19th of April 2016
Thesis Statement
Many scholars and critics have sought to find some hidden meaning and messages in the works of Shakespeare. However, despite the abundance of allegory, sarcasm and on satire, the reader’s attention should not be diverted from the main problem that the author shows in “Othello” and this is the issue of race and discrimination within the society of those days. This topic has not yet been fully described and is of interest as it shows some controversial noted in terms of the understanding of racism as we know it now, and how people understood it in the old days. Nonetheless, considering the abundance of general research on Othello it is safe to say that Othello is not the story of eternal jealousy, envy and hate, but a contemporary Shakespeare story of the love of the black man to a white woman.
Introduction
The most important thing in Othello is the skin color of the main character of the play. At first glance, it is obvious; and yet most critics tend not to consider the skin color of Othello as a grounding piece for two reasons. First, from a historical point of view it would be wrong to assume that the color of skin had for the people of the Elizabethan era the same value, as in our time. Second, to interpret Othello as a play on the racial problem it would be tantamount to saying that Henry IV is a play about obesity. The true meaning of this tragedy, critics say, is much wider and deeper than the question of the nationality of its characters. It is hard not to agree with the statement made by Alexander and Wells (p. 14) about Shakespeare's soul that after this masterpiece it was finally free from racial prejudice. Yet it is impossible to assume that Shakespeare was not preoccupied with the racial problem when he chose the hero of the play or created episodes, from which one can conclude that Desdemona would have been perhaps better, if she married a white man. Othello is not the story of eternal jealousy, envy and hate, but a contemporary Shakespeare story of the love of the black man to a white woman.
Racial Prejudice
Of course, it would be wrong to consider Othello as if the play was written after several centuries of imperialist relations with Africa. In Shakespeare's time, racial prejudice could not be a pressing issue in the modern sense, that is, the problem of economic, political and sexual rivalry that arose in a society based on competition, as a vestige of slavery, and the complicated movement for the independence of Africa. However, Elizabethans probably had the most direct contact with the Moors. Trade with North Africa has long been flourishing and in two cases, when the Moors were expelled from Spain in 1658 and 1609 respectively, the British ships transported them to Africa. Then, the crews of these ships were likely to treat them with great sympathy. In 1600, just four years before the first staging of Othello, many theater goers in London have probably seen in London the "Noble Moors", who were the members of the Embassy of the Barbary Coast. Typically, the Moors were attributed with qualities such as cruelty and at the same time glory. Participation of the "King of the Moors" in Elizabethan process probably gave them splendor. Many of the words derived from the root “Barbary”, appeared in the Elizabethan era, for example: “barbarity” (“uncivilized condition”, first noted in 1570); “Barbarism” (the same connotation as in 1584), “barbarous” (“wild, brutal”, 1588) (Bartels p. 169).
Racial Issue as the Outcome of the Many Conflicts
The fact that in the time of Shakespeare's the audience was not yet familiar with the racial problem, even intensified the impact of the play. Othello’s marriage seemed strange to the audience, who had never seen a colored man with a white woman. Bartels (p. 171) even believes that "whoever thinks that in England of those times" color barrier "did not exist, simply were not attentive while reading Othello. Clearly, it was easy to reach the voltage, as in the opposition of certain conditions, like black and white, although the meaning of Othello cannot be sought only in the reflection of this contradiction.
It is likely that the racial problem in Othello is the main and even prophetic in form, and has reached such emotional intensity through the sharpness of other conflicts, not necessarily between the existing races. For example, between the Puritans, heretics and secret Jews, or the contradictions that give rise to the hierarchical system. The royal descent of Othello had no great value in Venice. It is noteworthy that his enemies (and not only to Iago) tried to equate it to the representatives of the lower classes; suffice it to recall how Rodrigo Brabantio complains that Desdemona left:
your fair daugther transported
But with a knave of common hire, a gondolier,
(Shakespeare I, 1, 126—127)
In Othello Shakespeare shows the conflict between a stranger, alien to the same class, and hierarchical society that is predatory, and therefore not even quite human. Therefore, Othello’s skin color is not only an expression of racial protest, but also a much wider, human protest. Bartels (2013 p. 174) quotes Robeson, who said that:
“’Othello’ in Shakespeare is a black Moor from Africa But the color of the skin - in itself is a minor point, except that it emphasizes the difference between the two cultures. What is more important Shakespeare's Othello has learned to live in an alien society, but he is - not a member of this society; Thus, residents of the eastern states can gain native Western manners and not become like him."
