Caliban and Post Colonialism in Shakespeare's The Tempest

Jul 15, 2010 Becki Richardson

William Shakespeare - John Taylor

A post colonial reading of the character of Caliban from The Tempest by William Shakespeare, including the importance of language and sexuality.

The Tempest is an incredible play from a cultural point of view and could be examined in conjunction with many different literary theories to yield very interesting ideas, but one of the most thought provoking is a post colonial reading of the play, especially when the focus is on the character of Caliban.

Colonialism and Language

Language is essential. Whether written or spoken, the need for human beings to communicate is intrinsic to our social development and so language is the first thing to be passed on from coloniser to colonise. This we see in The Tempest as Caliban has been taught English by Prospero and Miranda and seems to speak it with a certain amount of fluency. But this an entirely positive experience? Miranda obviously believes it to be a great honour and reminds Caliban how she "took pains to make thee speak" and describes Caliban's previous way of speaking as "gabble". However Caliban himself obviously takes a very different view and in a quote that is often cited by anti-colonialist critics he tells them, "You taught me language; and my profit on't is I know how to curse" and he goes on further to wish "the red plague rid you for teaching me your language!" clearly not sharing Miranda's view that she has done him a great service.
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Colonialism and Sexuality

Sexuality between the coloniser and the colonised is a very important part of The Tempest when looking at the relationship between Caliban and Prospero. Caliban is accused of trying to rape Miranda, "till thou didst seek to violate the honour of my child" and this is an accusation that Caliban never denies, instead he comments only that Prospero prevented his attempt. We can look at this incident in many ways. One the one hand it seems to be a suggestion of Caliban's weakness, possibly his racial weakness in that he is fated by his position to desire Miranda. In the article "This island's mine: Caliban and Colonialism" Trevor. R. Griffiths commented that the attempted rape of Miranda is "an offence, an unpardonable offence, but one that he was fated to commit". It is a damning metaphor for black male sexuality as being inherently uncontrollable and violent.

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One the other hand, we could draw parallels between this three way relationship and the similar situation in Othello. In his book Black Skin, White Masks Frantz Fanon attributed the racial hatred to the white father who is uncomfortable with his daughter's black lover, and that the black male's desire for the white woman may be percieved as a path to social acceptance, as is seen with Othello's love for Desdemona. Caliban's misguided attempt to gain Miranda sexually could be seen as his internalisation of the white man's (in this case Prospero's) authority over him and his way to try and win a position in Prospero's society, but as uncivilised "savage" he tries to do so through violence.

The Relationship Between Coloniser and Colonised

So is the relationship between the coloniser and the colonised a positive one? When looking at The Tempest, and studying Caliban and Prospero, we see a relationship that at first seems to be mutually beneficial. Caliban welcomed Prospero and Miranda to his island, saying of their first meeting, and then I loved thee and showd thee all the qualities o the isle. Caliban also describes how Prospero treated him well at first, When thou camest first, thou strokedst me madest much of me and likewise Prospero admits to Miranda that they cannot do without him for he provides their firewood and serves in offices that profit us and so we see that Caliban is indeed useful, almost indispensable to his master. This relationship obviously doesnt last and eventually turns sour, but we must examine the reasons for this shift. Octava Mannoni advocated the idea of the Caliban complex and suggested that the need for dependency existed within the colonised society, saying that Caliban does not complain of being exploited: he complains of being betrayed. Caliban feels abandoned by Prospero; his initial enslavement does not seem to be the cause of the rift between them, rather Prosperos actions in the time since. The Tempest shows us how the relationship between coloniser and colonised can seem to be mutually beneficial but also details the descent of this relationship into hatred and betrayal. It is also study into the psychology of the colonised party. We could say that Caliban is a stereotype, reaffirming cultural ideas about black sexuality and the desire for colonisation on the part of the colonised, but then we also see more to Caliban throughout the course of the play. When we see that Caliban is intelligent we see him as a rounded character, which makes the relationship between him and Prospero even more intriguing.

Read more at Suite101: Caliban and Post Colonialism in Shakespeare's The Tempest

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