Emperor of Haiti

Martel: Where is their power now to make the gods smile upon this troubled island?

Langston Hughes's Emperor of Haiti, included in Black Heroes: 7 Plays, edited by Errol Hill, is an interesting read. It seems to follow much of Hughes's thought about Haitian social relations, particularly the color question. The mulattoes in the play are all conniving, color-struck, look to France for civilization, and ultimately plot the coup that leads to the assassination of the Black Emperor. In addition, Toussaint Louverture and the other leaders of the Haitian Revolution are omitted from the text, with the only significant mention of Toussaint appearing in the second act, when Popo and Martel wish for his leadership again (thereby making Toussaint into a noble hero, kidnapped and brought to France). 

Dessalines, on the other hand, is a tragic hero cursed by his hubris and warrior mentality. Unfit to rule, blinded by European standards of civilization, Dessalines, not unlike the mulattoes (Claire, his consort, Vuval, his aide, and Stenio), turns his back on 'voodoo' and the drums (which are shown in Act One as highly important for the slave revolution) and places himself above the peasantry. Nonetheless, Dessalines is portrayed here as not hating mulattoes at all, unlike some of Walcott's plays which suggest otherwise. Thus, there is a more nuanced aspect of this play, despite Hughes engaging in satirical and critical description (via the narrator) of the grotesque, lavish banquet in the palace, etc. Moreover, the inclusion of the market women and fisherman, as well as the 'ragamuffins' in the third act, provide a voice to the lower classes, absent in the play since the first act, which reaffirms the life of the Haitian majority, depicted as hard-working, engaged, religious, and free. Inherent to this is the respect for 'voodoo' and its persistent drums (which echo in the hills multiple times in the play), which begin the slave revolt in 1791 and reminds us of the peasantry after Dessalines assumes power. 

Thus, the play is consistent with the themes of Popo and Fifina, as well as other writings by the author pertaining to Haiti. Like Walcott's Haitian Trilogy, there is a sense of tragedy embedded in the tale of Haiti's early leaders, with an established pattern of political conflict among the elites for power. Indeed, the true heroine of the novel would be Azelia, the wife of Dessalines under slavery, who becomes the historical Marie Sainte Dédée Bazile by protecting the corpse of Dessalines and affirming the path of love and solidarity, something lost by Dessalines during his ambitious rise. The mulatto schemer, Stenio, seems like an obvious attack on President Vincent of Haiti during the time, and the sympathy the play exudes in describing the 'everyday people' of Haiti is breathtaking. Certainly for a play originally written in the 1930s, (and subsequently revised numerous times by Hughes, including as an opera with African-American composer William Grant Still) in the wake of US Occupation of Haiti, that did not demonize Vodou or the Haitian peasantry, is revolutionary.

Favorite Quotes

Dessalines: Everyone wants to dress like me―and I'm the emperor.

Dessalines: I'm the glory of Haiti!

Melon Vendor: Looks like we'll never be done fighting here in Haiti.