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Casual Racism in Victorian Literature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 November 2019

Carolyn Betensky
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Extract

The first time a casually racist reference crops up in the Victorian texts I teach, I tell my students that the presence of slurs and stereotypes in Victorian literature reflects the prevalence of racism in Victorian society. I give them some historical context for the racism whenever possible and smile stoically. Yes, I say, that expression in the novel I've made you purchase and that I'm encouraging you to find fascinating is indeed racist. Let's talk about how racist it is and why! The second time an explicitly racist reference crops up, we refer to the previous conversation. The third time it does, we look meaningfully at each other and shake our heads. The fourth time it does, we don't even mention it. We learn, like the Victorians, to take it for granted.

Type
Research Article
Information
Victorian Literature and Culture , Volume 47 , Issue 4 , Winter 2019 , pp. 723 - 751
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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Footnotes

I am grateful to the following generous readers and interlocutors who helped me think through different versions of this essay: Martha Vicinus and the Boston works-in-progress group she leads (with special thanks to Aeron Hunt and Laura Green); Talia Schaffer, Elaine Freedgood, Jim Kincaid, Daniel Novak, Robert Callahan; and the students who took English 376 with me at the University of Rhode Island in the spring semester of 2018 (especially Nate Vaccaro, Lauren Ross, Lisa Jonchère, and Jack Goodger).

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