Othello and Race in Elizabethan England

7/27/2019 Othello and Race in Elizabethan England

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" O t h e l l o " a n d R a c eR e l a t i o n s i n

E l i z a b e t h a n E n g l a n d Rudo lphShaw

G e n e t i c d if f e re n c e s a m o n g h u m a n s h a v e a lw a y s b e e n a s o u r c eo f p r e ju d i c e , d i s c o n t e n t , a n d o t h e r s o c ia l e v i ls ; e n o u g h t o m a k ea b e a u t i f u l s w a n s e e m l i ke a n u g l y d u c k l i n g . I n t e r r a c i a l m a r -r ia g e s a r e o f t e n f r o w n e d u p o n in s o m e s oc ie t i es , a n d a g r e a tf a s c i n a t io n e x is ts f o r i n te r r a c i a l m a r r i a g e o f t h e b l a c k a n d w h i t ec o m b i n a t i o n . I t t r a n s c e n d s t h e r e a l m o f " r e a l " l ov e a n d e n t e r st h e z o n e o f p a s s io n f o r th e f o r b i d d e n f r u i t o f t h e o p p o s i t e s k inc o l or . E v en in o u r c o n t e m p o r a r y l e a r n e d s o c ie t ie s , s t e r e o t y p i c a ln a m e s a r e o f t e n a t t a c h e d t o s u c h c o u p l e s - - i n S p a in i t is " l e c h ey c h o c o l a t e " ( m i l k a n d c re a m ) , in t h e U n i t e d S t a te s o f A m e r i c ai t is " J u n g l e F e v e r" f r o m t h e p o p u l a r m o v i e o n t h e t o p i c . D i dE l iz a b e t h a n s r e fe r to s u ch c o u p le s as " O t h e l l o a n d D e s d e m o n a " ?Q u i t e p o s si b l y: a n d b l a m e d s u ch l a b e l l i n g o n S h a k e s p e a r e ' s b o l d -n e ss t o g o b e y o n d t h e " b a s e a l l i a n c e " ( G i ve n , 1 8 9 9 ) o f h i s p e e r si n t r e a t i n g t h e t o p i c o f b l ac k a n d w h i t e r e l a t io n s h i p s . " I t is ab o l d t h i n g t o b r i n g a c o a l -b l a c k M o o r o n t h e s t a g e as t h e h u s -b a n d o f a d e l i c a te , l o v i n g b r i d e " ( G i ve n , 1 8 9 9 ) .

T h e E l i z a b e t h a n a u d i e n c e h a d a l r e a d y s e e n s e v e ra l w o r k sd e a l i n g w i t h r ac e r e l a t i o n s h i p s i n t h e p o p u l a r h o r r o r p l a y s l ik e" T i tu s A n d r o n i c u s . " P la ys t h a t i n c o r p o r a t e d e x e c u t i o n s , m u r d e r s ,m u t i l a t i o n s a n d ra p es w e r e p a r t o f t h e c o m m o n d r a m a t i c f a r eo f th e E l i z a b e t h a n T h e a t e r ( W r i g h t a n d L a M a r , 1 9 67 ). T h e s eRudolph A. S haw s a G uyanese-bornactor and Ph.D candidate n educational theaterand dramatherapyat New York University. He is also he executive director of the Carib-bean Am erican RepertoryTheater n New York. He holds a bachelor'sdegree n Englishand theater from QueensCollege CUNY, and a ma ster'sdegree n criminal justice fromJohn Jay C ollege of Criminal Justice, CUNY.

Eurocent r i c v iews t h a tA f r i c a n m e n a r e b a r b a r i c ,i l l i t e ra te , p r o m i s c u o u ss t u d s (g o o d e n o u g h onlyt o b e u s e d i n s e r v i tu d ea s h e w h i t e m a n 'sp r o p e r t y ) h a v e b e e np e r p e t u a t e d t h r o u g ht im e a n d s p a c e . n t h ep l a y Othello,Shakespeare p resen ts a nA f r i c a n m a n w h on e g a t e s s u c hs te reo typ i ca l v i ews . Ins h o c k i n g h i s a u d i e n c ew i t h t h i s d e v i a t i o n f r o mt h e n o r m , Shakespearepresen ts a rea l i t y tha tA f r i c a n m e n a r e i n d e e dc i v il , l it e ra te , f a i t h fu lh u s b a n d s . O t h e l l o ' st ragedy t ranscends racea n d s b a s e d o n a n a t u r a lhuman weakness . H i sl ac k o f s e l f -e s t e e mm a k e s h im a n e a s y p r e yfo r t h e w h i t e dev i l , l ago .


