Comparing Saidiya Hartman's 'Venus in Two Acts' and Catherine Gallagher's 'Practicing New Historicism'

Abstract

“Literature favours certain voices and, by extension, marginalises others”. In this essay, Ellie compares and contrasts the theoretical frameworks presented in Saidiya Hartman’s Venus in Two Acts and Catherine Gallagher’s introductory chapter to her book Practicing New Historicism. She analyses in detail the approaches of both texts to history’s relationship to literature, arguing that texts will always reflect and perpetuate the power dynamics prevalent in contemporary society. Hartman’s work comes from a Critical Race Theory perspective specifically, recognising that female black voices have been typically silenced throughout narratives of the Atlantic Slave Trade. By recognising literature as a cultural artefact, Gallagher and Hartman both explore ways of rewriting narratives to give voice to those previously denied it, though Hartman achieves this in a much more practical way than Gallagher.