Feminine Dominance
The novel itself encourages female readers to seek adventure and shy away from the domestic life that was the norm at the time of publication As the title suggests, the novel exerts female authority through all its major characters. The Female American begins with Unca, a young princess who holds a lot of power in her Indian tribe. She asserts her power over the European settlers who are mostly men. As she sentences them to death, she spares the life of Mr. William Winkfield and makes him her slave. They eventually fall in love and plan to marry but Unca’s sister is also in love with William. She is willing to do whatever it takes to have him. These women have great dominance over William and men generally.
Unca Eliza, the daughter of Unca and William is a strong and independent woman who isn’t afraid to take what she wants. She constantly turns down marriage proposals from men she deems not worthy of her. She is always at odds with men, and she stands firm on her own when challenged by men. Eventually, she accepts to marry her cousin but only after he has constantly asked for her hand to no end. Unca proves that for women of her time, simply aspiring for marriage is not enough and that they should strive for more and see that they are more precious than what the society deems them. Despite Unca being a woman, she earns the respect of the Indian elders who are mostly men even though she deceived them. She is greatly respected by the Indian people.
Colonialist Ideals, Religion, and Deceit
Religion is another recurring theme in the novel. William moves back to Europe with her young daughter after Unca is murdered. Unca Eliza is indoctrinated into the Christian faith leaving her native faith. When Unca Eliza is stranded on the island, she decides to impose her religion on the Indian people without much consideration. In her eyes, Christianity is the true faith. She hides in the idol that the Indians worship and deceives them into thinking that their god is talking to them. She uses her knowledge of the world to deceive the Indian tribe who were susceptible to it. Unca Eliza commits the same heinous crime that her father did when they invaded her mother’s ancestral home and imposed their Christian religion on her tribe without consent. Her crime is worse because she makes a mockery of the Indian tribe's religion.
She uses the mask of the idol to deceive the Indian elders into respecting and obeying a woman who will come to them, not knowing that she was making a path for herself to come and impose her colonialist beliefs on them. Thus, continuing and prolonging the chain of deceit that begun with her European ancestors unknowingly. Unca Eliza uses this to assert dominance over people who just want to be free and independent. She uses this lie to protect herself in a world that might prove hostile to her. Her actions can be justified as self-defense but it does not absolve her from the deceit. Unca Eliza was even provided with slaves who obeyed her every command. Earlier in the novel, Unca Eliza’s European grandfather is warned not to invade new territories and impose their ideologies on the people they find, but he doesn’t take the advice. Unca Eliza is a biracial woman who is pushing colonialist agendas to Indian tribes, her people further fueling the cycle of violence and invasions.