However, on the other hand, Bartels (p. 174) provides an argument that the color of the skin is of paramount importance, causing the spectators subconscious feeling this difference. No matter how we treat this statement, it stressed that Shakespeare made viewers look at Othello through the eyes of Iago.
Othello a Great Man
Othello is a great man, different from the surrounding society not only physically, but also in culture and upbringing. He admits only universal human values such as love and commitment (of course, in so far as his social position allows him). Nevertheless, he was naïve to believe that he had acquired all human rights in a society that was dominated by very different values. Then he became vulnerable to the irrational and brutal force embodied in Iago. These forces try to make Othello just as unreasonable as they are themselves, and have almost succeeded (Bartels p. 171).
The greatness of the figure of Othello, the charm of his poetic speech put him higher than the social situation, which he actually finds himself in. A professional soldier, mercenary, he serves the Venetian republic, becoming its most loyal and popular commander. At home, he would be a man of royal blood. Therefore, he could say without boasting that he is worthy of the high position, which he reached. And yet, according to Rodrigo, he is a “an extravagant, and wheeling stranger”; (Shakespeare I, 1, 137); here "extravagant" means he, who "does not know his place"), “having lived not even a year in Venice” (Shakespeare I, 3, 83-85).
Already in the first scene of the tragedy, which are probably the best introductory scenes of Shakespeare, the playwright clearly shows the danger of an unusual situation in which Othello finds himself in. In the second scene two detachments are looking for Othello in the streets of Venice, one was sent by the Senate, which wants Othello to immediately assume the command of the Army against the Turks. Another is to imprison Othello because he married the daughter of a senator. In the darkness, a detachment passes one after another, and Othello ironically comments on this paradox: if he obey those who want to imprison him, will the Doge be satisfied? Othello’s prestige is based on the fact that he is indispensable; but this does not mean that the rulers are to accept him as an equal. Brabantio frequently invited Othello over and even "loved" when he talked about past adventures. However, Othello as a future son-in-law was certainly persona non grata to Brabantio (Alexander and Wells p. 19). An outcome that would not be favored. The latter has even thought of Othello as a creature that a Venetian woman could love only as a result of a ridiculous mistake of nature. Brabantio cannot be reconciled with the idea that his daughter is the wife of a Moor, and sorrow is killing him (Alexander and Wells p. 21). Secretly marrying, the characters are at high risk; but it is not recklessness that made them take such a step, but the purity and sincerity of their intentions. The fact that Desdemona has agreed to a secret alliance with Othello, abandoning many of the "noble party", shows that this free marriage for love was not a shadow for material gain interests. Othello does not receive any benefits from marriage, and Desdemona says::
That I did love the Moor to live with him,
My downright violence and scorn of fortunes
May trumpet to the world.
(Shakespeare 7, 3, 248—250)
Desdemona publicly declares her love for Othello and with deadly ease responds to her father’s question of whether she would continue to obey him:
Here's my husband,
And so much duty as my mother show'd
So much I challenge that I may profess Due to the Moor, my lord.
(Shakespeare 7, 3, 185—189)
Desdemona thinks that marriage with Othello must be the same as was the marriage of her father and mother. Angered, Brabantio replied that in that case he no longer considers her a daughter: “I had rather to adopt a child than get her,” (Shakespeare 1, 3, 191). Desdemona is not afraid that she and Othello remain alone, because her own father would not let her into his home. With childlike simplicity, which at the end of the tragedy amplifies her loneliness and helplessness makes Desdemona so sincerely when she talks about the love to Othello. Iago interpreted her words to the contrary. “If she ‘bad bee blest she would never have lov'd the Moor’” (Shakespeare II, 1, 247).
