Abstract
Abstract: This essay argues that Marilynne Robinson's Gilead novels highlight the workings of modern American institutionalized racism via the underrecognized influence of William Ames, an early modern Reformed legal theorist who distinguished between "natural" and "civil" law. Acknowledging this distinction, and applying Caroline Levine's novel formalism, I contend that Robinson places the responsibility for prejudice in individual actors, as well as within the scope of legislation that could be properly responsive to inclusive policy outcomes. Historically, however, American laws have created conditions that are both unjust and unavoidably sinful, a status quo Robinson works to disrupt.
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