Introduction
Historically, minor races such as Blacks have faced a lot of inhumane experiences in the US. At one time in North Carolina, a 20-year-old black woman was about to be sterilized. This woman was a single mother to one child, and they lived together at O’Berry Center. During this time, O’Berry Center was segregated for Black adults with different mental disabilities. The single mother had an IQ of 62, and some of the characteristics that they used to describe her included “sexual promiscuity” and “aggressive behavior” (Stern). The woman’s history indicates that she had been orphaned as a young child and could not access enough education. According to them, she needed the “protection of sterilization” due to her feeblemindedness and the fact that she could not assume her responsibility (Stern). This woman was not the only person sterilized in the 20th century in the US. Over 60,000 people experienced the inhumane act in the 20th century (Stern). The same is depicted in Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Garcia’s novel shows that dehumanization and eugenics are dangerous to society and people should recognize and resist their effects.
Main body
Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s novel Mexican Gothic depicts the themes of dehumanization and eugenics by focusing on Doyles and a young socialite woman known as Noemi Taboada. In the novel, Noemi represents those considered “inferior” and Doyles considers themselves “superior.” The novel begins when Noemi has just received a letter from Catalina, her cousin. Catalina writes the letter asking Noemi for help because she thinks her English husband plans to kill her. This was the beginning of the collision between Noemi and the Doyles. In this house, the Doyles treat Noemi inhumanely in many instances. However, on the other hand, Noemi is determined to uncover this family’s secret and to understand why they are doing some things. She is helped by a local doctor and a sympathetic family member.
Dehumanizing involves viewing someone else as having less worth than others. People who dehumanize others deny they are human and do not care how they treat them. The view and treat others like they have less mental capacities than normal human beings. Studies have used the term dehumanizing to refer to genocide, slavery, judicial and extrajudicial killing, denial of suffrage, war, and so much more (Kteily and Landry 223). For many years, dehumanizing has always played a part in eugenics since it involves stigmatizing racially inferior individuals. A perfect example would be how Whites treat African Americans and minor races in the U.S. They are made to feel like they are not Americans Dehumanization is a common theme in Garcia’s novel.
Dehumanizing in Garcia’s novel can be depicted in how Doyle’s family treats other people. Since these family members view themselves as superior to those from other minor races, like Mexicans, they tend to act unjust to them. For instance, when Catalina sends a letter to Noemi and moves immediately, she is met with unexpected (Moreno-Garcia 26). First, when she arrived at the mansion, she was met with an unwelcoming atmosphere from the family members. The Doyles seemed controlling and patronizing from the first day Noemi arrived. The Doyles utilize every opportunity to make Noemi feel like an outsider. Every family member seems to speak to her condescendingly and tries to make her feel unwelcome. For example, Florence takes Noemi all over the mansion and shows her the room she will use, and she gives her a lot of rules. Florence says, “We do things a certain way around here, and we expect you to follow the rules” (Moreno-Garcia 27). This treatment gives a clear picture of how the Doyles dehumanized Noemi. They consider her a lower-class Mexican woman who should heed the commands of the higher class.
Another instance of dehumanization in Garcia’s novel is how the Doyles treated Indigenous workers. The Doyles are significantly rich and they have many workers to attend to their needs. The family has a silver mine that is near the mansion. Before the independence of Mexico, the mine was under the Spaniards’ management. After independence, the Doyles took over the mine and brought in English machines and workers to excavate silver. However, a few years after reopening, a pandemic killed most of the English workers. As a result, the family brought in Mexican workers to continue with the work but were not treated right by the Doyles. For instance, when Noemi asked Francis how the Doyles treated the Mexican workers, she did not hesitate to say, “Like animals, they said…At least they were not in a hole beneath the earth. The Mexican mining crews, he had no mercy on those” (Moreno-Garcia 129) She added, “Him, Mr. Doyle, and his brother, both of them bellowing at the workers” (Moreno-Garcia 129). The Doyles treated these workers inhumanely because they belonged to the lower social class and a minor race.
The use of fungus is another instance in which Garcia depicts dehumanization. The Doyle family utilizes fungus, which is deadly and mysterious, that they find in the silver mine to manipulate people. In many instances, the family used the fungus to exert control over the Mexican mine workers and manipulate other members of the family. For example, during Noemi’s unique visits with Catalina, she asks her to seek a healer for her. However, when the healer came, she gave Catalina the fungus in the form of medicine. The fungus made Catalina have seizures, making them unable to meet again. Francis tells Noemi the Doyles “used the fungus to heal their wounds and preserve their health, but it could be so much more” (Moreno-Garcia 209). The family used the fungus to induce hallucinations and change the perception of everyone they came into contact with.
The Doyles’ disregard for human life depicts the theme of dehumanization. Through the novel, it is clear that the Doyle family does not care about other people’s lives, including some of their family members. They treat people like they are not human beings and would sacrifice anyone when their power and bloodline are threatened. For instance, Doyle tried their experimentations on many people, including their family members to make them “pure” like they think they are. In addition, they treat workers inhumanely and use the deadly fungus to get what they want. For example, as mentioned earlier, when the American workers died of a pandemic, Francis said that “they were buried here” (Moreno-Garcia 45). They do not care about anybody and would only view themselves as superior.
