Talma Gordon

The thing that struck me the most about this story is the ridiculousness of the "one-drop" issue. Talma Gordon is described as an intelligent and beautiful young lady. When she was being tried for her father's murder she remains calm and cool. However, when she finds out that she is partially black suddenly she sees herself as worthless. She refuses to marry her lover and is so depressed that she almost dies. How can someone who is so talented and grounded then hate herself so much? It really hit how racist someone could be that it would lead them to hate themselves that much.
However, what really disgusted me was the actions and decisions of Talma's father. This man hated his own children and wife just because they had the slightest amount of "black blood" in their veins. He hates them so much that he basically cuts them out of his will and treats them like dirt. Probably the only reason that he sent Talma to Italy was so that he did not have to deal with her. These actions had even a bigger impact on me because Hopkins chose to set this story in New England. Even though these characters are all fictional, it made me think about all the people that really did (and still do) feel this way.