“The Creole is generous, hospitable, magnificent, but vain, inconstant, and incapable of serious application; and in this abode of pleasure and luxurious ease vices have reigned at which humanity must shudder. The jealousy of the women was often terrible in its consequences.”

I found this quote interesting because it depicts not only the author’s admiration for the Creole ladies but also her sympathy for the slaves. The author admires the ladies’ bravery and attitude after living through such a horrible ordeal that is the revolution. She compliments their physical appearances as well as their “air of dignity” from “the habit of commanding their slaves.” These women were able to overcome these times by displaying “talents and found resources in the energy of their own minds.” During a time when women were considered inferior to men and merely objects like the slaves, the author lauded the women’s newfound courage and talents.

However, she also recognizes the insanity and brutality that these women also possess. In one account, a mistress ordered for a slave’s head to be cut off after she thought she saw her husband starting to show some affection towards the slave. Then during dinner when her husband didn’t have much of an appetite, she proposed that she has something that would “excite” his appetite and pulls the head of the slave out of the closet. I found this particular scene to be a bit comical because of its absurdity. By using words like “unfortunate victim” to describe the slave and “monster” to describe the mistress, the author displays a sense of understanding that these slaves have it rough too. Towards the end of the letter, the author states that if she ever wanted a friend, she still wouldn’t come to these people because she wouldn’t “rely on their stability.”