셰익스피어의 『오셀로』(Othello)에 나타난 ‘타자성’(Otherness) 연구

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the problem of otherness in Othello, exploring how it was accepted or contained and controlled in Venetian society. It is impossible to read Othello without considering the issues of race, color and the dominant Elizabethan ideologies as they are presented in the play. The protagonist, Othello, is depicted as an ‘other’ or outsider, referred to as “The Moor” and other racial epithets from the beginning of the play. Othello finds himself in a society and culture that are highly antagonistic to him. Othello’s racial difference is never problematic in the white society, as he is a respected general in the service of Venice. But Othello’s blackness cannot be accepted and tolerated by Venetian society when he marries the white female Desdemona because their union is against the laws of nature. Iago, who is a representative of the white race, demonstrates how this miscegenation is threatening to the existing social order. Desdemona is also a victim of the racial prejudices prevalent in the white society. Othello’s anxiety about his blackness evokes a powerful ingredient in the tragedy. He attempts to fit into society around him to “act white” for assimilation with the white Venetian society. But his struggle to fit into Venetian society and his insecurities about his skin color cause conflict within his own mind. Thus, it is easy for Iago to play on these insecurities, precipitating the tragedy in the play. Ending with Othello’s own recognition of his alienation and otherness, the play shows that it is the political complicity of the ruling class in the Venetian society that brings about the tragedy of Othello and Desdemona.