Dehumanizing in Garcia’s novel is also associated with Doyles’ desire for control and power. All through the novel, the Doyles believe that when they treat people inhumanely, they will be able to maintain their dominant position and prevent others from intruding. A perfect example is the way the Doyles treat Catalina. In the letter, Catalina informs Noemi that her English husband plans to poison him. Additionally, even though Catalina is okay, the Doyles take her to a mental institution and treat her like she is crazy. This family treats Catalina with disdain and cruelty, making her feel like she does not belong there. They deny her most of her basic needs, do not allow her to meet her cousin, and treat her like an object. For instance, when Noemi wanted to see Catalina, Francis told her, “If you must meet her forthwith, then you better come with me” (Moreno-Garcia 29). They did not allow her to meet Noemi unless there was someone around. Catalina could not make any decision on her own.
The eugenics theme is also evident in Garcia’s novel in different scenes. For instance, the Doyles’ perception of their family lineage is a perfect example of eugenics in Garcia’s novel. From how the Doyles treat those around them, including giving them fungus and assuming the needs of workers, they view themselves as a part of a superior race. They tend to view any person who does not belong to their “superior” race as a threat to how pure they are. Due to these obsessions with eugenics, these individuals end up committing unheard-of acts to those that they deem as “threats” to their purity. For example, the narrator notes, “It was funny, though, that if Doyle was truly that interested in eugenics he’d insist on all these marriages to close relations…Maybe he was imitating Darwin, who’d also married within his family” (Moreno-Garcia 132). The Doyles kept these acts a secret, and when Benito found out, her father “almost killed her” (Moreno-Garcia 132). These people wanted to ensure that their race remained as pure as possible.
The theme of dehumanization and eugenics in Mexican Gothic makes it a timely novel, especially now that debates about race and genetics are common. Even though one would say that eugenics existed in America in the past, some people still believe today that some races are genetically superior. These people would not want any “inferior” race to make them “impure.” Like Howard, some of these people also believe that they can use science to avoid making their “superior” races impure. For instance, according to Kung et al., since studies indicate that African Americans have a shorter lifespan than Whites, “It is perverse to assume that this must be genetic” (6). This belief that some races are superior to others still exists now. Therefore, Garcia’s novel warns people how dangerous it is to perceive one race as superior to others.
Critics from all over the globe have praised Garcia’s novel Mexican Gothic for how it uniquely blends social commentary and gothic horror. She tries to give a clear picture of the effects of dehumanization and eugenics on people and society. For instance, Grady notes that the Mexican Gothic is about colonialism “because the gothic novel has been interested in thinking through questions of colonialism and empire for a long, long time” (2). Glady links Garcia’s novel to a nation with old money, which has already gone and is on the brink of collapsing. The nation is isolated from everyone else and seems to be hiding from something. When the book begins, one intruder considered a threat migrates into the “nation.” Additionally, Wick views Garcia as a great storyteller by making “you uneasy about invisible things by writing around them…Even when you think you know what lurks, the power to unsettle isn’t diminished” (7). Generally, most of the critics that Mexican Gothic receives are praised for their uniqueness in giving a clear perspective of eugenics and its role today.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Garcia’s novel Mexican Gothic revolves around a young woman investigating claims from her cousin that her English husband wants to poison her. While Garcia captures many themes in her novel, two related themes stand out: dehumanization and eugenics. Dehumanizing involves seeing someone as less worthy, while eugenics consists in viewing one’s race as superior. In Garcia’s novel, the Doyle family’s actions toward people around them, including family members and Mexican workers, depict these two themes. Doyles significantly disregard human life, and they do not invite visitors warmly to their home; they treat their workers inhumanely, they use deadly fungus to alter people’s perceptions and try to transform other people to become what they consider “pure.” The two themes make Garcia’s novel timely and act as a caution to people today to address these issues and work together toward creating an equal and just society. Garcia encourages people today to resist any ideology that tries to make others feel less worthy due to their genetic makeup by highlighting the effects of eugenic belief.
Works Cited
Grady, Constance. “Gothic Novels Are Obsessed with Borders. Mexican Gothic Takes Full Advantage.” Vox. 2020. Web.
Kteily, Nour S. and Alexander P. Landry. “Dehumanization: Trends, Insights, and Challenges.” Trends in Cognitive Sciences, vol. 26, no. 3, 2022, pp. 222-240. Web.
Kung, Jess, et al. “Is ‘Race Science’ Making a Comeback?” NPR, 2019. Web.
Moreno-Garcia, Silvia. Mexican Gothic. New York: Del Rey, 2020.
Stern, Alexandra Minna. “Forced Sterilization Policies in the US Targeted Minorities and Those with Disabilities – and Lasted into the 21st Century.” Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation, 2020. Web.
Wick, Jessica P. “Pitch-Perfect ‘Mexican Gothic’ Ratchets up the Dread.” 2020. NPR. Web.