Gayatri Spivak: The Trajectory of the Subaltern in My Work

This week, we're reading Gayatri Spivak's "Frankenstein and a Critique of Imperialism." Spivak is an Indian literary critic, theorist, and self-described "practical Marxist-feminist-deconstructionist". She is best known for her translation of Jacques Derrida's Of Grammatology and for the article "Can the Subaltern Speak?", which she expounds upon in the link below.

Of course, you're not required to watch the entire 1.5-hour clip. It may be fruitful, however, to get a sense of what the subaltern is. We'll be talking about it at greater length during our week on Post-Colonial Theory, but I'm interested in how the trajectory of the subaltern discussed in the clip might inform Spivak thinks and writes about Frankenstein.




Subaltern is a term that commonly refers to persons who are socially, politically, and geographically outside of/subjugated by the hegemonic power structure. Do any of Shelley's figures exist outside of the novel's power structures? Which structures do they navigate and which do they evade? How do these processes or maneuvers inform their identity formation?

Does the formulation regarding the cacophonous (rather than "harmonious") operation of the three-part Kantian subject that Spivak presents in her article support, negate or complicate our understanding of the Creature as a possible subaltern?