Of One Blood: Or, the Hidden Self

Of One Blood: Or, The Hidden Self is a novel by African American author Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins. It was published serially in The Colored American Magazine, where Hopkins worked as an editor, between 1902 and 1903. The story centers on Reuel Briggs, a medical student who plays down his biracial identity. After falling in love with the singer Dianthe and saving her life, Reuel travels to Africa where, in search of ancient treasures, he discovers his own heritage and reconnects with his racial identity. Meanwhile, Dianthe discovers the tragic secrets of her own birth. Hopkins explores themes of African heritage, race, the legacy of enslavement, and the supernatural in the early 20th century, voicing an African American perspective on the period’s racial discourse.

This study guide uses the 2023 e-book version by Strelbytskyy Multimedia Publishing.

Content Warning: The source material discusses the history of enslavement in America, racism, incest, and abuse. The text contains outdated racial descriptors that the guide reproduces only in quotation.

Plot Summary

Reuel Briggs is a medical student struggling to make ends meet in Boston. He leads a lonely life, and while his skin color suggests his biracial identity, he rarely thinks of his origins. In addition to his scientific studies, Reuel is interested in mysticism and experiences visions. On a stormy afternoon, he has a vision of a beautiful woman. While attending a concert that evening with his friend Aubrey Livingston, Reuel is startled to see that the talented soloist—Dianthe Lusk—is the same woman.

For several weeks after the concert, Reuel finds himself thinking about Dianthe. A group of young people, including Reuel and Aubrey, gather at the home of Charlie Vance and his sister, Molly, on Halloween. The talk turns to ghost stories, including a tale about the lady who haunts the neighboring estate. Molly suggests that each of them try to speak with the specter. When it is Reuel’s turn to go out, he encounters the figure of Dianthe again and speaks to her.

The next morning, Reuel is summoned to the hospital to treat patients from a train accident, and Dianthe is among them. She remains unconscious and the other doctors pronounce her dead, but Reuel believes she is only in a mesmeric trance. To the astonishment of his colleagues, he revives her with a magnetic powder. However, while Dianthe recovers physically, she continues to suffer from amnesia. Reuel continues to treat her while his romantic feelings towards her build. Upon her discharge from the hospital, Dianthe—now going by the name Felice Adams—accepts Molly’s invitation to stay in the Vance home. Although she no longer knows her own racial identity, Dianthe has visions of a Black woman named Mira.

Reuel proposes to Dianthe, and she accepts. Worried about his ability to support a wife, however, he turns to Aubrey for advice. Aubrey, while revealing that he knows about Reuel’s Black heritage, suggests that he join an expedition to Egypt and Ethiopia. The mission is dangerous, but Reuel is swayed by the promise of a substantial salary. The morning of his departure for the first leg of his journey, he and Dianthe are married. Reuel trusts Dianthe to Aubrey and Molly’s care; Charlie Vance joins the expedition.

Reuel and Charlie, along with a Black attendant named Jim Titus, travel in a caravan across northern Africa to Meroe, the ancient Ethiopian capital. Reuel and Charlie send frequent letters home, but soon stop receiving replies. The caravan reaches the ruins of Meroe, and its members begin to explore the pyramids and other monuments that are said to be older than those of Egypt. Reuel has a near-death encounter with a leopard but escapes with Charlie’s help. The leader of the expedition, Professor Stone, reveals his intention to seek a hidden city accessible from an underground passage beneath Meroe. Before starting on this next expedition, Reuel and Charlie receive news that Molly and Dianthe have perished in a boating accident.

