough topics. Seems to bring out the idea of benevolent racism in American Melodrama.

[Lise · Rating 2 out of 5]

melodrama, indeed. also, wow, so racist. the auction part was fucked up, but entertaining in its way, i guess, just in terms of stakes. it is certainly a play of it's time.

[Arya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great play!