Racism in Othello
Comments(6) Othello may be of a high rank and have wealth but most people hate him. Most of these people that hate him are racists. Iago calls him “an old black ram” (1.1.85) and when he talks about him to Brabantio, he says: “Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you” (1.1.88). Comparing someone to a ram and calling him the devil doesn’t exactly show camaraderie. Maybe I’m jumping the gun a bit by calling Iago a racist? Maybe he just hates Othello for no good reason.
What about Brabantio? When he’s trying to arrest Othello for bewitching Desdemona into marrying him, Brabantio says: “The wealthy, curled darlings of our nation,/ Would ever have, ‘t incur a general mock,/ Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom/ Of such a thing as thou-to fear, not to delight” (1.2.67-70) From what I understand, it seems that Brabantio is saying that Desdemona is an innocent lady who wouldn’t shame herself by running away to be with a Moor like Othello because he’s something to fear and not someone to take pleasure in. In other words, Othello isn’t anyone’s first choice as a lover so obviously Desdemona is under a spell and not in her right mind.
Or what about the Duke? At times he calls Othello valiant, and basically tells him about how much he’s needed for the war. Yet he says: “If virtue no delighted beauty lack,/ Your son-in-law is far more fair than black” (1.3.284-285). It sounds like a compliment; Othello is more beautiful than he is black. Reading it again though the true meaning comes through. Othello is beautiful because of his virtue but he’s not beautiful because he’s black. The Duke is racist and the only reason he tells Othello about how good of a fighter he is, is to make him feel valued so that Othello will continue to fight in the war.
Note how even the publishers of this particular edition portray Othello distinctly with his black skin color.
Are there any other characters that I might have missed from Act 1 that are racist toward Othello? Do you think Iago is a racist or does he hate Othello for other reasons? Or do you think none of the characters are racist?
I completely understand where you’re coming from with the racism that you see. It is very indirect and subtle but it is evident especially in the examples you have presented. The points you made made me immediately recall the moor Aaron from Titus Andronicus and his negative portrayal in that play.
I feel like we know that Shakespeare features a good deal of racist sentiments in his writing. I know that in class we were talking about switching out of this “racist” lens and focusing more on the faith of characters, because while its true, Aaron the Moor and Othello are both black characters and are spoken about in racist ways, Shylock was (presumably) white, and yet he was ostracized from the community for his faith. Maybe its a mixture of both racism and religious intolerance?
This is amusing since I read “fair” as in “whiter” or “lighter” complexion. I was under the impression that the Duke was commenting that Othello is of mixed race and the Duke was reassuring Brabantio that Othello is very light in skin color so he should not worry too much that his grandchildren would come out looking too dark.
I think Iago is racist because he calls Othello black and devil several times in the entire play for actually no reason. Also, Duke is only concerned with the wars that are fought and won by Othello, despite the fact that he is a Moor, and the Venetians actually don’t like him. It includes race and religious factors because people judge other people on the basis of their skin color and religious practices. We need to broader our thinking because the first thing to judge a person is not by how he/she appears or what religion he/she belongs to, but how he/she behaves. We need to be human beings first than racists.
It’s interesting to see Iago being racist about Othello using the term Moor in a derogatory sense. But as the play progresses, is it Shakespeare’s intention that Othello becomes the stereotype Iago was trying to warn us about? Othello falls for Iago like a buffoon!
I completely agree with this post. I wrote my essay on this topic. It seems as if no matter how valiant Othello is, he will never be able to transcend the racial stereotype associate with his race. he will never be able to be judged independently of his skin color. It is clear that he is only tolerated because he is a war hero and he is being used to fight wars for the Venetians but he will never be accepted as one of them. He will not be accepted as a Christian either.