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8 4 J o u r n a l o f A f r i c a n A m e r i c a n M e n

In c r e a t i n g a M o o rw h o w a s b l a c k nt h e f a c e y e t w h i t e

a n d n o b l e in t h esp i r i t , S h a k e s p e a r e

h a d t h e p e r f e c tc h a r a c t e r oa s to u n d a n dp e r p l e x t h e

a l readyb l o o d th i r s t yE l i z a b e t h a na u d i e n c e s .

p lays represented the sensa t iona l i sm E l i zabethans loved in thethea te r . "T he p l ays o f t he Rom an d ram a t i s t Senec a we re w e l lk n o w n , a n d e x e r t e d a p o w e r f u l i n f lu e n c e o n e a r l y E l iz a b e t h a nd r a m a . . , n o t h i n g c o u l d b e t o o b l o o d y a n d h o r r ib l e fo r a n E liz a-be tha n aud i enc e " (W r i gh t an d La Mar , 1967). M i x ed w i t h t h i sd e sir e f o r b l o o d a n d h o r r o r in th e t h e a t e r w a s t h e c o n v e n t i o n a lw i c k e d M o o r c h a r a c te r in t h e E l iz a b e t h a n a n d e a r l ie r l i t e r a t u r e(W r i gh t and La Mar , 1967 ) . Se t t i ng t he d ram a i n I ta l y app ea l edto t he hy p no t i c fas c i na t i on w h i c h Eng l is hmen he l d f o r Rena is -sance I ta l y . I t i s no surpr i se there fo re tha t bo th Shakespeareanp lays , i n wh ich the ques t ion o f rac ia l d i f fe rence p lays an impor -tant par t , are set in Venice (Salgado, 1985) . I t i s a lso not surpr is -in g t h a t t h e s o u r ce o f " O t h e l l o " w a s a s h o r t s to r y f r o m t h eH e c a t o m m i t h i - - " a c o l le c t io n o f t al es b r o u g h t o u t in 1 5 65 b y a nI ta l ian nam ed G i ov ann i Ba t t i s ta G i ra ld i (C i n th i o ) " (W r i gh t a ndLa Mar , 1956 ). T he s to ry c omes f rom the pa r t t h a t dea l s w i t h'T he Un fa i t h f u l nes s o r Hus bands and W i v es ' . Wh i l e t he charac-t e r o f 'D i s dem ona ' is m en t i on ed in t he o r i g i na l , t he re is no re f -e r e n ce t o O t h e l l o , a n d Shakespeare 's s o u r c e f o r t h e n a m eremains obscure (Wr igh t and La Mar , 1956) .O ne s ugges t i on o f t he s ou rc e o f t he charac te r o f O t h e l lois th e mirac le o r m y s te ry plays . In c rea t i ng a M oo r w h o was b l ac kin the face y e t w h i t e a n d n o b l e i n t h e s p i r i t , Shakespeare h a dth e per fec t charac te r t o a s t o u n d a n d p e r p le x t h e a l r e a d y b l o o d -t h i r s t y El izabethan aud iences. I ndeed , aspec ts o f t h i s ch a r a c te rw e r e a l re a d y e v i d e n t in t h e " b l a cke n e d faces o f the o ld re l i g iousmirac le o r my s te ry p lay wh i c h s ugges ted t he i n t ro du c t i on o f da rkv isages in to the secular d r a m a i n t h e f o r m o f M o o r s " ( G iv e n ,1 8 9 9 ) . T h e m y s t e r y p l a y t h e r e f o r e p r o v i d e d t h e s o u r c e f r o mw h i c h Shakespeare w a s a b l e t o f i n d " a s u g g e s t io n o f t h e m e a n sb y w h i c h t o e x t e n u a t e t h e ma r r i a g e o f a r e fi ne d w h i t e w o m a nw i t h a blac k . His de b t t o t he my s te ry is g rea te r t ha n t o C i n th i o "(Given, 1899).Some c r it ic s hav e w r i t t e n t h a t " t he re is l i t tl e t o i nd i c a tet h a t Shakespeare or his co n te mp o r a r i e s w o u l d have i n t e r p r e t e dt h e u n i o n o f O t h e l l o a n d D e s d e m o n a as a p r o b l e m o f m i x e dm a r r i a g e " (Wr igh t and La Mar , 1956) , o r tha t rac ia l d i f fe rencewas a ma j o r i n te res t . T hey s ta te t ha t t o an El i zabe than , a M o o rwas a s war thy man and t he i n t e res t i n Moors pe rs i s t ed becauseo f t he s to r i es o f t he Moors i n Spa i n . Shak es pea re mere l y t ookth e a p p e l l a t i o n ' t he M oo r ' f r om the I t a li an sou rce , and s uc h us eo f t h e e x o t ic w a s q u i t e a p p r o p r i a t e a t t h e t i m e ( W r i g h t a n d L aMar, 1956). W hi le th i s m ay be t rue , the re are m a n y s u b l i m i n a la n d b l a t a n t r e f e re n c e s t o i n d ic a t e t h e t o n e o f race r e l a t i o n s a tt h e t im e .


