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The Portrayal of Racial Prejudices and Their Destructive Consequences in William Shakespeare's Othello

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The Portrayal of Racial Prejudices and Their Destructive Consequences in William Shakespeare's Othello The Portrayal of Racial Prejudices and their Destructive Consequences in William Shakespeare’s Othello (1603-04) and Tracy Chevalier’s New Boy (2017) – A Comparative Analysis Diplomarbeit zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades einer Magistra der Philosophie an der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz vorgelegt von Mag. phil. et iur. Astrid Monetti am Institut für Anglistik Begutachterin: Ao. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. phil. Maria Löschnigg Hart bei Graz, Februar 2021 1 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 4 2. Definitions of the Terms: ‘Identity’, ‘Race’, and Associated Terms ..................... 6 2.1. Identity ............................................................................................................ 7 2.2. Race ............................................................................................................... 12 2.3. Racism ........................................................................................................... 15 2.4. Structural Violence ........................................................................................ 16 2.5. Slow Violence ............................................................................................... 18 3. Historical Overview ............................................................................................. 18 3.1. The Abolishment of Slavery and the Successive Legislation ....................... 22 3.2. The Era after the Civil Rights Movement ..................................................... 29 4. The Renaissance Tragedy Othello (1603-04) ...................................................... 32 4.1. Historical Background and Its Influences on Playwright William Shakespeare .............................................................................................................................. 33 4.2. Selected Themes in William Shakespeare’s Othello (1603-04) ................... 34 5. Postcolonial Repositioning of the Shakespearean Tragedy: Intertextual Interconnectivity and Semantic Surplus against the Backdrop of Tracy Chevalier’s New Boy (2017) ........................................................................................................ 39 5.1. Repositioning ................................................................................................ 39 5.2. Interconnectivity ........................................................................................... 42 5.3. Semantic Surplus ........................................................................................... 57 6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 74 7. Bibliography ......................................................................................................... 76 7.1. Primary Literature ......................................................................................... 76 7.2. Secondary Literature ..................................................................................... 76 2 8. Webbliography ..................................................................................................... 81 3 1. Introduction 1 The main black character in Tracy Chevalier’s young-adult novel, New Boy2 (2017), Osei states, “I [the new black boy] will be lucky to get through the day without getting beaten up” (Chevalier 2017: 122). Later in the book, he wonders, “[w]hy does being black have to hurt so much?” (Chevalier 2017: 174). A reader might now immediately think of the times of slavery and the occurring atrocities during the times of European imperialism3 and colonialism4. However, the sad truth is that – even in the 21st century – a black5 skin colour might still constitute a reason for physical and psychological pain. On a frequent basis, news reports about institutional racism6 and 1 The picture visualises “the disparity between the police presence at the Black Lives Matter protests and the riots at the Capitol building” on 6th January 2021 (Online “Riots – Capitol building”). 2 For the sake of correctness, the following shall be stated: the novel was published in 2017, however, the story is set in the 1970s. By choosing the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement, Chevalier shows that black people living in the 21st century encounter the same racial prejudices as black Americans at the end of the last century. 3 Edward Said defines imperialism as “the practice, theory, and the attitudes of a domination metropolitan centre ruling a distant territory” (Said 1993: 8). 4 Colonialism is defined as “the implanting of settlements on a distant territory […] for economic, strategic and political advantage” (Ashcroft/ Gareth/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2007: 108). 5 Cornel West writes that “blackness has no meaning outside of a system of race-conscious people and practices” and continues that “the differentiation between black and white refers to people living in Europe on the one hand and in Africa on the other hand” (Online “Race Matters”). Woodward adds the notion of “inferiority” of black people to Cornel West’s definition (Woodward 2002: 11). 6 Presidential candidate Joe Biden refers to institutional racism by giving an example of how black parents teach their children the ‘life-saving’ behaviour encountering a police officer or walking the streets (cf. Online “Presidential Debate” 01:00). 4 police brutality7 in the United States of America are broadcast. In Austria, the situation might not be as bad as in the New World, but people with a black skin are also discriminated against8. Having a partner, who comes from Rwanda, Africa, and experiencing racist situations with him, I have caught myself thinking that being black hurts. This conclusion made me question, “why?”, “why has mankind not learned from history?”. I have decided to investigate the roots of and reasons for discriminatory behaviour and the impact of racial prejudices on an individual’s life. This research has led me into a breath-takingly interesting, but also sad and cruel ‘world’. The field to be explored covers the ‘real world’ as well as the ‘literary world’ and how the latter not only reflects sentiments of the former, but also offers novel insight into issues of race and how these issues are more tangible. Consequently, the present diploma thesis shall be divided into two sections. The first, theoretical, part shall be dedicated to the definitions of the terms used in the following analysis, and shows a brief historical survey regarding issues of race. The analytical part shall first analyse the time and circumstances that might have influenced William Shakespeare. This investigation shall be followed by an elaboration of selected topics, namely ‘race’ and ‘otherness’ as well as jealousy triggered by the ‘Othello complex’9. The most comprehensive part of this diploma thesis constitutes the fifth chapter. After briefly introducing the reader to the terms ‘repositioning’ and ‘rewriting’, the intertextual interconnectivity between Othello (1603-04) and New Boy (2017) shall be expanded upon. The last part of this section shall be dedicated to the semantic surplus in the 21st-century young-adult novel. In the concluding chapter, the used terms shall be discussed, followed by a summary of the findings concerning the notion of racial prejudices and its impact on the lives of Shakespeare’s and Chevalier’s characters. 7 Haley writes in Malcolm X‘s biography, “black people were long since sick and tired of police brutality” proving that this type of violence has been around for decades (Haley 2015: 239). 8 According to the head of the anti-discrimination office, Daniela Grabovic, it is incredibly hard for people with a black skin colour to find a flat. After finally succeeding, they are frequently bullied by their neighbours, who even sign petitions to make them move out. Finding a job also constitutes a challenge. Africans have to send 80 times more letters of applications than their white fellow applicants (cf. Online “Antidiskriminierungsstelle”). 9 The “Othello complex” functions as an “anthropologized” racial construction, in which the “assimilated savage”, predictably, “relapses into primitivism under stress” (Cartelli 1999: 3; Neil 1999: 123). 5 The following shall be stated: firstly, the investigated development stretches over more than two centuries and applies to people coming from different continents. Consequently, when it comes to speaking about people with a dark skin, the attitude of what is ‘politically correct’10 has also changed. In order not to cause any confusion, the term to call people of African descent will be ‘black people’. However, in the case of quotations, I shall apply the terms used by the respective author. Secondly, as far as spelling is concerned, British spelling is used. Exceptions constitute quotations drawn from the American authors. Therefore, the reader will encounter British as well as American spelling depending on the source. 2. Definitions of the Terms: ‘Identity’, ‘Race’, and Associated Terms The term ‘identity’ is omnipresent. In connection with the internet, we might use ‘S Identity’ to access our bank account, implement safety measures in order to prevent identity theft, or play a multi-player online role game called ‘Identity’. The Cambridge Dictionary lists examples such as, “I cannot reveal the identity of my source.”, “In prison people often suffer from a loss of identity”, or “I think my job gives me a sense of identity” (Online
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