Color meanings and how they represent each relationship characters have with Hamilton
Before I start: I have no credentials, just a passion and lack of tiredness at 1 am. Enjoy + I WILL sound insane.
Firstly let’s start with his first outfit.
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→ • The Full White Outfit
Now you could say that the white is meant to represent his innocence as a child (since he’s around 17 I believe here?) Coming from the Caribbean — here is the thing though because he’s not the only one wearing white. Everyone else is. (except Burr but that’s another topic)
In some settings white is associated with coldness and distance, since most hospitals have white walls, white sheets. Psychiatric Hospitals are mostly white and there is no emotional connection to the trauma or illness. Everything is professional. Everything is distant and impersonal.
For this context, this is exactly the case. They talk about his childhood about what he endured. But they don’t get directly involved. They don’t offer sympathy. They just talk about his trauma like it’s another thing somewhere in the wide world.
The characters just exist, just like he does. Up until he puts on the brown coat.
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→ • The brown coat
The moment Alexander puts on this coat is also important because it’s specifically during the lyrics “In New York you can be a new man” and “Just you wait” he’s no longer just somewhere in the background, he’s no longer unimportant, he takes control over his life ,over his story and is ready to do great things.
“It’s supposed to represent his poverty” and while that is true there’s more. It can also represent how he’s an outcast, the contrast between everyone wearing white and here he comes with a brown coat which makes him different. The first thing they see about him is that he’s different, alienated, with strong opinions that don’t match with others.
How society views him, how in this specific setting Burr views him — the opposite of him.
Burr’s coat is purple but it’s also reflecting brown tones, a constant reminder that as much as he hates Alexander he wants to be like him — bold, unafraid to speak his mind and never scared to take risks
(I will also make a separate post for Burr’s clothing too because man, so much I wanna say)
Their opinions and views clash constantly, Burr waits, Alexander doesn’t. Burr talks less, Alexander talks more. We see this in “Aaron Burr, Sir” and “Farmer Refuted” — “Burr I’d rather be divisive than indecisive”
During his time in this coat we see him in “My shot” which is his I want song.
We get a perspective on the way he views himself. He doesn’t think his opinions are wrong, in fact he manages to convince others to join him on them, Lafayette, Laurens, they’re the first to agree, (and Mulligan later in the song/performance) ironically the same men who a few minutes before were criticizing him “Oh who are you?” “Who is this kid, what’s he gonna do?”
I would also love to mention how he’s not the only one wearing brown anymore, Laurens is there, matching him.
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→ • The blue coat
Since this is the war outfit and everyone is wearing it, there’s not much to say about it or about it’s contrast/relationship with other characters outfits.
Alexander meets Eliza (also Angelica) while wearing this outfit
While in most cases blue is known to be “the sad color” it also symbolizes trust, responsibility, dedication, and bravery.
Alexander’s life and story doing the war is very complex. I think there is no doubt he went to war, with specific intention to die (I mean he even says it.) – So then in this moment the blue doesn’t represent just his sadness, but also his journey
Fist we see his dedication for fighting “I will fight for this land.” “I am either gonna die on the battlefield in glory or rise up.” He is actively dedicating his life in this war. All this though, is driven by sadness, but also a strong determination to prove himself worthy.
But all of this changes, when he finds out Philip is about to be born. In “That would be enough” both Eliza and Alexander are wearing blue. That’s the trust “But I’m not afraid. I know who I married” They trust each other and the future they will build together.
And then we have “Battle of Yorktown” where his focus on being a hero, changes to surviving, providing for his family. Taking responsibility and accepting it.
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→ • The green suit
This suit marks the start of his political era (lol) — it’s like the moment he put on this coat everything just started to go wrong. There is a superstition about wearing green in theatre AND the color green, as much as is associated with luck, it also represents unluck, tied with gambling and chances. In some contexts it is also associated with infidelity. — This simply fits like a glove, the moment we see him in this suit ,his overworking habits started, his affair with Maria Reynolds, not being able to make his plan go through congress, publishing the pamphlet and in the end loosing his son. You could say he’s gambling with his life.
“Have it all, loose it all”
There are more things to say here, about contrast he has with other characters so lets start of with Eliza, continue with Angelica, and end it with Maria.
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- Eliza
Eliza’s dress has a nice green tone, which for me personally represents how she’s trying to match him. But that green is not even close to Hamilton’s which results into a poor attempt of understanding and a waiting for him to make that step.