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In addressing this issue, i t may be prudent to examineth e Elizabethan v iew o f the New Wor ld . Th is was a per iod inwh ich Engl ishmen had to face th e fact t ha t t he re were s t rangepeop le in o the r par ts o f t he w or ld . The s lave t rade had alreadystar ted, an d the Elizabethan per i od was t he hey day o f c o lon ia l -is m . Ma ny A f ri cans were b ro ug h t back t o Eng land as p roo f o ft he i r existence. The Elizabethans' k n o w l e d g e o f th e c o n t in e n tand peop les o f A f r i ca was bount i f u l . Cont rary be l ie f s " ignoreth e fact t ha t among the pub l i shed wr i t ings o f Eng l i sh voyagerswe l l be fore 1600, there w ere repor t s o f contacts w i t h W e s t A f ri -can k ings l ike the k ing o f Ben in in 'Negro - land ' , a nd tha t in thepages of John Leo's bo ok several s uc h k i ngdoms in ' Ne g ro - l and 'had been v iv id ly described" (Jones, 1965 ) . The mo st s ig ni f ican tof these publ icat ions was Mandeville's travels, wh ic h s t imu la t edth e appetite o f f i f tee n t h c en t u ry Eng land f o r i n f o rm a t i on abo u tt he c on t i nen t o f A f ri c a and its inhab i t an ts . "M an y o f t he c om-mones t no t ions wh i c h w ere he ld abo u t t he c on t i ne n t by E liz a-be thans can be traced back t o th is b oo k" (Jones , 1965) . One o fthe in te res t ing cont r ibu t ions o f "Mandeville 's Travels t o t h e n o -t ions of Af r ica is h is descr ipt ion of the inhabi tants wi th h is re-peated references t o the i r co lour , particularly w h e n t h e c o l o u rwas b lack" (Jones, 1965) . These references established an a u t o -mat ic association of A f r i ca w i th blackness i n the m inds o f En-gl ishmen (Jones, 1965).The English recognized t ha t t he best wa y t o colonize th eN e w W o r ld w as t h r o u g h t h e e x p o r t a t io n o f t h e i r language a ndculture. This desire to teach th e barbaric peop les o f t he NewWor ld t he ' r i gh t ' language and c u l t u re was ve ry ev iden t du r i ngth e Elizabethan per iod . In 1599, Samuel Da n ie l wro te a ph i lo -sophical poem which culminated in a v is ion of fu ture poss ib i l i -t ies (Greenblatt, 1990):

T h e E n g l is hr e c o g n i ze d t h a tt h e b e s t w a y t oc o l o n i ze t h e N e wW o r l d w a st h r o u g h t h ee x p o r t a t i o n o ft h e i r a n g u a g ea n d c u l tu r e .

And who in time knowes whither we may ventThe treasure of our tongue, to what strange shoresThis gaine or our best glor ie shal be sentT'inrich unknowing Nations with our stores?What worlds in th'yet un formed OccidentMay come ref in'd wiht th'accents that are ours?(Daniel, 1599)Here Dan ie l sees the Ne w Wo r ld as a vast r ich f ie ld fo r th e p lan-ta t ion o f the Eng l i sh language. To many E l i zabethans , peop lef rom the N ew W or ld were c u l tu ra l l y r.aked. "Th is i ll us ion tha tt he i nhab i tan t s o f the New W or ld a re es s ent ia ll y w i t h o u t a c u l-tu re o f the i r own is . . . remarked ly pers is ten t , even in the face


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lago's descript ionan d references t oOthe l lo as t h e

de vi l touch on t h epo pu lar European

fears o f t h epeoples of t h e

Ne w W orld .