Reuel is so inconsolable at the loss of Dianthe that he becomes ill for three weeks. When he recovers, he decides to explore the pyramid on his own, and is captured almost immediately upon entering the Great Pyramid. When he awakes four days later, he is in the hidden city of Telassar, built by the indigenous inhabitants of Meroe, themselves descendants of the ancient Ethiopians. A man named Ai introduces himself as a minister and becomes Reuel’s guide to the city. He explains the city’s history, noting that the inhabitants of Telassar have long expected the arrival of the king who will restore their former glory. When Reuel moves further into the city, he is declared to be that long-hoped-for king, Ergamenes. Ai tells Reuel that his descent from Ethiopian royalty is proved by Reuel’s birthmark that is shaped like a lotus lily, and Reuel himself recalls old family stories about royal ancestors in Africa. In further conversations with Ai, Reuel learns about the government and religion of Telassar. Surprised that they have not heard about Christianity, Reuel tells Ai about Christ; the latter vows that Telassar will adopt the religion of its new king. Reuel meets the Queen, Candace, who bears a striking resemblance to Dianthe. They quickly pledge themselves to each other and make plans to wed within the month. Ai reveals his supernatural powers, which he traces back to the ancient Chaldeans, and claims that he has watched over Reuel’s life through occult means. Ai invites Reuel to make use of his tools: a disk that shows the past, and a water vessel capable of disclosing the future. Hoping to see Dianthe once more, Reuel gazes into the mirror, but only Molly appears among his dead friends. Ai tells him that Dianthe’s absence means she has not died. Further investigations with the mirror yield an image of Aubrey and Dianthe together in Aubrey’s family mansion.

During the two months of Reuel’s absence, Charlie becomes increasingly worried about his friend and grieves his sister’s death. He resolves to find Reuel and along with Jim Titus, tries to find the secret passage in the Pyramid. Like Reuel, Charlie and Jim are captured by the people of Telassar, though they manage to escape long enough to locate the fabled treasures of Meroe. However, as they contemplate the impossibility of carrying these riches back with them, they also encounter the serpents that Professor Stone had mentioned. Ai and his attendants rescue them and bring them to Reuel, but Jim Titus is mortally wounded. Before dying, Jim reveals Aubrey’s conspiracy to separate Reuel from Dianthe and marry her himself, including his willingness to let Molly die in the boating accident to achieve this end. Jim Titus also reveals that Reuel and Dianthe are siblings and Aubrey is their half-brother. Reuel is filled with rage and decides to return to America with Charlie to take revenge. He sees Dianthe in a vision. Ai and his companion, Ababdis, accompany them disguised as servants.

Meanwhile, Aubrey tells Dianthe that Reuel is dead. Dianthe is miserable because she cannot resist Aubrey’s power over her now that she is at his family home. While wandering alone in the woods, she encounters an old woman named Aunt Hannah, who turns out to be Dianthe’s grandmother and Mira’s mother. Aunt Hannah relates the family history from the period of enslavement, disclosing much the same information about Dianthe’s parentage that Jim Titus had told Reuel about his. Dianthe, Reuel, and Aubrey all share the same father: Mr. Livingston, Mira’s enslaver. Aunt Hannah also explains that the lotus-lily birthmark that both of Mira’s children have is the sign of their descent from ancient Ethiopian royalty. Dianthe realizes that she, Aubrey, and Reuel are siblings and of one blood. Overcome by despair and grief, she decides to poison Aubrey, but he forces her to drink the poison herself. Aubrey leaves the next morning, as Dianthe knows she is dying. Just before her death Reuel arrives and she dies in his arms.

Aubrey wanders alone into the woods when he sees two ghosts in front of him. Seeing the one as Dianthe, he runs back home, thinking she is alive. As he enters he also sees Molly’s figure. He runs to Dianthe’s room where Reuel, Ai, and Charlie are waiting for him. Though Aubrey’s crimes are revealed, he manages to escape formal punishment by hiring expensive lawyers. However, he does not escape entirely. Following the ancient customs of Telassar, Ai hypnotizes Aubrey and orders him to kill himself. The next day, Aubrey is found dead in the river. Reuel returns to Telassar as King Ergamenes, reuniting with the Queen and teaching his people about modern, Western culture. However, Reuel still thinks of his past and worries about future interactions with outsiders.