This thesis demonstrates how two early nineteenth century British novels, William Earle’s Obi, or The History of Three-Fingered Jack (1800) and the anonymously-written The Woman of Colour; A Tale (1808), feature prominent women of colour that move beyond the silenced, enslaved, minor representations of black and mixed race women made popular in previously published texts throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The progression of Amri and Olivia’s positions through the use of literary strategies, such as Homi K. Bhabha’s mimicry, Paul Gilroy’s double consciousness, and gender-reversals reveal the inherent ambivalence of the women’s positions in each narrative and the importance of these representations against the hegemonic female position. Although I argue that neither author succeeds in overturning traditional limitations of representing women of colour in literature of the period, investigating these texts is crucial to understanding the autonomous, influential women of colour in later nineteenth century literary works.

Cette thèse étudie la race, le mimétisme, l'ambivalence et la théorie du tiers espace dans The Woman of Colour: A Tale (1808). J'ai examiné les représentations des femmes de couleur dans ce roman et j'ai soutenu que ces dernières vont au-delà des représentations conventionnelles restreintes des femmes de couleur dans la plupart des romans du XVIIIe siècle. L'auteure anonyme de The Woman of Colour capte la coexistence, au début du XIXe siècle, de positions opposées envers les femmes de couleur des Antilles. De plus, j'ai examiné comment les femmes de couleur représentées dans ce roman peuvent créer une version d'un tiers-espace dans les interstices de cultures conflictuelles. Le tiers-espace est un concept que les critiques culturels et les théoriciens de la résistance utilisent pour définir une opposition aux forces dominantes par les personnes qui leur résistent. L'introduction fournit des discussions sur certains concepts de fond importants, notamment la race, le mimétisme, l'ambivalence et le tiers-espace. Le premier chapitre étudie les représentations des femmes de couleur dans le roman et le deuxième chapitre explore le tiers-escape qu'elles tentent de créer. / This thesis studies race, mimicry, ambivalence, and third space in The Woman of Colour: A Tale (1808). I have examined the representations of women of color in this novel and argued that these representations go beyond the restricted conventional depictions of women of color in most novels of the eighteenth century. The anonymous author of The Woman of Colour captures the coexistence, in the early nineteenth century, of opposing attitudes towards women of color from the West Indies. Furthermore, I have examined how the women of color represented in this novel could create a version of a third space in the interstices between conflicting cultures. The third space is a concept that cultural critics and resistance theorists use to define an opposition to dominating forces by the people withstanding them. The introduction provides discussions of some significant background concepts, notably race, mimicry, ambivalence, and third space. The first chapter studies to the representations of women of color in the novel and the second chapter explores third space they attempt to create.