An Imperative Duty

• Rhoda Aldgate, a woman of one-sixteenth black ancestry • Rev. Mr. Bloomingdale, Rhoda's first suitor, a white man • Dr. Olney, Mrs. Meredith's physician and Rhoda's eventual suitor, a white man • Mrs. Meredith, Rhoda's aunt, a white woman ==Plot summary==

The book is about Rhoda Aldgate, a young woman who discovers she is one-sixteenth African American, after living her whole life as a white person. Rhoda's father was Mrs. Meredith's brother, a white man, and Rhoda's mother was a southern woman of one-eighth black ancestry. In the nineteenth century, Rhoda's mother would have been referred to as an "octoroon." ==Themes==

The book is about a "Tragic Mulatta" character, a stereotype used by 19th-century American authors to explore racial miscegenation. ==References==