The faded green is not even close to Hamilton’s it’s washed out, immaculate like “I accept these parts of you but the rest has to go”
After all the shit with the affair goes out, she no longer wears any kind of green, she wears a blue dress in “Burn” trying to replicate the same feeling she had on their first night together, on their wedding night.
Then Philip dies and she wears black until we see her again wearing blue in ’‘Best Of Wives And Best Of Women“ (but ill get to this another time)
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2. Angelica
Angelica wearing brown in here is also an attempt to match
Alexander but unlike Eliza she’s longing for the Alexander she fell in love with "the immigrant” but now Alexander is a new man and no longer interested in her to that romantic level.
Angelica keeps her brown color though out the entire musical, still longing for him, still desiring THAT version of him. She tries to replicate the same feelings she had when she met him. The one with hunger paved frame, the one with intelligent eyes.
’But there’s no one
Who can match you for turn of phrase
My Alexander’’
Angelica still desires that specific Alexander, never seeing him and accepting him to change, always wanting that one man she met.
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3. Maria
Maria is red, complementary with green.
Red and Green put each other in the spotlight. They also involuntarily “erase” each other. — it’s a constant cruel dance of understanding and then rejection. Of a want for harmony but the colors are too bright and no one can stand to look at them together for more than five minutes
I would go as far as saying that green and red are also seen as a very odd color combination and is only accepted once a year. Christmas. And then at the end they become hated again, threw in the deepest corner of a closet and treated like a dirty secret. Which essentially is exactly what happened with Maria and Alexander after the publishing of Reynolds Pamphlet.
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→ • The black suit
And if i tell you it’s the same one he wears during his duel with Burr what then?
Well, this is the moment his life loses all color, after the funeral we never see anything colorful on or around him. Everything is dark or dull. Including the lighting used on him. It’s this dark blue supposed to represent his sadness and his pain.
In musicals black is often used as a call to well grieving heaviness, depression and sometimes fear.
The duel outfit incorporates all of them, in his final moments grieving for his mother, his son, Laurens, Washington. He’s heavy with grief and pain and sorrow. The hatred he has for himself, the guilt everything just comes crashing down.
He raises, his pistol accepting his fate, accepting to die. He doesn’t finish his words before he dies, and he never find peace. He never gets to finish his own story, he’s cut short.
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And now I saved my favorite for the finale.
→ • No coat:
Coats are supposed to provide us warmth, but also safety, if you’re poetic enough (or in my case delusional) you can claim someone wearing a coat around a person would mean a sense of unsafety.
It can also be tied to hiding, coats protect you, covering your arms and if you button it your chest.
In all the moments Alexander doesn’t wear a coat he’s being fully honest, without censoring himself.
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- Dear Theodosia
Man, he was simply speechless, admiring his son, he’s being open about his happiness, he doesn’t hide it. I would even say he looks domesticated a happy father enjoying his time at home.
This is his true core, no forced polite smile, no fear of death, just him. Being happy, feeling safe.
A man who usually talks for hours on end, who always knows what to say, is too overwhelmed with joy to speak.
In fact this is the first time we see him in green, before the coat, which by the way he puts on after finding out Laurens died. – further proves my point about safety and protection.
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2. The Election of 1800 + Yr Ob S
In both these settings he has no filter, tell the facts straight up without any censoring. In “The Election of 1800” he’s being honest, steps up and admits Jefferson would be a better president than Burr. It’s straight up, no avoiding the subject (well he did for a while but that’s cause he just buried his fucking son.)
He calls Burr out (finally) on his lack of opinions, lack of clear beliefs, that’s why he even says “Jefferson has beliefs, Burr has none” it’s a raw brutal honesty.
Same goes for “Your Obedient Servant”, Alexander even says it “I will not equivocate on my opinion. I have always worn it on my sleeve” like i said before. Uncensored honesty.
He pulls out the list with “thirty years of disagreements”, He tells him outright he’s not going to apologize (and he shouldn’t he was absolutely right)
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3. Best Of wives And Best Of Women
His final moments with his wife. His final letter (forever mad it didn’t make it to the final version btw). A final apology and a final words of “I love you”
Eliza is wearing blue again, a call to her trust in him coming back. The robe also has green lines which could mean she’s trying once again to understand him.
Too bad it’s too late.
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So this is the end, thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed, hope i didn’t sound insane.
I will make one for Burr as well because this was so fun and interesting, and perhaps for Eliza too? We will see.
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