BETWEEN VOICE AND ERASURE: A SPIVAKIAN STUDY OF SUBALTERNITY IN THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS

Abstract

This study examines The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot through the theoretical framework of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s concept of subalternity. Focusing on issues of voice, representation, and epistemic violence, the research analyzes how Henrietta Lacks is positioned within dominant medical and scientific discourses that denied her agency, consent, and recognition. Although Henrietta’s biological contribution transformed modern medicine, her identity and subjectivity were excluded from institutional narratives, revealing deep-rooted power imbalances shaped by race, class, and gender. Using qualitative and interpretive textual analysis, this study explores the extent to which Skloot’s narrative challenges historical silencing while also remaining constrained by the structures of representation Spivak critiques. The analysis demonstrates that scientific institutions transformed Henrietta’s body into valuable knowledge while simultaneously erasing her voice, a process that aligns with Spivak’s notion of epistemic violence. Furthermore, the study highlights how Henrietta’s position as a Black woman intensified her marginalization, situating her at the intersection of multiple forms of oppression. By directly connecting Spivak’s postcolonial theory to Skloot’s narrative strategies, this research contributes to postcolonial literary studies, medical humanities, and bioethical discourse. It reveals the limitations of narrative recovery and underscores the ethical challenges involved in representing marginalized subjects whose voices have been historically excluded. Ultimately, the study argues that while The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks raises critical awareness of injustice, it also demonstrates the difficulty, if not impossibility, of fully restoring the subaltern voice within dominant systems of knowledge.