Monstrous by Law: Gothic Technology in Four Slavery Texts

Theodore A.B. McCombs, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

Abstract

Monstrous by Law explores two famous legal texts of antebellum American slavery—THE CONFESSIONS OF NAT TURNER, regarding the 1831 slave rebellion; and the notorious trial of Margaret Garner, the fugitive slave who murdered her children to prevent them from being taken back into slavery. Using theories developed by Toni Morrison and Judith Halberstam, the essay examines how these two texts make use of a particular “Gothic technology,” by which the black defendants are portrayed as monstrous figures that help define and reinforce white identity by contrast. The essay then turns to Herman Melville’s novella Benito Cereno, which was inspired in part by the Nat Turner revolt, and Toni Morrison’s BELOVED, which was inspired by Margaret Garner’s story, to trace how these two literary texts respond, critique, and attempt to dismantle such technology. The analysis underscores the important role of literature, particularly the literature of American law, in creating an anti-racist society.