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Feminist literary criticism arose from the work of first-wave feminism but mostly came about from second-wave feminism in the early 1960s. Inspired by the civil rights movement in the US, women of all ages began fighting to secure a more prominent role in society. They strove for equality between men and women in the workforce. Post-colonial readings represent the aftermath of Western colonialism and force audiences to reflect on the past and think toward a more equal and inclusive future. The reading practice from a 21st-century Australian audience draws on Australias past and the mistreatment and dispossession of Aboriginal Australians after the British colonized Australia. Early post-colonial readings and texts appeared after World War II, however, most began in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Applying a post-colonial and feminist reading to the play The Tempest by playwright William Shakespeare, first performed in 1611, encourages the audience to consider whether they resist or endorse the plays depiction of femininity and to humanize the oppressed.
Applying a post-colonial reading practice to The Tempest allows the audience to understand the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples, which is heavily portrayed through the character of Caliban as the savage. Prospero, whose control over the island is so certain as to invite comparison with the playwright Shakespeare himself, represents the tyrannical ruler and oppressor of the marginalized native. His magic books declared as the source of all his power , rather uncomfortably resemble the Bible of classical Catholicism, one of the primary tools of colonialism used to evangelize and inspire complicity in the native people. Though we are encouraged to view Caliban as nothing more than a thing most brutish, the notion of his natural savageness is strongly called into question by the occasional eloquence and aesthetic beauty of his language, as in Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises/ sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not. While in modern productions the director may choose to cast an African American as Caliban to evoke powerful memories of slavery in America, the application of intertextuality as a reading practice reminds us that the notion of the savage is one that has been deeply ingrained in the consciousness of western society for many centuries. As members of the audience, we are appalled by the dehumanization of the native people, who are described as not honored with a human shape as if literally bereft of their humanity. As a modern audience with a tendency to venerate post-colonial readings, we are confronted by the clichéd and detestable dualism of the civilized European and the Noble Savage native, a destructive and ultimately hollow dichotomy used to justify the colonial mission. The character of Caliban is pushed unwillingly into the role of the savage, his description as A devil, a born devil, on whose nature nurture can never stick and as a natural slave by the plays European characters simultaneously commending and excusing his subjugation as the colonized subject. The modern reader is disturbed by the familiar mechanisms of binomial opposition where the notion of the savage is used to raise the superiority of the civilized European, and hence justify their mistreatment and ultimately dispossession of the savage. The language of possession is continued throughout the play in Prosperos closing declaration of This thing of darkness, I acknowledge mine , where Caliban is reduced to little more than a possession, and some responsibility obligatory upon Prospero for the behavior of the native is alluded to. The reader is drawn to the timeless relevance of Shakespeares depiction of colonial practice and its capacity to pre-empt modern discussion of racial oppression. The theme of race constitutes one of several universal themes which are explored by many texts due to the way it divides opinion and evokes reflective cultural dialogue. The audience is touched by Calibans claim that This islands mine & which thou takest from me , and as Australian readers we are reminded of our own countrys history of European colonization and the dispossession of the Aboriginal people.
The application of a feminist reading practice encourages the audience to interrogate the plays silences and absences and to consider the ways in which we resist or endorse the plays depiction of femininity in accordance with our own values. There are instances within the play where we see a very different Miranda from the traditional naïve innocent, such as when she indignantly criticizes Caliban, calling him an abhorred slave. These passages of speech which hint at complexities and unreconciled contradictions in her character, have often been reassigned to the character Prospero throughout the plays performance history. Even in modern-age productions, where complexity and ambiguity are common measures of artistic value, is the speech often not Mirandas but Prosperos. Thus, the reader may acknowledge how the stage history of the play is guilty of flattening complex female characters and therefore guilty of perpetuating restrictive and destructive depictions of female identity. Readers can observe how archaic conceptions of female identity linger in our modern society as historical remnants of prior ideologies. The play resonates with Prosperos authoritarian voice, leaving Miranda sidelined and excluded. Miranda is representative of the archetypal Madonna, submissive and servile, which is evident when she says, To be your fellow/you may deny me, but Ill be your servant/ whether you will or not. Prosperos dominion of his daughter echoes the dominion of the colonized by the colonizer. His tone fluctuates from the gentle dignity of I have done nothing but in care of thee to the abrupt and authoritative Dost thou attend me? This represents archaic conceptions of feminist identity expected of a society uninformed by Western feminist thinking which carries greater meaning with the development of Western feminism and reconceptualization of female subjectivity. The reader is both appalled and amused by the character of Miranda, literally falling in love with the first man besides her father that she encounters. In being rendered archetype, Miranda is denied her subjectivity. The reader is presented with two vastly dissimilar and conflicting conceptions of female identity in the plays two female characters. The damned witch Sycorax , embodies the historical demonization of the revolutionary female voice, and harshly juxtaposes with the willfully obedient Miranda, daughter of Prospero, who faithfully fulfills the role of archetypal Madonna. When examined together, these two characters demonstrate the Madonna/whore dichotomy which for centuries has shaped Western Civilizations perception of female sexual identity. Neither the image of a woman as Madonna or angel nor the image of a woman as whore or witch can be said to be more authentic, since in making women an archetype they are denied subjectivity. However, the image of a woman as Madonna is validated and filled with an aura of being received truth by its Biblical precedent, leading to the long life of this restrictive, limiting, and ultimately destructive female identity in literature, which itself serves as a medium for the ideologies and deeply ingrained attitudes of the works contextual production.
There are several similarities between each reading, both the post-colonial and feminist reading practices present a dichotomy that exists within the play. In the post-colonial reading, it is the savage and the civilized dichotomy and in the feminist reading practice, it is the Madonna/whore dichotomy. The problem with the comparisons in each reading is that they force us to oversimplify, making audiences jump to extremes while being blinded to any middle ground or happy medium, limiting them to a pair of equally inadequate options or setting up a false choice between two things that shouldnt or are not needed to be opposed. Caliban is described as a savage having freely admitted to attempting to rape Miranda, however, he speaks in blank verse, As wicked dew as eer my mother brushed/With ravens feature from unwholesome fen which is thought to be the language of the civilized so Caliban is neither a true savage nor is he completely civilized Both readings originate from oppression, oppression of the indigenous people in post-colonialism and oppression of women and their role in society in the feminist reading practice. Both readings aim to better understand the oppressed that the readings originate from. The patriarchy and the colonizers are similar in the fact that they both have held most of the power in history, with part of the aim of these readings being to highlight the gender inequalities and inequality between the savage and the civilized.
In conclusion, The Tempest is a play that demonstrates how readings that originated from different contexts can present other ideas, relevant to the context the reading came from, but also due to its universal themes of gender, race, and governance, these readings can share similar ideas and values.
The big brown fox jumped over the hairy dog to save the hound and catch the fox
There are several similarities between each reading, both the post-colonial and feminist reading practices present a dichotomy that exists within the play. In the post-colonial
In conclusion, The Tempest is a play that demonstrates how readings that originated from different contexts can present other ideas but also due to its universal themes of gender, race, and governance, these readings also share similar ideas and values.
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