Gender issues are present in many of Shakespeare’s plays. Racial difference is a “central” issue in several of his works, most notably Othello, The Merchant of Venice, and The Tempest. (Bennett 209). Some modern critics see him as representative of the larger concerns British Colonialism present in the nascent British Empire connecting it to the larger, nebulous notion of “another nation ” In her book Dark Matters: The Economies of Gender and Gender in Early Modern England, Kim F. Hall states:
The text itself places Caliban on one side of a binarism in Prospero’s final pronunciation on Caliban, “This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine” (5.1.275-276), and in light him as a servant who is associated with darkness and dirt. “Earth” (1.2.314). Caliban functions as a “thing of darkness” against which the European social order is tried and tested (142).
This interpretation is indeed quite strong, even compelling, but it is not the only way to look at the character. After careful investigation of the many accounts contained in Richard Hakluyt’s Voyages and Discoveries, a simpler possibility begins to emerge. The circumstances of Caliban’s parents, specifically the fact that his mother was exiled from Algeria and left on an island by sailors, “suggest that Caliban himself is thought to be from North Africa” (Lie 26) and as such he can be seen as an obstacle. all the black people are strangers. Caliban is a reflection, and in some ways also Mimes, of late 16th and early 17th century British attitudes and misconceptions. beliefs about indigenous peoples present in less civilized parts of the world.
The descriptions of the native peoples in Hakluyt’s volume seem to focus proportionately on their vulgarity and, as it were, physical prowess. In the account of the 1564 voyage of John Hawkins coming to Africa, the barbarians were described as “blond, having long hair without any clothing, their private limbs being saved in front” (Hakluyt 105). Four days later, another nation of Africans is described, “These are all black, and are called Negroes, without any clothing, save before privileges: the stature of good men” (Hakluyt 106). Navigation was concerned with capturing slaves, so the estimation of the natives as a “good man” is mainly based on bravery rather than civility. Later, at the “Cumana” they encountered another group of natives, described as “yellow in color like olives, having individuals and men and women’s hair all black” (Hakluyt 107). Also, most of them relate to the description of their clothes, or the lack of them. “They all go naked, the men covering no part of their bodies, but leaving their antennae, in which they carry a gourd or a staff, tied with a thread around their waists, the rest of their limbs being naked. I will not be ashamed” (Hakluyt 108).
This apparent focus on the dress and nakedness of the barbarian encounter seems to have an awe of physical strength. These men were seen as wild, powerful, intemperate and a “disgrace” to be present in the civilized society of the day. These views contributed to their vision as both curiosities and potential sexual predators. The focus on the barely veiled loins of men seems to indicate their fear and fascination with being sexually active, free from the constraints of society and capable of acting at any moment. Long black hair can be seen as a symbol of exotic freedom and freedom. The English seem to regard the natives as curiosities, while at the same time embodying the vulgar and savage aspects of humanity.
In the play, Caliban embodies this fear by being tempted by rape and her desire when “Caliban” impregnates her (1.2.416-421). For the people of Shakespeare’s time, judging by the evidence in Hakluyt’s volumes, accurately portrayed the savage behavior of the inhabitants of the desert island. Shakespeare plays about this fear, the past tense mention of a past accident and Caliban’s consequent fall from favor with Prospero because of it; none of his hearers would believe that Caliban’s sexual impulses were so inextinguishable in the presence of the clouded king, a young white woman like Miranda.
Another community of natives in their Voyages and Discoveries is so easily deceived, enticed, and thereby subjugated. In Sebastian Cabot’s “Orders for the Direction of the intended Navigation of Cathay,” he advises that the natives should be considered for “how they shall be employed” (Hakluyt 57). He says that they should be lured or brought on board so that the English can learn from the natives. “That captive, as well received, used, and clothed,” also insinuates that whoever is brought aboard a native ship, is easily perceived by the English with food and clothing, and it is then recommended to persuade the captives of new doctrines to persuade their own people. approach (Hakluyt 57). He then proceeds to warn in particular, “And if a man be drunk with your drunkenness or your wine, you shall know the secrets of his heart” (Hakluyt 58). The English sense of superiority is so prevalent he actually feels that it is necessary for sailors to be careful not to mock the barbarians (Hakluyt 58). Cabotus advises the use of music drums or other instruments to be used to entice, if necessary (Hakluyt. 58). When it comes to the battle itself, Hawkins gives the reader a reason to confirm the prowess of the English, since if five or six had been together, as the allies could have done, they would have been able to inflict a defeat of 40. them” (Hakluyt 106).
So far as Cabot’s design is concerned in The Tempest, it is almost as if Shakespeare were reading the album as he wrote the play. Prospero’s clothes, as a symbol of his power, could be interpreted as a representative of the splendid power of the indigenous peoples. Caliban is “employed” as a servant to Prosperus and all the “heavy lifting” he did as he was constantly gathering wood and the like (1.2.440). Calibanus seems to reap the harvest by the display of Prosperus’s power, believing him to be more powerful than Setebos, the god of Sycoracus’ mother, although Criticism and Theory.
Harlow: Pearson Longman, 2004.
Hakluyt, Richard. Travels and Discoveries. London: Penguin Books, 1972.
Hall, Kim F. Dark Things: The Economy of Race and Gender in the Early Modern
England. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1996.
Mendacium, Nadia, Haen, Theo D. Stellation Caliban: Figures of Character. Rodopi BV
Editions, 1997
Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. New York: Washington Square Press: 2004.
