In The Tempest, Caliban is described as a “savage,” a “demi-devil,” a “hag-seed,” and a “strange fish,” but he could also be described as a “native.” Scholars have speculated him to represent how the English would’ve reacted to the Native Americans in the New World. Others have stated that his character represents the fear of the unknown. Simply put, he is one of the more discoursed figures in the works of Shakespeare. So is The Tempest the story of Caliban, the son of the devil himself, losing ownership of his island to a Duke of Milan? Or is this savage hermit meant to represent the Native Americans who fell victim to colonial expansion? Caliban could represent more than just the Native Americans, he could portray the African American’s migration to the New World for example, but above all Caliban seems to be an Indian character. In dissecting the characterization of Caliban in The Tempest, we’re able to see what Shakespeare and his audience believed about the native peoples of America.
In Ronald Takaki’s A Different Mirror, he explains how the different races were introduced to America. African Americans arrived as slaves who would be “enslaved and prohibited from owning arms” (Takaki, 19). Asian Americans arrived during the California Gold Rush and were stereotyped as unassimilable. A majority of Irish Americans came during the Potato Famine to find work in America as construction workers, factory operators in textile mills, and as maids. Mexican Americans entered America during the war against Mexico but unlike most immigrants, their homeland bordered the United States. Although some immigrant groups had more of an advantage due to legislature such as the Naturalization Law of 1790, most were able to find their place in America. Native Americans however, were not immigrants but were the original people of America. So how was it that these original Americans, who had been farming the land for hundreds of years, been stereotyped as “savages” and then categorically removed from their homeland? In order to grasp this, you have to recognize Caliban in the setting of the New World.
According to Takaki, in order to understand Caliban you have to examine him from the context of English theater in 1611 London. When the play was first performed, it was after the English had invaded Ireland but it was before the colonization of the New World. So that’s after John Smith arrived in Virginia and connected with the Natives but before any warfare was begun against them. To the audience Caliban could’ve represented the Irish, who at the time were considered to be people living on the outskirts of civilization. Their tribal affiliations seemed barbaric, their Christianity seemed to be nothing more than a front for their paganistic beliefs, and to the English colonizers they were deemed despicably lazy. When the English took over, the Irish were subject to violence. The English burned down their villages, and beheaded their victims. It’s however more likely that Caliban represents the Natives of America. When the English found the Native Americans and saw the unsophisticated workings of their people, they instantly drew similarities between them and the Irish they were already persecuting. According to Takaki, Captain John Smith observed that the deerskin robes worn by the Indians were not so much different from the clothing the Irish wore. Furthermore, their rural villages and unsophisticated hunting methods only helped to connect them with the stereotype the English had created with the Irish. The Indians came to be defined as savages just as the Irish. Considering the timing of The Tempest, it would be hard to ignore the Native Americans as inspiration for the character of Caliban.
As we’re told by Prospero, Caliban was the island’s only inhabitant and that he is the product of a witch named Sycorax and the devil himself. We know that after Prospero and his daughter Miranda washed up on the island’s shore, Prospero had a good relationship with Caliban. He showed Prospero the workings of the island and how to survive, while Prospero taught Caliban how to speak. We learn that Caliban attempted to rape Miranda in order to populate the island with his offspring. As an audience, it’s obvious we’re supposed to feel disgusted by Caliban’s behavior and so it’s simple to understand why Prospero would use his sorcerer powers to make him feel constant pain. Yet, we also can feel sympathy for Caliban as a victim of Prospero’s enslavement. Before Prospero’s arrival, Caliban was alone on the island, ”This island’s mine, by Sycorax, my mother.” Prospero basically takes over and makes Caliban his slave. And even though Caliban curses at Prospero, it’s only because he taught him how to speak, “You taught me language, and my profit on’t is, I know how to curse. The red plague rid you for learning me your language.” As mentioned by Takaki, a Virginia tract stated that colonizers should take Indian children and teach them English. Later the king propelled a plan to bring Christianity to the Native Americans who as yet lived in “darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God.” Another Virginia tract stated it was the education of men rather than the innate nature of men that caused them to be uncivil and barbaric. To the new settlers, it was their duty to educate the savage Indians (Takaki, 53).
After reading The Tempest and A Different Mirror, it would be difficult to see Caliban as anything but an allegory for the New England settlers reaction to the Native Americans. In comparison to their ways, the Indians were savages lacking civility in all aspects: their clothes, tools, and even their spirituality. Caliban is described as a savage: he lives on an island alone, lacks the ability to speak, and attempts to rape a girl. And the similarities don’t end there. Prospero also taught Caliban how to speak just as the settlers did with the Indians. Seeing as this play was made in the early 1600’s, it would be difficult to see Caliban as anything but a Native American.
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