o f ov e rwhe lm ing c on t rad i c t o r y ev idenc e" (Greenb la t t , 1990 ) .Gre gor io Garc ia co ndu c ted a mass ive s tudy (pub l i shed in 1607)w h i c h l in k e d th e l a n g u ag e s f o u n d in t h e N e w W o r l d w i t h t h a to f t h e d e v i l - - " S a t a n h a d h e l p e d t h e I n d ia n s t o i n v e n t n e wtongues , thus imped ing the labors o f Chr is t ian m iss ionar ies "(Gre enb lat t , 1990). This assoc iat ion o f Indians w i th th e d ev i l pa r-a l le ls E l izabethan v iews o f A f r i cans as we l l ; a nd th e re fe rencel i nk ing O t he l l o t o w i t c hc ra f t in t he p lay c omes f r om t h is s t e reo -t y p i c a l i m a g e o f A f r ic a n s . W h e n l a g o s p ea k s t o B a r b a n t i o(Desdemona 's fa ther ) ab ou t O the l lo , he re fe rs to h im as an u g lylasciv ious beast ; very much l ike the po pu lar n ot ion s o f the d ev i l ."lago's l anguage rep res en t s t he popu la r image o f Moors i n ag ro t es que l y d i s t o r t ed l i gh t ; . . . mov ing t o t he popu la r as s oc ia -t ions o f b lack w i th he l l , " he urges Barbant io to make has te be-f o re t h e dev i l m ak es h im a g ra nd f a t h e r (J ones , 1965 ). Hisl anguage t o Ba rban ti o , " an o ld b lac k ram/ I s t up p in g y ou r wh i t ee w e " (Othel lo I .i .88-89) is loaded w i th re fe rences to O the l lo asthe dev i l ish beast - - in fac t the dev i l h imsel f (Jones, 1965) . Thisimage is cur re n t l y seen in a cer ta in Un i ted C o lors o f Be ne t tonstore adver t isement in I ta ly .lago's d esc r ip t ion and re fe rences to O the l lo as the dev i lt ouc h on t he pop u la r Eu ropean fea rs o f t he peop les o f the NewWor ld . European response to these s t range peop le was o f tenc louded and c o n t ro l led by t he i r response t o t h e l egend ary W i l dM an characters o f Me d ieva l and Renaissance l i te ra tu re . Th is re -ac t ion i nc o rpo ra t ed a m ing led a t t r ac t i on an d rev u ls ion , l ong -ing and ha t red (Greenb la tt , 1990) . The peop les o f the Ne w Wo r ldd id n o t c on f o rm t o t he Eu ropean v iews o f m ora l it y , fam i l y l if e ,po l i t i ca l and o ther ins t i t u t ions , and the church ; and th is g rea t l yd is tu rbed the Europeans who observed them. Indeed, one ar -gu m en t aga ins t f ree ing s laves was tha t once g iven l iber t y , t hese"w i l d " peop le wou ld re t u rn t o a l i f e o f uns t ab le f am i l i es , wan-tonness and pervers ion (G ree nb lat t , 199 0) . lago 's references toO t h e l l o as a n " e r r in g b a r b a r i a n " a n d " e x t r a v a g a n t w h e e l i n gs t range r " de f i n i t e l y r em inded E l iz abe thans o f t he W i l d Ma n l eg -end (G reenb la t t , 1990) . A lso Roder igo 's re fe rence to O the l lo as"a lasc iv ious M o o r" in Ac t I. i, is an ins ta nt re m ind er to El izabe-t hans o f t he pop u la r be l i e fs c onc e rn ing t he s exua l p rom is c u i t yof Moo rs . The refore, O the l lo is presen ted as a s tereotyp ical b lackman by h is peers , desp i te h is accu l tu ra t ion in to the Venet iansociety . The issue of in ter rac ia l m arr iag e cou ld be seen as an a t -t rac t ion fo r E l i zabethan aud iences , and perhaps a cont rovers ia lone . " I t is obv ious tha t O t he ll o 's t r age dy wo u ld no t hav e oc -c u r red i n t he s ame way i t d i d i f t he Moor had no t been o f ad i f f e re n t race and co lour f rom mos t o f those in the soc ie ty ab ou t


