Ourika
Claire de Duras
 Ourika, a Senegalese infant, is "saved" from the slave trade by the governor of Senegal, and brought back to Paris as a gift for Madame de B. She is raised well, according to the standards for white Parisian girls of high society; she is accomplished in many areas and is even a débutante. After Ourika's society outing, things begin to go awry. She overhears a conversation between her benefactress and a Marquise as they discuss her future, or lack thereof. The Marquise's famous line is: "Ourika ... has been placed into Society without its consent; Society will avenge this indiscretion." Ourika is then struck by the realization of her color, and undergoes a psychological reaction akin to Frantz Fanon's account of racial awareness in Peau Noire, Masques Blancs (Black Skin, White Masks). She sinks into profound melancholy and is physically affected by it to the point where her life is endangered.