ABSTRACT
More historically significant for the plot of Heinrich von Kleist's "Die Verlobung in St. Domingo" are the Revolutions, in France beginning in 1789 and on St. Domingue from 1791 to 1803, the repercussions of which were certainly felt in Germany. Kleist sets his novella in the year 1803 during the final stages of the Revolution on the island of St. Domingo. Given the context of the engagement, that of the Revolution, it may appear that Kleist's novella is a statement against the conditions of slavery and colonialism in the Caribbean and the racial tensions that resulted from them. On closer inspection, we see that the color hierarchy he sets up not only points out the dangers of miscegenation or racial mixing, it shows the tragic outcome of miscegenation at the dawn of the foundation of a new state. One year after Kleist published his novella, Theodor Korner wrote a version of the plot for the Viennese stage called Toni.
