Zoflora
Author Details
Surname:Picquenard
First Names:Jean Baptiste
Gender:Male
Anonymous:No
Publication Details
Publisher:Printed for Lackington, Allen and Co.
Place:London
Date:1804
Novel Details
Genre:Biography; courtship; sentimental; travel
Setting:Saint Domingo, Caribbean
Period:Contemporary (apparently)
Plot
A young man (Justin) goes out to St Domingo to make his fortune. He falls in love along the way, and at the same time rescues the beautiful slave girl Zoflora from a cruel master. She ends up moving to America with him and his wife (any potential romance between Justin and Zoflora is strongly suggested, and equally strongly squashed).
Overview of the Dialect
This is a translation, so the matrix language is supposedly French. However, there are some really interesting representations of Caribbean speech, and some good metalinguistic comments too. See in particular the speech of Zoflora's grandfather (vol. 1, p. 80), the captain of the 'negroes' (vol. 1, p. 93) and a different 'negro' (vol. 1 p. 31). There is also a lot of emphasis on Zoflora's speech, explaining why she speaks 'correctly' (because she was friends with a virtuous white woman) although indicting that she enriches her speech 'with those simple images of nature with which the creolian idiom abounds' (vol. 1, p. 61-2).
Speaker #1:Zabiro - Slave
Individual or Group:Group
Primary Identity:Old negro
Gender:Male
Age:Adult - elderly
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Peripheral
Dialect Features:Discourse Marker, Grammar, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
Social Role
Social Role Description:Slave
Social Role Category:Slave
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:West Indies
Place of Origin Category:St Domingo, Caribbean
"My God ! me enough old , make me die"
[some narrative omitted]
The old negro turned his head slowly round, fixed his eyes on Justin, and thus exclaimed: "Ah! good little white , you be good to negro! you come then from France now , for white born and grow up in this country, see negro die with dry eye, as see serpent die!"
(Vol. 1,p. 80)[some narrative omitted]
The old negro turned his head slowly round, fixed his eyes on Justin, and thus exclaimed: "Ah! good little white , you be good to negro! you come then from France now , for white born and grow up in this country, see negro die with dry eye, as see serpent die!"
The old man answered in these terms. "Negro slave have no family, since children, grand children all be take away to sell when massa please; and friends all die before me, and me alone upon earth !" Justin asked him whether he had ever had any children? "Oh yes!" replied he, "and good children." "What then is become of them?" -- "A daughter who die ," resumed he, "had a little girl called Zoflora. Oh! good little Zoflora! and me so happy while her with me; but by bad luck, good God make her too handsome for negro girl, and rich white buy her for three hundred Portugal piece. Two years since she go away; two years me die a little every day!" This recital inspired Justin with the deepest interest, and he begged of the old man to proceed with it, if not too fatiguing to him, and he continued thus: "Zoflora was eight years when massa make her come in great house to serve white. Zoflora, with joy in heart, come find me, and say ; " Oh grand father! me very happy! me go in great house where me have great deal to eat; me save all for you!" For six years Zoflora come three times every day in cottage to bring me victuals, without ever fail; but since two years, a white rich, rich, come to visit in great house, see Zoflora, love her, and carry her away to his own plantation, which thirty leagues far off, behind great double mountain you see there down, down, with head up in sky." "Poor old man!" sighed Justin. "All this nothing yet!," continued the old negro: "one day big grey horse belong to massa take anger , and run, run, all like mad horse through the plantation. All groom negroes strive to stop him; he kill two, wound three, and then on this side here leap over the enclosure, go on full speed and run wild maroon in woods. Massa think me in fault that horse was lost; make me be take and throw in dungeon, to give me on morrow three hundred lashes of great whip on belly.
