Comparing Critical Theory- Saidiya Hartman, ‘Venus in Two Acts’, and Catherine Gallagher & Stephen Greenblatt, ‘Introduction’ to Practicing New Historicism

Abstract

This essay examines the intersection between Saidiya Hartman’s ‘Venus in Two Acts’, and the introduction to Catherine Gallagher and Stephen Greenblatt’s book Practicing New Historicism, analysing their respective approaches to the archive of Atlantic slavery and the construction of 'counter-histories’ which utilise gaps and silences to reconstruct hitherto suppressed voices. Hartman’s analysis of Venus as a symbol within the libidinal economy of slavery demonstrates Gallagher and Greenblatt’s understanding of how literature contributes to and reflects broader social structures and power dynamics. However, while Gallagher and Greenblatt provide a theory which integrates both historical and literary interpretation to generate new compelling readings, Hartman offers a crucial dimension not considered by Gallagher and Greenblatt through her concern with the recapitulation of violence in counter-historical literature. Using Hartman’s analysis of the figure of Venus, this essay argues that Harman illustrates and critiques new historicist theories, demonstrating their value while revealing their limitations, particularly in conjunction with the reproduction of violence in the archive of Atlantic slavery.