payment page
Since Alexander Cosway, Antoinette’s father, dies before the start of the novel’s action, the only information that the reader has access to comes from other characters, many of whom express animosity toward him. It appears he was an ex-slave owner who struggled to maintain his sense of identity after the emancipation of enslaved people in Jamaica. He inevitably transferred these struggles, both financial and social, to his family, and this legacy has a direct impact on Antoinette’s ability to navigate life at Coulibri. She must endure the harsh judgment of the community and watch as her mother succumbs to the suffering that such ostracization causes. Old Cosway’s reputation as a drunken madman also has a significant effect on Antoinette’s life, predisposing others to view her behavior through a specific, derogatory lens.
Another major component of Old Cosway’s character is his promiscuity, and the illegitimate children that he has with Black Jamaican women further complicate his status within the community. Although he supposedly recognized these children as his own and taught Antoinette to view them as relatives, Daniel Cosway’s account of his father paints a very different image. The man that he describes is cruel and heartless, putting his own sense of pride before the well-being of his own son. Adding these types of first-hand narratives into the conversation further exacerbates the distrust that the community feels toward him and the rest of the family. Daniel’s characterization of his father also contradicts the kind words written on his gravestone, a disparity that ultimately suggests that Old Cosway was a very complex man who defied categorization.
