Ethnicity Studies and Post-Colonial Theory

Act 1, Scene 1

IAGO

'Zounds, sir, you're robb'd; for shame, put on
your gown;
Your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul;
Even now, now, very now, an old black ram
Is topping your white ewe. Arise, arise;
Awake the snorting citizens with the bell,
Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you:
Arise, I say.

*************************************

Act 1, Scene 2

BRABANTIO

How! the duke in council!
In this time of the night! Bring him away:
Mine's not an idle cause: the duke himself,
Or any of my brothers of the state,
Cannot but feel this wrong as 'twere their own;
For if such actions may have passage free,
Bond-slaves and pagans shall our statesmen be.

Othello: The Outsider

The constant oppression of the orients by Europeans is manifested through centuries of colonization, wars, and invisible boundaries. The West and the East are separated through prejudiced borders that create more and more tension. Edward Said takes the subject of the civilized vs. uncivilized—the “European” terms and in a way investigates the misconceptions and justifications of Europeans of such discord in his Orientalism. Europeans in his view come to define themselves by first defining the eastern civilizations. Comparing the East to the West and stereotyping it as the “inferior” group, the West does nothing more than enlightening its bias and making it apparent. The disconnect of such dissension is lucid in Shakespeare’s Othello where the tragedy of the Moor is a result of misconceptions in regards to his origins and race.

Desdemona’s fater Brabantio acts against his own self-interest and operates irrationally by attacking Othello with irreverence in Duke’s court: “. . . if such actions may have passage free,/Bondslaves and pagans are statesmen be” (Shakespeare 1.2.98-9). Brabantio who is originally from Venice, Italy sees himself as a superior human to Othello despite the fact that Othello’s rank is incomparable with his. For Brabantio, Othello is someone he started as—an Ottoman, a Turk. Iago, who represents the evils of western culture engineers this opposition yet again, twisting Brabantio’s thoughts: “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram/Is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise!” (Shakespeare 1.1.87-8). In Said’s perspective, Brabantio is the one for whom “the ‘East’ has always signified danger” (1886). Brabantio’s expressions addressed to the Moor seem irrelevant to him and he remains collected as expected; however, later the words come to haunt him and become the recipe for his destruction.

Shakespeare’s profound thoughts then in Victorian England raise analogies as ”society and literary culture can only be understood and studied together” (Said 1887). The generalizations by Europeans, in this case, Brabantio’s obnoxious phrases of “bondslaves” and “pagans” portray the artificial characteristics that are inscribed to orientals, discrediting their “humanness.” Brabantio’s expressions act against Othello cracking his shell, getting to the weak, inner reality of his mind. They find place in Othello’s realm and he claims, “And yet, how nature erring from itself—” (3.3.227). Othello’s insecurities come to the surface, and he becomes incapable of focusing his thoughts. Branatio is acting upon impulse without giving much thought to the accomplishments and the entire being of Othello. His narrow and dusted ideas are merely a result of the societal prejudices planted in his mind. The western dehumanization of this Shakespearean easterner is complete and the result is tragedy.

Works Cited

Said, Edward. “From Orientalism.” The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Ed,

Vincent B. Leitch. 2^nd ed. W.W. Norton & Company Inc.: New York, 2001. 1866-

88. Print.

Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Othello The Moor of Venice.” The Complete

Pelican Shakespeare. Eds. Stephen Orgel, et al. Penguin Books Inc.: New York,

2002. 1402-1444. Print.