Date of Award
Spring 5-2-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Janet Neary
Second Advisor
Jeremy Glick
Academic Program Adviser
Janet Neary
Abstract
This paper analyzes the ex-slave narrative Behind the Scenes, or Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House by Elizabeth Keckley through a Marxist and Romantic lens as a means to explore the impact of capitalism on Keckley while enslaved, as well as post-slavery. Through the paper, the author argues that Keckley successfully deflects the white voyeuristic gaze by replacing her physical form with clothing that she creates, as a means to both indict capitalism and reclaim ownership over her body. Further, the paper argues that Keckley employs Romanticism to highlight the unnatural capitalist roots and subsequent perverse impact that slavery has on a society that fetishizes and commodifies goods, as well as people.
Recommended Citation
Steel, Laura, "Deflecting Voyeurism: Elizabeth Keckley’s Indictment of Capitalism and Rejection of the Exploitative White Gaze" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/1372
Included in
African American Studies Commons, Literature in English, North America Commons, Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority Commons, Women's Studies Commons
