Leiden University College
Black British Literature
Midterm Essay
White Masculinity and Empire in Cambridge and The Confessions of Frannie Langton
Colonial empires worked through expansion and differentiation, utilizing racial logic (as well as class and
gender) to justify their claimed superiority over the colonized groups. Therefore, empires would send
white men to hold high positions in the colonies to present this superiority that would justify their control
over the new territories and people.1 This was particularly the case for slavery in the British colonies in
the Caribbean. Caryl Phillips’ novel Cambridge (1991) and Sara Collins’ epistolary novel The
Confessions of Frannie Langton (2019) depict this period through historical fiction. Cambridge details
the story of Emily Cartwright, the daughter of a sugar plantation owner that visits the plantation in the
West Indies, and of Cambridge, an enslaved person in the plantation. In The Confessions of Frannie
Langton, after Frannie is accused of murdering her employer and his wife in London, she recounts her life
and how she grew up on a plantation in Jamaica as a “mulatta” slave from 1812 to 1825. It will be argued
that the two depictions of white masculinity in both novels –Langton, Frannie’s ‘master’ and father, and
Mr. Brown, the manager of Cartwright’s sugar plantation– are representations of empire and their
superiority narrative.
First, it will be shown how both characters believe and show the perceived superiority of the
British empire by being the characters that hold authority and propagate racial logic. Next, it will be
discussed how their perceived superiority is constructed by emphasizing their masculinity through
dominance and power, particularly through sexual domination. Finally, the contrast between the white
male characters’ actual power and nature and the desired view of a wealthy white British man emphasizes
the disparity of the constructed superiority narrative and reality.
Firstly, both Mr. Brown and Langton are presented as the characters with the most authority,
enacting it based on their perceived racial superiority. Both are the masters of the house in their respective
plantations, constantly exerting their power and control. For example, even though Emily is the daughter
of the owner of the plantation, Mr. Brown gets to ignore her demands to remove Christiania from the
dining table, making the enslaved Black people forcefully escort her out of his way. 2 In addition, both
characters’ ambitions are informed by their understanding of racial hierarchy. Mr. Brown decides to take
over the manager position because he believes that the enslaved people should be treated more strictly
1 Stoler, “Carnal Knowledge,” 55.
2 Phillips, Cambridge, 77-78.
Black British Literature
Midterm Essay
White Masculinity and Empire in Cambridge and The Confessions of Frannie Langton
Colonial empires worked through expansion and differentiation, utilizing racial logic (as well as class and
gender) to justify their claimed superiority over the colonized groups. Therefore, empires would send
white men to hold high positions in the colonies to present this superiority that would justify their control
over the new territories and people.1 This was particularly the case for slavery in the British colonies in
the Caribbean. Caryl Phillips’ novel Cambridge (1991) and Sara Collins’ epistolary novel The
Confessions of Frannie Langton (2019) depict this period through historical fiction. Cambridge details
the story of Emily Cartwright, the daughter of a sugar plantation owner that visits the plantation in the
West Indies, and of Cambridge, an enslaved person in the plantation. In The Confessions of Frannie
Langton, after Frannie is accused of murdering her employer and his wife in London, she recounts her life
and how she grew up on a plantation in Jamaica as a “mulatta” slave from 1812 to 1825. It will be argued
that the two depictions of white masculinity in both novels –Langton, Frannie’s ‘master’ and father, and
Mr. Brown, the manager of Cartwright’s sugar plantation– are representations of empire and their
superiority narrative.
First, it will be shown how both characters believe and show the perceived superiority of the
British empire by being the characters that hold authority and propagate racial logic. Next, it will be
discussed how their perceived superiority is constructed by emphasizing their masculinity through
dominance and power, particularly through sexual domination. Finally, the contrast between the white
male characters’ actual power and nature and the desired view of a wealthy white British man emphasizes
the disparity of the constructed superiority narrative and reality.
Firstly, both Mr. Brown and Langton are presented as the characters with the most authority,
enacting it based on their perceived racial superiority. Both are the masters of the house in their respective
plantations, constantly exerting their power and control. For example, even though Emily is the daughter
of the owner of the plantation, Mr. Brown gets to ignore her demands to remove Christiania from the
dining table, making the enslaved Black people forcefully escort her out of his way. 2 In addition, both
characters’ ambitions are informed by their understanding of racial hierarchy. Mr. Brown decides to take
over the manager position because he believes that the enslaved people should be treated more strictly
1 Stoler, “Carnal Knowledge,” 55.
2 Phillips, Cambridge, 77-78.
