The Human Stain

The inclusion of the political scandal concerning President Bill Clinton and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky functions as background for the theme of evidence versus truth in The Human Stain. Congress, the press, and the American public question the truthfulness of President Clinton’s testimony versus the reality of evidence of an affair.

The backdrop of this real-life scandal thematically aligns with multiple scandals in the fictional world of the novel.

The faculty and students at Athena College accuse Coleman of racism without evidence of any mistreatment of students, other than the use of one word that was purportedly uttered without the intent to harm. Also, rumors continue to spread about the affair between Coleman and Faunia. Coleman’s own children believe that Faunia became pregnant, had an abortion, and attempted suicide. Coleman expresses sheer outrage at their willingness to accept these rumors as truth without evidence.

People’s willingness to label a story as truth without evidence appears consistently throughout the novel. Delphine Roux makes up the lie that Coleman ransacked her office and sent the embarrassing email. In the final chapter, an anonymous person at Athena College sends an obituary of Faunia via email. The email repeats the abortion rumor and suggests that Coleman physically abused Faunia and killed her intentionally. Nathan assures the reader that people will believe it and accept it as truth, without question and without the need for evidence.

The human stain is the imprint that humans leave on each other and/or anything they touch. Another way to think about the human stain is through the lens of human connection. Human connection is presented in both positive and negative ways throughout the novel. Nathan and Coleman dancing on the front porch of Coleman’s house in the first chapter is a lighthearted representation of male friendship and human connection. Nathan acknowledges his increasingly isolated lifestyle and his pleasure at making a friend. Coleman’s need for human connection also drives his relationship with Faunia. Although Faunia repeatedly assures him that their connection is purely physical, it is important to note that Coleman and Faunia meet at a time in Coleman’s life when he is completely alone. The last time Nathan sees Coleman and Faunia, they seem to have achieved a serene if privatized connection.

Despite these positive glimpses, the overall tone of the novel concerning humans’ impact on one another is pessimistic. When Faunia visits Prince, the crow at the Audubon Society, she reflects on the ways in which human connection taints everything with the human stain. The worker at the Audubon Society tells Faunia that Prince tried to escape once but other crows began to attack him. They could tell that something about him was off about Prince. Faunia surmises that that is what comes from being hand-raised. The humans have “stained” him, and now Prince can never really, fully be a crow.

This theme of the human stain repeats throughout the novel in the harmful ways characters affect each other. Coleman destroys his mother with his decision to pass for white; Delphine harasses Coleman; Faunia’s step-father and ex-husband abuse her; Lester kills Coleman and Faunia; and finally, countless, unnamed characters spread lies and rumors first about Coleman being racist, then about the details of Coleman and Faunia’s relationship.