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h i m . Bu t t he s ense in wh i c h O the l lo ' s rac e and c o l ou r c o n t r i b -u te d t o h is do w n fa l l needs t o be c a re fu l ly d i s t i ngu i s hed f ro mv ague a t t r i b u t i on s o f racia l p re j ud i c e " (Sa lgado , 1985 ). O the l l oex i s ted as a socia l l i on i n Ven ice , and un do ub te d ly fe l t rac ia l i so -l a ti o n . " N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g t h e a t t e n t i o n h e r e ce iv e d . . . O t h e l lorea l i z ed wha t t he ba r r i e r o f r ac e mean t , and was s o modes t asto ho ld an exag ge ra ted sense o f h is persona l de fi c ienc ies , "R udeam I in s peec h ." W hen be fo re t he Sena te it was on l y i n h is ow no p i n i o n , " a r o u n d u n v a r n is h e d t a l e " h e c o u l d d e liv e r, a l t h o u g hi n f ac t i t was a pe r f ec t t h i ng and c ha rmed ev e ry ea r . La te r hel a m e n ts t h e la c k o f a t t r a c t io n s o f c o n v e r s a t io n . . . . " (Givens,1899). Th is lack o f se l f -con f idenc e and es teem is t yp i ca l o f rac ia li n fe r i o r i t y . Desp i te h i s accompl i shments , O the l l o fe l t so i n fe r i o r ,t ha t he was unab l e t o f u l l y m eas u re h is lev e l o f ac c u l t u ra t i oni n to t he w h i t e s ocie ty .Whi le Ven ice does no t appear to be a rac i s t soc ie ty i nt he c on tex t o f t he p lay, t he s i t ua t i on i n E l iz abe than Eng l and wasone in wh i c h raci al i n t o l e ranc e was s ta r t i ng t o f es te r . "By t het i me Shak es pea re ' s O the l l o appea red on t he London s tage i n1604, A f r i c an c ha racte rs o f v a ry i ng c o l ou rs had bec om e a f am i l-i a r pa r t o f t he Londo n s tage t rad i t i on . T he y we re gene ra l ly c a lledMoors . T wo b road t y pes a re d is t i ngu i s hab l e a l t h ou gh t he y s ha resome common charac te r i s t i cs " (Jones , 1965) . The f i rs t t ype o fMoor was no ted f o r h i s ex t reme b l ac k nes s and was v i l l a i nous .T h e o t h e r t y p e w a s o f n o b l e c o n d u c t a n d w a s s ee n as a " w h i t eM oor , " a t y p i c a l ex am p l e be i ng t he P r inc e o f M oroc c o in TheMerchant of Venice (Jones, 1965) . "The presence of Negroes inEng l and a t ab ou t t he s ame t im e is a ls o c lea r ly a t t es ted by Q ueenE l iz abe th ' s ed i c t in 1601 f o r t h e t ran s p o r t a t i on o f ' nega rs andb la c k m o o r e s' o u t o f t h e c o u n t ry , w h e r e t h e i r i n cr e as e d n u m b e rwas g i v ing cause fo r a la rm " (Jones , 1965) . Ag a in s t th i s back -g round Shak es pea re p res en ted t he E l i z abe than aud i enc e w i t hO the l lo . I ndeed , O the l lo appea rs t o i nc o rpo ra te t he t ra i ts o f bo thtypes o f Mo ors . H is ro le as no b le so ld ie r is we l l accepted by h ispee rs , onc e he does n ' t b reak t he c o l o r ba r r i e r and bec ome tooi n ti m a t e . " B a r b a n t io ' s r a d ic a ll y c h a n g e d a t t i t u d e w h e n c o n -f ro n te d w i th O the l l o as a son- in - law is reve a l i ng" (Sa lgado, 1985).O nc e he v iews O th e l l o "as a pro fess iona l so ld ie r , Barbant io hasn o t h i n g b u t a d m i r a ti o n a n d a f fe c t io n f o r h im . B u t f o r c e d t o c o n -s ide r h im in a mo re i n t i m a te re l a t ions h i p , he is t r ap pe d in t hecu l tu ra l s te reo type o f the b lack man as ug ly , c rue l , l us t fu l anddange rous , ne ar cous in to the dev i l h im se l f " (Sa lgado, 1985).T he E l i z abe than aud i enc es v i ewed t h i s Mo or as an ex c ep t i on t ot h e r u l e m t h e e x c e p t i o n a l ly c u l t u r e d N e g r o w h o h a s a c h ie v e dsome s ta tus . Th is v iew is re f l ec ted i n th e w ay Ba rba nt io (as an


