The opera production “Faust, a Tragedy,” written by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, explores the story of a man longing for infinite power and knowledge. The devil or Mephistopheles promises the man these desires if he sells his soul to him, but instead, the devil steals his soul and takes the man to hell with him. I think this production is featured in James Weldon Johnson’s “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man,” because the main character decides to pass as white and give up on his identity as a black man for his own benefit. As the man in “Faust” did, the narrator of the book is similarly “selling his soul” to the white population in order to gain that status and acceptance. The narrator even connects his experience to “Faust” when he sees his white father and sister at the production by saying, “Here, here in your very midst, is a tragedy, a real tragedy,” alluding to the fact his situation was worse than selling your soul to the devil (Johnson 98).
This story relates to the term double consciousness, which W.E.B. DuBois coined in the early 1900s. Double-consciousness refers to the feeling of “twoness” experienced by the black community because of the oppression they face and their hyper-awareness of their identity in white society. Twoness then causes black people never to have one, true identity because they view themselves through the eyes of the white community. Double-consciousness is used specifically in “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man,” to describe the complicated life the narrator is leading. Since DuBois pointed out black people cannot have one united identity, the story can be convoluted at times because the thought process of the narrator is not clear. Growing up, his mother did not reveal his true identity, and since then, he allowed himself to pick and choose what race to identify as.
I find the connection that you formed between the man in Faust and the “Ex-colored man” to be clever. While the protagonist in Faust was promised his desires in exchange for his soul, the “Ex-colored man” appears to have been promised much of the same. For example, desires, like access to greater economic opportunities for himself, would not have been available had he not “sold his soul” (passed for white). Instead, he would have experienced racism and the limited opportunities available to African Americans during that time. He would have had access to less education, faced discrimination in housing and employment, and encountered violence/prejudice.
On another note W.E.B. DuBois’ concept of double-consciousness and the idea of twoness caused me to think of it in the context of Christianity. Oftentimes, Christians feel the pressures of navigating between human nature and their identity as followers of Christ. This dual identity can create tension and challenges in their walk as they seek to live a faithful life while also being a part of secular society.
You make an astute point about the fact that the narrator in Johnson’s novel essentially has to sell his Blackness away in order to reap the benefits of whiteness in America, which you cleverly liken to the man in Faust. I feel that in any situation where one could identify with the side that would be more advantageous and convenient it would be hard to turn down, so I don’t fully blame the narrator for making this decision. His father is, after all, white, so he is free to identify as white if he so pleases. I do find it a bit problematic, though, when one always identifies with the more “advantageous” side, thus freeing them from the struggle and toil often characteristic of the other side.
Regarding your connection of Du Bois’ “double consciousness” with the ex-colored man, I personally found his words to be more sympathetic with and knowledgeable of the Black community than the white community. For example, after witnessing the lynching of a man near the railroad station, the narrator expresses his shame of living in a country that prides itself on democracy yet allows atrocities like lynching to happen in plain site. However, the narrator’s white perspective still is evident at times, such as when he admits that he feels safer in certain situations due to his appearance.