(Vol. 1,p. 81-4)Speaker #2:Maroon captain - Escaped slave, now a captain
Individual or Group:Individual
Primary Identity:Maroon captain
Gender:Male
Age:Adult - unspecified age
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Minor
Dialect Features:Grammar
Social Role
Social Role Description:Escaped slave, now a captain
Social Role Category:Slave
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:West Indies
Place of Origin Category:St Domingo, Caribbean
Extract #1 dialect features: Grammar
Speakers: All , Maroon captain
"Little white," answered the captain, his eyes rolling with rage, "thee no able speak of that! thee , sheep of France, thee know nothing of affairs of negro, thee say have patience! no, never! me have already kill seventeen white, and me alway eat their flesh with comrades. Me hate white as me hate devil! White kill father, kill mother! white carry off Dajani missis me , who was beautiful as moon, lie with her and sell her after. Me rear chicken, and pig many , white eat all without pay any thing, and want make me die with much lash of whip
(Vol. 1,p. 96-7)Speaker #3:Slave governor - Governor of the slaves, carries a whip
Individual or Group:Individual
Primary Identity:Slave governor
Gender:Male
Age:Adult - unspecified age
Narrative Voice:1st person
Role:Minor
Dialect Features:Grammar, Vocabulary
Social Role
Social Role Description:Governor of the slaves, carries a whip
Social Role Category:Slave
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:West Indies
Place of Origin Category:St Domingo, Caribbean
Speakers: All , Slave governor
"Massa," said a negro all out of breath, whom Justin knew from the kind of whip he carried to be a governor of slaves: "a chief of negro-maroon , at head of two hundred brigands well mounted and armed descend from mountain, and surround great house; some enter , and demand of white, you steward there, where was Zoflora, pretty little negro girl, who you make take and shut up in dungeon.--White reply that him not know about her; and chief there take pistol, and, pah! him kill steward, as if him be musketto . Soon see all negro of great house run and cry as if mad through all plantation. Them ring bell to call all negro and white neighbour, and light candle-wood in all corners of plantation, and cry for help: but chief of negro-maroon have no fear at all, and make him troop run on negro who cry for help, and make kill more than thirty, when me go away to come find you."
(Vol. 1,p. 131)Speaker #4:Messenger - Slave
Individual or Group:Individual
Primary Identity:Messenger
Gender:Male
Age:Adult - unspecified age
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Peripheral
Dialect Features:Discourse Marker, Grammar, Metalanguage
Social Role
Social Role Description:Slave
Social Role Category:Slave
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:West Indies
Place of Origin Category:St Domingo, Caribbean
When he came to that part of the recital in which the youth had with so much tenderness recommended himself to the remembrance of Amicia, he said: "O little mistress, why no have good God put in mouth pretty sweet words in creole, like French word which come from in heart of little white there? Oh! how him you love! for him say me all that with so much true that me feel tears mount in eyes here, and flow down like fountain."
(Vol. 1,p. 158)Speaker #5:'the negro' - Slave
Individual or Group:Individual
Primary Identity:'the negro'
Gender:Male
Age:Adult - unspecified age
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Peripheral
Dialect Features:Grammar
Social Role
Social Role Description:Slave
Social Role Category:Slave
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:West Indies
Place of Origin Category:St Domingo, Caribbean
Extract #1 dialect features: Grammar
Speakers: All , 'the negro'
"For," added he, "every body say in prison, that little white be hang ; and myself hear judge say, that him be more wicked than great devil."
(Vol. 2,p. 99)Speaker #6:The negro commander - Leader of escaped slaves
Individual or Group:Individual
Primary Identity:The negro commander
Gender:Male
Age:Adult - unspecified age
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Minor
Dialect Features:Discourse Marker, Grammar
Social Role
Social Role Description:Leader of escaped slaves
Social Role Category:Slave
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:West Indies
Place of Origin Category:St Domingo, Caribbean
Speakers: All , The negro commander
"Oh! no have fear, good Zoflora, me not capable to do harm to her, who always do good to every body!" And he added "wicked master, me much recommended to deliver letter there to Justin, without say nothing to you, but, as me know how much him heart be false, me think may be there be plot in paper there, since me have order to bring you to Boukmant."
(Vol. 2,p. 212)Speakers: All , The negro commander
"Very well! --There be not one single black who be able say that Valbona torment him, much as him torment me; for not satisfy with make my body persecute and suffer in all manner, him oblige me too [sic] become tormentor to negro and white; me be force kill more than thirty person by him order; and him threaten kill wife and little children if me not obey."
[some narrative omitted]
"Great God say to me in heart, that death be nothing to wicked world. Valbona have be rich, him be now poor. Valbona have custom to torment negro, now negro judge him. Valbona always wicked without fear, now him force have fear every moment. In former time any body no dare say nothing to Valbona, at this time every body may reproach him with all crime every day.--If us kill Valbona him heart be content. Punishment which be most great for bad men, is live with hate of all the world, and conscience strike him every instant, as pendulum in clock. After all this, me condemn him to live so long till good God be tire to make him suffer"
(Vol. 2,p. 219-20)[some narrative omitted]
"Great God say to me in heart, that death be nothing to wicked world. Valbona have be rich, him be now poor. Valbona have custom to torment negro, now negro judge him. Valbona always wicked without fear, now him force have fear every moment. In former time any body no dare say nothing to Valbona, at this time every body may reproach him with all crime every day.--If us kill Valbona him heart be content. Punishment which be most great for bad men, is live with hate of all the world, and conscience strike him every instant, as pendulum in clock. After all this, me condemn him to live so long till good God be tire to make him suffer"