The Underground Railroad and the politics of narration in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)
This article examines the literary politics underlying the Underground Railroad plotline in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852). It highlights the structuring function of philosophical and political principles drawn from romantic reform and transcendentalism, showing how they articulate...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Presses universitaires de Rennes
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Revue LISA |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/16207 |
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| author | Delphine Louis-Dimitrov |
| author_facet | Delphine Louis-Dimitrov |
| author_sort | Delphine Louis-Dimitrov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article examines the literary politics underlying the Underground Railroad plotline in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852). It highlights the structuring function of philosophical and political principles drawn from romantic reform and transcendentalism, showing how they articulate with distinct literary strategies to convey an antislavery discourse targeting the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law. While the plotline is governed by a chain of sympathy relying on a reinterpretation of the antislavery principle of moral suasion, notably embraced by William Lloyd Garrison in the 1830s, the characterization of the enslaved fugitives as heroic rebels emphasizes the necessity of active and martial resistance to bondage, a strategy which gained prominence among abolitionists in the 1850s. The Underground Railroad ultimately serves as a narrative conduit for a democratic reconfiguration of history that lends voice, visibility and political agency to enslaved fugitives. The novel’s indictment of pro-slavery laws thereby opens onto a call for the regrounding of American democracy on the principle of higher law. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8f6fffbae37e43a78b72d5015b314f54 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1762-6153 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Presses universitaires de Rennes |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revue LISA |
| spelling | doaj-art-8f6fffbae37e43a78b72d5015b314f542025-01-09T12:48:22ZengPresses universitaires de RennesRevue LISA1762-61532025-01-012210.4000/131jyThe Underground Railroad and the politics of narration in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)Delphine Louis-DimitrovThis article examines the literary politics underlying the Underground Railroad plotline in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852). It highlights the structuring function of philosophical and political principles drawn from romantic reform and transcendentalism, showing how they articulate with distinct literary strategies to convey an antislavery discourse targeting the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law. While the plotline is governed by a chain of sympathy relying on a reinterpretation of the antislavery principle of moral suasion, notably embraced by William Lloyd Garrison in the 1830s, the characterization of the enslaved fugitives as heroic rebels emphasizes the necessity of active and martial resistance to bondage, a strategy which gained prominence among abolitionists in the 1850s. The Underground Railroad ultimately serves as a narrative conduit for a democratic reconfiguration of history that lends voice, visibility and political agency to enslaved fugitives. The novel’s indictment of pro-slavery laws thereby opens onto a call for the regrounding of American democracy on the principle of higher law. https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/16207Stowe Harriet BeecherUncle Tom’s CabinUnderground Railroadfugitive slaveantislavery novel |
| spellingShingle | Delphine Louis-Dimitrov The Underground Railroad and the politics of narration in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) Revue LISA Stowe Harriet Beecher Uncle Tom’s Cabin Underground Railroad fugitive slave antislavery novel |
| title | The Underground Railroad and the politics of narration in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) |
| title_full | The Underground Railroad and the politics of narration in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) |
| title_fullStr | The Underground Railroad and the politics of narration in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Underground Railroad and the politics of narration in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) |
| title_short | The Underground Railroad and the politics of narration in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) |
| title_sort | underground railroad and the politics of narration in harriet beecher stowe s uncle tom s cabin 1852 |
| topic | Stowe Harriet Beecher Uncle Tom’s Cabin Underground Railroad fugitive slave antislavery novel |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/16207 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT delphinelouisdimitrov theundergroundrailroadandthepoliticsofnarrationinharrietbeecherstowesuncletomscabin1852 AT delphinelouisdimitrov undergroundrailroadandthepoliticsofnarrationinharrietbeecherstowesuncletomscabin1852 |