Marilynne Robinson's "Long Puritanism" and Forms of Structural Racism
This essay argues that Marilynne Robinson's Gilead novels highlight the workings of modern American institutionalized racism via the underrecognized influence of William Ames, an early modern Reformed legal theorist who distinguished between "natural" and "civil" law. Acknow...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Johns Hopkins University Press
2022
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| In: |
Christianity & literature
Year: 2022, Volume: 71, Issue: 2, Pages: 156-171 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CD Christianity and Culture KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KBQ North America NCD Political ethics |
| Further subjects: | B
Forms
B structural racism B family government B William Ames B Marilynne Robinson |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This essay argues that Marilynne Robinson's Gilead novels highlight the workings of modern American institutionalized racism via the underrecognized influence of William Ames, an early modern Reformed legal theorist who distinguished between "natural" and "civil" law. Acknowledging this distinction, and applying Caroline Levine's novel formalism, I contend that Robinson places the responsibility for prejudice in individual actors, as well as within the scope of legislation that could be properly responsive to inclusive policy outcomes. Historically, however, American laws have created conditions that are both unjust and unavoidably sinful, a status quo Robinson works to disrupt. |
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| ISSN: | 2056-5666 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Christianity & literature
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/chy.2022.0015 |