Charles Testut's Le Vieux Salomon: Race, Religion, Socialism, and Freemasonry (review)

Sheri Lyn Abel's book Charles Testut's Le Vieux Salomon: Race, Religion, Socialism, and Freemasonry sheds light on a neglected author and novel. In doing so, Abel makes an important contribution to the field of French and Francophone studies and helps to expand the canon of Francophone literature from Louisiana. The book, divided into a five-page introduction followed by four chapters and a two-page conclusion, weaves together an analysis of Testut's fictional Le Vieux Salomon, his Reconstruction newspaper L'Equité, and his Masonic and socialist ideologies.

In her introduction, Abel explains that little was known about Testut prior to his arrival in the United States when he was about twenty years old. She claims that Testut's goal in writing Le Vieux Salomon "was a critique of the institution of slavery and the racial ideology that supported the oppression of one group by another. The novel is also a commentary on social inequality, where he speaks out on behalf of the marginalized and the exploited" (2). It is unclear how Abel determined Testut's objective in writing the novel or if this is perhaps her own assessment of why he wrote it.

In Chapter 1, "Social Disruption: Testut and French Socialism," Abel examines Testut's socialist ideology as outlined in his 1871 paper L'Equité. Abel describes Testut's views on important historical events in French history such as the 1789 Revolution, the 1848 Revolution, and the 1871 Paris Commune. She explains that through his newspaper, Testut encouraged the proletariat to revolt against the upper class in order to gain equality and freedom. Chapter 2, entitled "Freemasonry and Le Vieux Salomon," seeks to show how the Freemasons of the time were a secret abolitionist society. Abel posits that in writing Le Vieux Salomon, Testut's "larger agenda is to introduce his readers to the concept of a universal brotherhood of man and Masonic ideology" (35). In this chapter, the author provides a substantial description of freemasonry in France, the Antilles, and Louisiana resulting in the most convincing of all four chapters and providing a unique and important perspective on Testut's views on the abolition of slavery and social order.

Chapter 3, "'The Stupid Aristocracy of Skin': The Black Persona in Le Vieux Salomon," opens with a quote from Le Carillon promoting the superiority of the white race. The first sentence of the chapter lays out what Abel perceives as Testut's aim in life: "Testut's lifelong goal, unlike the Carillon's agenda cited here, was the reconciliation of the races" (69). No sources are cited to support this conclusion, and Le Carillon is not defined until a few paragraphs later when we learn that it is a French Louisiana newspaper. This lack of explanation and development persists, creating problems with coherency throughout the chapter.

First, Abel argues that what makes Testut's representation of race distinct in Le Vieux Salomon is how he characterized his protagonists, Rose and Casimir, as "mulattos of Latin heritage" (70). The author does not expand upon this distinction or define what she means by the adjective "Latin," using the term not only to refer to mulattos and slaves but also to the "Latin Negro" (83). Second, her theoretical approach is somewhat cursory, as she relies almost exclusively on Kwame Anthony Appiah's essay "Race." Although this is an important critical piece, the reader senses a need for additional explanation of the French and American racial theories of the nineteenth century. Finally, and perhaps the most problematic part of this chapter, is Abel's unproven argument that Testut affirmed the "equality of blacks" (93). Abel admits that Testut is not successful in humanizing his black characters as he "reverts to traditional stereotyping of women of color" (70). As an aside, this paragraph is almost an exact replica of a paragraph from the introduction on page 4. Moreover, the author concludes that Testut advocated the abolition...