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i m a g e o f h i s s o c ie t y ) m a k e s a n e x c e p t i o n a n d is p r e p a r e d t o a c -c e p t O t h e l l o o n l y a s a s o l d ie r . I n a s i m i la r w a y p r e j u d i c e d p e o p l et o d a y m a k e e x c e p ti on s a n d a d m i re b la c k p e o p l e f o r e x c e p t i o n a la c h i e v e m e n t s in s p i t e o f t h e i r c o l o r ( S a lg a d o , 1 9 8 5 ). O u t s i d e t h i sa r e n a , O t h e l l o is a s t e r e o t y p i c a l b l a ck m a n " a n d o n l y w i t c h c r a f tc o u ld a c c o u n t f o r a b e a u t i f u l , i n t e l li g e n t a n d h i g h - b o r n m a i d e nb e c o m i n g e n a m o r e d o f h i m " ( S a lg a d o , 1 9 85 ).T h e p l a y Othello d o e s n o t r e a l l y a d d r e s s t h e i s s u e o f r a -c i a l i n t e g r a t i o n a n d h a r m o n y ( S a l g a d o , 1 9 8 5 ) . T h e c o l o r d i f f e r -e n ce b e t w e e n t h e m a r r ie d c o u p l e is n o t a n im p e d i m e n t b u t as t r e n g t h o f t h e i r lo v e . D e s d e m o n a e v e n s e e s O t h e l l o a s b e i n gi n v u l n e r a b l e t o t h e p a n g s o f j e a l o u s y b e c a u s e o f h i s b i r t h - - " lt h i n k t h e s u n w h e r e h e w a s b o r n / d r e w a l l s u c h h u m o r s f r o mh im " (111. v ). I n sp i t e o f h i s s t re ng th , l ago is ab le t o en co u ra geO t h e l l o t o s ee h i m s e l f as a n o l d b l a c k u n c i v i l iz e d M o o r , w h i c h isa t t h e r o o t o f a n y i d e n t i t y c ris is O t h e l l o m a y e n t e r t a i n ( S a lg a d o ,1 9 85 ). L o w s e lf - e s te e m is p r e v a l e n t a m o n g b l a c ks a n d o t h e r m i -n o r i t i e s d u r i n g t i m e s o f r a c i a l p r e j u d i c e a n d s u p p r e s s i o n . " T h u sO t h e l lo ' s c o l o u r is d r a m a t i c a l l y i m p o r t a n t a s a s y m b o l o f h is o w nu n i q u e n e s s a n d t h e u n i q u e n e s s o f D e s d e m o n a ' s c h o ic e , b u t i t iso n l y w h e n O t h e l l o b e g i n s t o t h i n k o r h i m s e l f as a t y p i c a l b l a c km a n . . , t h a t t h e s ee ds o f tr a g e d y a r e s o w n " ( S a lg a d o , 1 9 85 ).Othello w a s w r i t t e n a t a t im e w h e n p r o p e r t y o w n e r s h i pw a s a h o t i t e m in E n g l a n d . A p p r o x i m a t e l y o n e - s i x t h o f E n g l is hl a n d w a s c h a n g i n g h a n d s b y s a le o r le as e, a n d t h e t e r m ' su r -v e y o r ' b e c a m e p r e v a l e n t in t h e E n g lis h v o c a b u l a r y a r o u n d 1 5 50( C a l d e r w o o d , 1 98 9). T h e id e a o f p r o p e r t y v a l u e h a s s o m e p a r a l -lel in Othello. T o t h e E l i z a b e t h a n a u d i e n c e O t h e l lo ' s b la c k ne s sw a s a s ig n o f i m p u r i t y , w h i l e D e s d e m o n a ' s w h i t e n e s s w a s a s ig no f p u r it y . T h is is s u p p o r t e d b y t h e r e c o r d o f a p e r f o r m a n c e o fOthello i n 1 6 0 4 a t h a l l o w m a s ( A l l S a in ts D a y ) f e s t i v a l i n a n E n -g l is h ch u r ch . T h e t w o S h a k e s p e a r e a n p la y s p e r f o r m e d w e r eOthello a n d The Tempest, a n d t h e y w e r e v i e w e d as q u i t e a p -p r o p r i a t e f o r t h a t l i t u r g i c a l f e s t i v a l ( H as se l, 1 93 9 ). O n e c o m m e n to n th e t w o p r e s e n ta t io n s w a s t h a t " H a l l o w m a s w a s a f a v o r i t et i m e f o r t e s t i n g t h e f i d e l i t y o f l o v e r s . The Tempest c a n r e f r a c tt h a t t r a d i t i o n r o m a n t i c a ll y , a n d O t h e l l o t r a g i c a l l y " (H a ss el, 19 3 9).T h e fo c u s o f t h e f e s t i v a l i s t h e r i g h t e o u s n e s s a n d p e r s e c u t i o n o fsa in t s and mar t y rs . Othello " b e a r s t h e m o s t a t t r a c t i v e s i m i l a r i -t ie s t o t h e f e s ti va l . T h e d a y 's t h e m e o f m a r t y r s a n d p e r s e c u t e db le ss ed ne ss is q u i c k l y s u g g e s t e d b y D e s d e m o n a ' s s u f f e r i n g f o rh e r b le ss ed ne ss s a k e a t t h e h a n d s o f a n O t h e l l o w h o is h i m s e l fi r o n i c a l ly m o t i v a t e d b y a s t r o n g , t h o u g h p e r v e r t e d , s e ns e o f r i g h -t e o u s n e s s . D e s d e m o n a ' s w h i t e n e s s o f d r e s s a n d s k i n , s y m b o l i z -i n g h e r p u r i ty , e v e n f i n d t h e i r c o i n c i d e n t a l c o u n t e r p a r t in t h e


