 |
|
|
|
English professor Virginia Vaughan and her students delve into the intricacies of Shakespeare's characters from the perspectives of race and gender. |
|
 |
Wherein to catch the conscience
Professor Virginia Vaughan's research
Professor Virginia Vaughan's passion for Shakespeare has also infected
her student Stacie Swoboda '01. While Stacie's
research analyzes Lady Macbeth's murderous and decidedly
unfeminine behavior, Vaughan's attention was captured by another of
Shakespeare's tragic characters, Othello. Her research findings,
discussed below, have been published in Othello: A Contextual
History.
- Who's Othello?
- The conflicts
- Performances and interpretations
Who's Othello?
The play's hero, Othello, is
- a black man who is the devoted husband of a white woman, Desdemona- and her killer.
- a soldier for hire and the commander of a white army.
- a man respected for his virtue and integrity, but the victim of deception by Iago, a subordinate white officer.
Racism, sexual relations, the conduct of the military, the issues and conflicts in
Shakespeare's play, Othello: the Moor of Venice, are as relevant to today's
society as they were to English audiences 400 years ago. In her book Othello: A
Contextual History, Professor Virginia Vaughan reveals Othello as a complex
play with the potential for multiple interpretations.
The Conflicts
In Othello: A Contextual History, Vaughan "historicizes" Shakespeare's
famous tragedy; that is, she places it in the context of the time it was written. By
examining literature available to Shakespeare and his contemporaries, she shows how
several social issues important in 17th century England were reflected in the play:
- Christians vs. infidels
Othello is hired to command an army of Venetian Christians fighting the feared and
vilified non-Christian Turks. Europeans had long seen the Turks as a threat.
- knights vs. mercenaries
Othello personifies the military in transition-he is a mercenary with
the chivalrous soul of a medieval knight. The military in Shakespeare's time was becoming
professionalized: hired armies with new standards of military conduct were replacing the
chivalric knights.
- white people vs. black people
Many English viewed the African's dark skin and lack of Christian faith as indications
of racial inferiority. Travel narratives of the time were notable for their ignorance of
African cultures.
- men vs. women
Desdemona, a white Venetian noblewoman, defies her father to elope with Othello. Unlike
the ideal Renaissance maiden promoted in literature of the time, she is sexual,
independent, and disobedient. She dies violently.
Performances and interpretations
In part two of her book, Dr. Vaughan analyzes selected performances of Othello
from the 17th to the 20th centuries in the context of their times. She shows how text
cuts, make-up, costume, and staging were used to emphasize, downplay or suppress the play's
issues of racism, sexism and military conduct according to prevailing social attitudes. A
few examples:
- Othello as the gentleman soldier
In Restoration England, many actors were ex-military men. Othello himself
would always be shown in uniform, emphasizing his primary identity as soldier.
- Othello as an African of primitive emotions
Racial tensions in post-Civil War America and the British Empire contributed to an
image of the African as a creature of emotion set apart from civilized, rational European
society. Othello was frequently costumed in non-European clothing to emphasize his
"otherness."
- A play suitable for polite society
The sensibilities of 19th century Victorian audiences were accommodated by eliminating
lines dealing with sexually improper topics.
- A black man married to a white woman
A black man finally plays a black man. Actor Paul Robeson's 1943 Broadway portrayal of
Othello forced actors and audiences alike to confront issues of racism and mixed marriage.
- Desdemona as passive victim
Orson Welles' film adaptation in the late 1940's echoed Hollywood's objectification of
women and reflected his own troubled relationships with the opposite sex. To achieve
Welles' visual image of female purity and innocence as embodied in Desdemona, actress
Suzanne Cloutier dyed her hair blonde and wore white. (Re-released in 1992)
- Iago the deceiver
Trevor Nunn's 1989 Royal Shakespeare Society production reflects modern society's
preoccupation with intimacy and human relationships. The fragility of those relationships
is emphasized by a focus on Iago, Othello's trusted subordinate. While in outward behavior
a caring and solicitous comrade, Iago, consumed by jealousy, deliberately destroys the
marital relationship between Desdemona and Othello.
|
|
|
Additional Resources
|
|
|
|
| Figure 1: The figure of "A Moor" from Cesare Vecellio's Degli habiti (Venice, 1590). By permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library. |
|
| Figure 2: The program cover from Margaret Webster's 1943-44 production at the Shubert Theatre, New York, featuring Paul Robeson as Othello.
|
|
|
