Black Atlantic Abolitionist Agency in Latin American and British Literary Legacies: A Comparative Study of Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda’ Sab and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point

Abolitionism emerged during the Enlightenment as a powerful movement aimedat ending slavery and the transatlantic slave trade in the eighteenth and nineteenthcenturies. It sought to expose the moral and economic contradictions of thesepractices through activism, literature, and social reform. This study analyzes twoabolitionist texts engaging Afro-Atlantic agency—Gertrudis Gómez deAvellaneda’s Sab and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s The Runaway Slave atPilgrim’s Point—to explore how they articulate intersecting oppressions of race,gender, and colonialism. Utilizing Paul Gilroy’s Black Atlantic theory, whichviews the Atlantic as a space of cultural exchange and political solidarity shapedby shared histories of diaspora, this research employs thematic analysis toinvestigate key motifs such as resistance and empowerment, intellectual andpolitical leadership, transatlantic connections, intersectionality, revolution andemancipation, as well as narrative voice and representation. Both texts emphasizethe agency and inner lives of enslaved individuals while differing in theirnarrative forms and political expressions. Sab, a romantic novel, focuses onmoral introspection and feminist abolitionism within the context of Cubancolonial society. In contrast, Browning’s Victorian dramatic monologueembodies a spirit of defiance and direct political protest against Americanslavery. Despite their differences, both works offer a profound critique of racialand gender oppression while affirming a commitment to human dignity andtransatlantic solidarity. Nonetheless, their genres, tones, and strategies diverge:Avellaneda’s introspective and philosophical resistance contrasts withBrowning’s radical call for collective action. Additionally, Sab features acontemplative male narrator, while Browning presents a visceral female voice.Together, these texts illuminate the dynamic nature of Afro-Atlantic abolitionistliterature as a project that envisions freedom, justice, and collective emancipationacross temporal and geographic boundaries