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i mage ry o f two p res c r i bed read i ngs f rom Rev e l a t i on " (Has s e l ,1 9 3 9) . T h r o u g h t h e r i t u a l o f th i s r e l i g i o u s f e s t i v a l, w e s e eDes demona as a s a i n t w ho goes t o he r rew ard a f t e r dea th ; a ndO the l l o as one wh o m i s j udged r i gh teous nes s and m us t be pun -ished fo r th is c r ime (Hassel , 1939). Perhaps O the l lo 's c r ime wasb e in g o n e o f " t h e m " a n d n o t o n e o f "us"wof be i ng b l ac k andn o t w h i t e . H e is p o r t r a y e d a s d a m n e d t h r o u g h t h e H a l lo w m a sr i tua l , and th i s da m na t ion para l le l s the Euchar is t ic r itua l o f pu-r it y. "R i t u a l . . . is a ma j o r means o f enc l os ing t h e pu r e and re -p e l li n g th e i m p u r e " ( C a ld e r w o o d , 1 9 89 ). W h i le t h e w o r d ' M o o r 'had no rea l rac ia l s ta tus i n E l i zabethan Eng land , i t s f i r s t mean-i ng i n t he O x fo rd Eng lis h D i c t iona ry s ugges ted t he re fe renc e t o" i n f id e l , n o n - c hr is ti a n, b a r b a r i a n . . , a t t h e l o w e s t d e p t h s o f de -prav it y , a fe l l o w Judas and the Prince o f Darkness" (C a lderw ood ,1989). Ca l de rwood f u r t h e r s ugges ts t h a t an e l em en t o f pos ses-s i on ex i s t ed i n t he E l i z abe than a t t i t ude t owards t he wh i t enes so f the i r skin , the i r l angua ge, h i s to ry and soc ia l r i tua l s wh en com-pa red w i t h t hos e o f the peop les o f t he New W or l d . T he E l iz abe -t h a n s c o m m o n l y vi e w e d t h e c u s to m s a n d p e o p l e f r o m t h e N e wW or l d as d i r ty , and t h i s was ev i de n t in t he re l i g i ous r i tua l s ."C lean li ness the n is no t on l y nex t to god l i ness , i t de f i nes go d l i -nes s. F rom th i s de te rg en t s t an dp o i n t E l i z abe than Eng l and wasgod ly i ndeed; hav ing c leansed i t se l f o f a g rea t dea l o f d i r t , es -pec ia l l y i n the fo rm o f Catho l i cs " (Ca lderwood, 1989) . The d i r t ypeop l e we re v i ewed as m i g ra t i ng t o Eng l and t o pos sess w ha tt he E l iz abe thans ow ned . Ev en t he ones w ho d i d n ' t m i g ra te we rev iewe d as env ious . These s t rangers w ere seen as the pe rpe tua le n e m y w " a n A r a b , J e w , A f ric a n , o r I n d i a n . . . w a s b e y o n d sa lv a-t i o n a n d b e y o n d t h e la w . If h e w e r e a b l e a n d fo o l i s h e n o u g h t oen te r E ng land he c ou l d no t ow n p ro pe r t y o r b r i ng any lega l ac -t io n . A n i n f id e l p r u d e n t e n o u g h t o r e m a i n o u t s id e E n g l a n d b u tf oo l is h e nou gh t o rema i n de fens e les s c ou l d be inv aded , robb edand k i l l ed" (Ca lderwood, 1989) . O f course these k i l l i ngs werev i ewed as an i n t eg ra l pa r t o f t he E l iz abe than ' s re l ig i ous d u t i esbecause in fi de ls we re par t o f the dev i l. The re fe rence to Othe l lo ' s' so o t y b os o m ' w a s a t r u t h s ee n b y B a r b a n t i o " w h o k n e w n a t u r ec o u ld n o t i n t e n d h is d a u g h t e r t o m a t e w i t h a b la c k m a n , h o w -ever no ble " (Given, 1971). O the l lo is s t i ll an a l ien. N o m a t te rho w nob le h is deeds , the b lackness o f h is sk in ca nn ot be w ash edaway. His presence o n s tage as an h ero ic b lack m an in th e m idsto f w h i t e Vene t ians , na tu ra l l y s en t a mess age t o t he E l i z abe thana u d i e n ce t h a t a n e w t y p e o f M o o r w a s i n their midst. This isp a r t ic u l a rl y p o i g n a n t w h e n w e c o n s id e r t h a t t h e E l iz a b e t h a naud i enc e was aware o f Q uee n E l iz abe th 's ed i c t r e f e r red t o ea r -lie r. The mos t nob le reason fo r the ed ic t accord ing to the Que en 's


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I n p r e s e n t i n gE l iz ab e t h a n s w i t h

O t h e l l o ,S h a k e s p e a r e u s e s

t h e p r es e n c e o ft h e M o o r a s tr ag i ch e r o t o c o n f r o n tt h e c o n s c i en c e o fh i s c o u n t r y m e n .

wr i t i ngs was t ha t b l ac k s a re " i n f i de l s , hav i ng no unde rs tand i ngo f Chr i s t o r h i s Gospe l . The mos t obv ious was tha t b lacks a r eb l ac k , wh i c h means o f c ou rs e t hey a re f rom the s ou th . We a l lk n o w w h a t t h a t m e a n s " ( C a l d e r w o o d , 1 9 8 9 ) .In 1603 S ir John Davies exem pl i f i ed th i s E l i zabetha n v iewo f men f rom the s ou th i n h i s poem M i c rec os mos :. . . Sou thward, m en are cruell , moody, m add,Hot, blacke, leane, leapers, lustful l , used to vant,Yet wise in action, sobe r, fea rful l , sad,I f good, m os t good, i f bad exceed ing bad.(Calderwood, 1989)

