Theme Of Prejudice In Othello

Fultz and Mosley both state that Othello’s marriage was unstable from the beginning because of Othello and Desdemona's difference in race. “The marriage of Othello and Desdemona, with which the play opens, seems to suggest that deeply entrenched prejudices--suspiciousness of other races and cultures, of those who are "alien" and do not seem to belong--are about to be overcome and there is a possibility of social transformation. But such a possibility is challenged at the very moment of its inception” This is shown by the controversy the two faced during the play. For example, when Iago and Roderigo use veiled remarks towards Othello in an attempt to destroy his marriage, telling Brabantio that “a black ram is tupping your white ewe” (I.I. IV).
The dictatorial authority that parents claimed during that century also explains Brabantio's anger towards their marriage, saying that “I pray you, hear her speak: If she confesses that she was half the wooer, Destruction on my head, if my bad blame. Light on the man!” (I. III. Viii). Here, I can see that the father is in disagreement with their marriage and refuses to give them his blessing because his son in law is black. I think that there was lack of consent on their marriage because the interracial nature of the marriage was a clear breach in the social conventions of the 16th century, where it was strictly a taboo of an interracial marriage. This is because the period of renaissance was the beginning of time in which many new cultures were introduced to England, so there was a culture shock for many of the English communities and its outsiders. Even with the society becoming adapted to these new cultures overtime, the outsiders, especially the blacks were stereotyped and discriminated against by the
Desdemona's elopement with a black man provides the basis for Iago's seduction of Othello” We find out later that Iago does so by insisting to Othello that Desdemona’s love for him will one day die out when “his narrative becomes tiresome and she is forced to see him in racial terms, that is, see him as black”. Also "bragging and telling her fantastical lies" (II. i.213), will eventually be destroyed: "Her eye must be fed. And what delight will she have to look on the devil?"(II. I.215-6) again, referring to the black stereotypes in Venice. This would lead Othello into believing Iago’s words as “Othello is not quite on the same human level with Desdemona and is therefore not a suitable mate for her”. Fultz states that this causes Othello to become jealous, believing that Desdemona will leave him for Cassio, a white man, and ultimately killing her out of this jealousy. Based on the controversy his marriage faced, I agree with Fultz because the evidence above clearly demonstrates that racism is the cause of Othello’s downfall. Othello’s difference in race was an undesirable trait that had caused his self-consciousness and thus jealousy. If Othello had been a white man, he never would have believed Iago's words as a result and by virtue of this would not have killed Desdemona, ultimately leading to his