Unlike her father, Desdemona is not interested in age, ethnicity or wealth of Othello. She sees the existence of only universal concepts, such as parents, love, husband, friend. What is important is that Othello largely shares her views. For the first time since childhood Othello enters into a relationship with another person (the friendship with Cassio does not count), which are not based on considerations of a political or military expediency, but on purely human sense. However, by giving all their love, Othello was in a vulnerable state easily “put into circumscription and confine”, (Shakespeare I, 2, 27). And therefore Othello can not survive the loss of Desdemona's love. Othello can not be called selfish as he could endure hunger, disease, slavery, infamy – he could lose it all, everything that still represented value to him, but not the loss of Desdemona:
But there, where I have garner'd up my heart,
Where either I must live or bear no life,
The fountain from the which my current runs,
Or else dries up — to be discarded thence!14
(Shakespeare IV, 2, 58—61)
Thus, Othello and Desdemona are defending universal values in a society that misrepresents those values; but relying on an abstract "humanity", they are defenseless. The spiritual purity of the hero and heroine, determines their protest against the surrounding society and shows their utter helplessness in the face of this society.
Conclusion
The issue of racial discrimination is the main point in the whole story. Othello is adored and loved by the people of Venice. That is, until he decides to marry a daughter of a senator. Only then, when it becomes personal, the true discriminative nature of Brabantio shows up. Shakespeare reminds everyone that the Moors were despised and never thought of as an equal, despite having served the country the best they could. Othello has become famous for his military feats, and he was allowed to approach the court, but nothing more. The true nature of those in power showed up. Nonetheless, Shakespeare would not be himself if he were not to show the love story between the white woman and the “dark Moor”.
Bibliography
Alexander, Catherine M., and Stanley Wells. Shakespeare and race. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Print. 1-22. 23-37
Alexander and Wells dwell upon the attitude Shakespeare had towards race and the way it is depicted in “Othello”. Shakespeare cannot be considered showing signs of discrimination; however, he depicts all the flaws the society of his time had. Despite not being discriminative in the contemporary understanding of the 20th and 21st century, the Elizabethans were not discriminative in terms of social class and belonging to a different strata of society. The authors focus on Othello and his race which in the eyes of the then day society is perceived as a “setback”. However, despite this “setback” Othello managed to achieve things that some of the white men of high rank could not even dream of. His status and the quality of being indispensable caused many people to admire him, more to envy him, and even more so to hate him. The color of his skin and race are only a pretext for picking on him as he is more successful in everything starting with the favor of the Doge, military skill and ending with the relationships with women. Desdemona is the most vivid example here.
This source is used in the direct analysis of why discrimination was present and how it was reflected on Shakespeare’s Othello. We speak of the hardships Othello is facing and he overcomes them. The issue of race discrimination is of immense importance as it allows us to understand the culture of those times. This book allows us an insight on the most relevant tendencies that were in society of those times.
Bartels, Emily C. “Review of Speaking of the Moor: From Alcazar to Othello by Susan E. Phillips.” Modern Philology, Vol. 110(3). 2013. pp. E168-E175
Emily Bartels in her review of the book written by Susan Phillips points to various race issues connected to race and how this issue was received in the Elizabethan England. Though many did not understand it as the term racial discrimination is understood today, there still was discrimination on the basis of status. In those days, according to Bartels, this was far more offensive than say racial or even gender discrimination. People did not think about what color skin the person in front of them was. All they thought about was the political affiliation, status and acquaintances in the palace or the parliament.
We use this source to analyze the issue of discrimination from a historic perspective and see how it relates to Shakespeare and Othello. Using the received information we analyze Othello on a number of criteria. This criteria is important to conclude what kind of a person Othello was and what were the true reasons for his hardships.
Works Cited
Alexander, Catherine M., and Stanley Wells. Shakespeare and race. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Print. pp. 1-22, 23-37.
Bartels, Emily C. “Review of Speaking of the Moor: From Alcazar to Othello by Susan E. Phillips.” Modern Philology, Vol. 110(3). 2013. pp. 168-175.
Shakespeare, William. The tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. New York: Washington Square Press, 1993. Print.