Bu t O the l l o i s a b lac k man w ho has been c onv e r t ed t o Ch ris -t i an i t y and is v i ewe d as hav i ng " c ros s ed s p ir i tua l p ro pe r t y l ines "(Ca l de rwo od , 1989). He is on a j ou rn ey t o do w ha t t h e Ch ris -t ians c an no t do a l one . O the l l o is a h i red hand . He is in Ven i c eon k i l li ng bus ines s. O bv i ous l y t he "w ea l t h y c u r l ed da r l i ngs o fo u r n a t i o n " (Othe l lo I . i i . 69) as Barbant io re fe rs to h i s count ry -men , c anno t be ex pec ted " t o b l o o d y t h e i r d o u b le t s a n d m u d d ythe i r hose f i gh t i ng T u rk s " (Ca l de rwo od , 1989). Ba rba r ic merc e -na ries li ke O the l l o a re h i red t o do s uc h wo rk . T he re appea rs t obe s ome pa ra l le l i n t he V ene t i ans h i r i ng O th e l l o t o k i ll T u rk sw h e n V e n ic e 's p r o p e r t y is t h r e a t e n e d , a n d O t h e l l o 's o w n m u r -d e ro u sn e ss w h e n h e b e lie v e s t h a t h is o w n p r o p e r t y - - D e s -dem ona , has been s to len . How ever , " th e rea l surpr ise is f i n d i ngthe s ou rc e o f ev il no t i n t he dev i li sh l ook i ng b l ac k s t range r , bu ti n t h e h o n e s t - l o o k i n g w h i t e c i t i z e n o f V e n i c e ( l a g o ) . N o t t h eenem y ou ts ide l ike the Turks, o r the s t rang er i ns ide l ike the Mo or ,b u t t h e e ne m y w h o has a lw a ys be e n i n s i d e . . . t h e e n e m y w h ois on e o f us" (Ca lderwood, 1989) .

In p resent ing E l izabethans w i th Othello, Shakespeare usest h e p r e se n ce o f th e M o o r as t r a g ic h e r o t o c o n f r o n t t h e c o n -s c i enc e o f h i s c oun t r y men . T he p l ay undoub ted l y c aus ed E l i z a -be thans t o rec ons i de r t he i r gen e t i c p lac e in t he g l oba l s t ruc tu re ,and t he i r a t t i t udes i n t he a rea o f rac e re l a t i ons . Shak es pea reus ed t he bac k g round o f rac i a l s t e reo t y pes and t he s oc i a l s t ruc -t u re o f E l i z abe than Eng l and s ens i t i v e l y , " ex p l o i t i ng i t s po ten t i -a lit ie s f o r s u g g e s t io n , b u t a t t h e s a m e ti m e m o v i n g a w a y f r o mthe s te reo types" (Jones , 1965) . He presented the charac te r o fO th e l l o i n s uc h a wa y as t o c omp e l s y m pa thy f rom the E l iz abe -thans (G iven , 1899). In the end , the c harac te r o f O the l l o em erge sas a d i s t inc t i nd i v i dua l a nd n o t a pa r t i c u l a r t y pe o f M oo r . Henc eh i s f a l l d o e s n o t t y p i f y t h e w e a k n e s s o f M o o r s , b u t t h e w e a k -nesses inh ere n t i n hu m an na tu r e (Jones , 1965).


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R e f e r e n c e s /Calderwood , James L. (1989). T he p roper t ies o f O t he l l o .Am herst: Th e University o f Ma ssachuse tts Press.Given Esq., W elker . (1971). A f u r t h e r s t u d y o f t h eO t h e l l o - - H a v e w e m i s u n d e r s t o o d S h a k e sp e a re 'sM o o r ? New York : AM S Press. (quotes f rom the 1899ed i t i on ) .

Gr een blatt , Stephen J. (1990). Lea rning To curse~Essaysin ea r l y mo dern cu l tu re . New York : Rou t l edge .Hasse~ Jr., Chris. (193 9). Renaissance dram a an d th e En-gl ish church year. Lincoln: Un iversity o f N ebraska Press.Jones, Eldred. (1965). O t h e ll o 's C o u n t r y m e n - - T h e A f r i -can in Engl ish Renaissance Drama. L o n d o n : O x f o r dUniversity Press.Sa lgado , Fere l l a and Gamimi . (1985) . Shakespeare'sO t he l l o . London : Pengu in Books.W right, Louis B. and La Mar, Virg inia A. (edi tors). (1967).I n t r o d u c t i o n t o T i t u s A n d r o n i c u s - - ' P o p u l a r h o r r o rp lays , " New York : W ash ington Square Press .W right , Louis B and La Mar, Virg inia A. (edi tors). (1956).I n t r o d u c t i o n t o O t h e l l o - - ' T h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o fOth el lo , " Ne w York: Was hingto n Square Press .

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Othello and Race in Elizabethan England