Sealskin Coat Symbol Analysis

The sealskin coat that Jadine receives as a gift from her would-be fiancé, Ryk, symbolizes wealth and materialism, as well as Jadine’s complicity in the social and economic structures that systemically oppress Black people. Early in the novel, Jadine receives the lavish sealskin coat as a gift in the mail from Ryk, a white, wealthy European man whom Jadine met in Paris. The coat then represents not just the wealth and status of the ruling class, but also Jadine’s choice to align herself with that class and all it represents. Notably, Jadine herself has been afforded proximity to that kind of wealth through her association with the Streets, whose financial support has enabled her to pursue a prestigious education and helped her attain a life of privilege. As Son later points out, Valerian’s wealth, in particular, is built upon the systemic exploitation of Black people. Jadine’s choice to accept the sealskin coat, then, represents her complicity in the unjust and racist power structures that have funneled wealth to people like Valerian and Ryk.

After Jadine’s ill-fated relationship with Son in New York, she briefly returns to the Isle of Chevaliers before going back to Paris. While Jadine is on the island, Ondine wonders if she really only came back to retrieve the sealskin coat, rather than to see Ondine or Sydney. On that visit, Jadine pointedly avoids seeing Valerian, and she tells Ondine that she has called off her engagement with Ryk. But Jadine also makes sure to get the coat, indicating that even if she has broken things off with Ryk specifically, she remains unwilling to detach herself from the systemic oppression he represents.