Albinism in the American Novel

Ten Famous Works Trace Genetic Condition’s Influence on Literature

Oct 20, 2008

Albinism has become the novelist's shorthand for the sublime, a trait that evokes terror, awe, or laughter in characters capable of anything -- except common humanity.

From literary heights to commercial depths, with horror and with humor, American authors have made albinism (the genetic inability to produce melanin, i.e. coloring) one of the most overused yet unacknowledged literary motifs, as seen in the following famous references.

Quotes on Albinism from 10 Famous American Novels

“What is it that in the Albino man so peculiarly repels and often shocks the eye, as that sometimes he is loathed by his own kith and kin! It is that whiteness which invests him…this mere aspect of all pervading whiteness makes him more strangely hideous than the ugliest abortion. Why should this be so?”

“He's one of these all white men who look like they are made out of chalk or something just as white. An albino is one of these all white men, Ty Ty. They're all white; hair and eyes and all, they say.”

“Oh that,” Ty Ty said, sitting back again. “I didn't recognize what you were talking about at first. Sure, I know what one of those is. I've heard the darkies talking about it...”

“The door opened. A small, pink faced boy stood in it with his mouth hung in a silly smile. He had white hair and a knobby forehead. He wore steel rimmed spectacles and had pale silver eyes like the old man's except that they were clear and empty. He was gnawing on a brown apple core.”

“I heard today of a strange thing here on the 3d & so went to see a child born to Manuelita and Diego Fragua. It is what is called an albino whiter than any child I have seen before tho' it had been of the white race. It is dead & raw about its eyes & mouth...”

“He came back and behind him was an albino boy with pink eyes like a white rabbit's; one of them stared off at a furious and complicated angle. That was the eye he looked at us with, with his face set in another direction. The same, rational eye was fixed on something that wasn't there, somewhere in the dust of the road.

“Git your banjo," the old man said, and then to Drew, "Come on, play us a little something.”

“Throughout Colleton County…the sighting of the Snow was always cause for wonder. She was never seen with other porpoises, and some shrimpers, like my father, surmised that porpoises, like humans, were not kind to their freaks...”

“…and open my near blind eyes wide so they can see there is true pink there the raw albino eye in the lashless sockets and it is good.”

“Without releasing the woman's throat, the man slowly turns his head…It was completely smooth and white. No brows or lashes. Lips and eyes the color of salmon eggs. A bright porcelain brow framed by an even brighter main of hair, like chrome... “Jesus!” Ike staggers back. “Jesus Christ!”

“So Pigboy…in his fifteenth year got himself an ax and he cut Mama and Papa and three brothers up into tiny pieces. The happiest day in Pigboy’s life…I decided I would never again be weak or frightened. I got myself a job on the railroad…I lifted a million pounds of iron…I started fighting. It turned out I was good at it, because I have all that hatred stored up inside me, and I like to hurt people and see them bleed.”

“He was broad and tall, with ghost-pale skin and thinning white hair. His irises were pink with dark red pupils. The albino drew a pistol from his coat and aimed the barrel through the bars, directly at the curator.

The copyright of the article Albinism in the American Novel in American Fiction is owned by Andrew Leibs. Permission to republish Albinism in the American Novel in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.