Who Is Victor Séjour's 'The Mulatto'?

Victor Séjour’s short story “The Mulatto” is included in The Norton Anthology of African American Literature according to some of the six chosen principles described by the editors in the preface. Although, after close examination some of the principles disqualify this short story from being included in this collection of works. Based on the editor’s principle of constructing a canon inductively, including Séjour’s “The Mulatto” was a proper choice. They looked into everything at their disposal in terms of what is written by people of African American descent. Then they decided upon certain works based on what they thought had a particular value. The value they attributed to this short story was likely based on the following: First, it is
xxiv). Séjour’s short story is described as antislavery protest fiction and has been characterized as: “the first work to treat the pattern of the atrocities of slavery in the plantation Americas” (Piacentino pg. 121). The topic of injustices against African American is repeated throughout the tradition although not influenced by Séjour’s short story. “Séjour succeeds in the tight space of the short story to portray slavery at its most inhumane while introducing several themes and issues that continued to appear in the literature well into the twentieth century” (Peter Lang
They had stated that they wanted major texts in the tradition. Séjour’s short story is not a major text in the tradition. This is true because “The Mulatto” was not translated into English until its publication in this anthology and was not intended for an American audience. According to the text, “It first appeared in 1837 in a journal published in Paris, La Revue des Colonies,” (pg. 296). So, it cannot have influenced the African American literary tradition. In similar instances, other writers have been denied inclusion in literary traditions: “Shakespeare is not considered part of the Roman literary tradition even though he wrote about Romans, and William Thacheray is not considered a part of the American literary tradition even though he once wrote in English about people living in America” (Turner pg. 140) And in adherence to this principle, “The Mulatto” should not have been included here