Post by DarkestofDays on Dec 15, 2005 0:20:49 GMT -5
Of all the prevalent characters within the play The Tempest by William Shakespeare, Caliban is the obvious representation of the barbaric nature of human beings. Focusing on his character and the interaction he has with others, we can see this symbolism clearly throughout the story that the play tells, and explore the motivations behind his sometimes crude words and actions. By applying the theories of both Saint Augustine and Jacque Lacan, the inner workings of Caliban’s character can become more apparent to us and reveal where his most beastly nature came from.
Caliban is described as being physically ugly and disfigured from the beginning of the play onwards, representation of his inner nature as well. For instance, we can see how repulsive Caliban is as a whole by how Prospero summons him: “Thou poisonous slave, goy by the evil himself / Upon they wicked dam, come forth!” (Tempest, 18) We learn shortly after this quotation that Caliban attempted to rape Prospero’s daughter Miranda in the past, which gives us an example of what kind of being Caliban is at his core. Caliban’s reaction to Prospero’s recalling of this event also shows his wicked nature as well: “O ho, O ho! Would’t had been done! Thou didst prevent me; I had peopled else / This isle with Calibans.” (Tempest, 19) From these excepts of the play, the reader has a good idea of the kind of man Caliban is, wretched in both mind and body, and now his character can be taken into analysis to see what could be the driving force behind his character.
Saint Augustine’s theories heavily rely on the virtues of Christianity, and so his writings can be applied to Caliban in showing that this man is without any sort of grace religiously. Focusing first on the attempted rape of Miranda, Augustine would have considered this an “abuse” as opposed to an expression of love: “To enjoy something is to cling to it with love for its own sake. To use something, however, it to employ it in obtaining that which you love, provided that it is worthy of love. For an illicit use should be called rather a waste or an abuse.” (141) In this statement, Augustine shows us that love is something that should not be an expression of something excessive or simply a worldly attachment to something, which is exactly what Caliban was attempting in trying to rape Miranda. He was attempting to continue his lineage and reclaim the island that used to belong to his mother before she died and Prospero arrived, and thus he has defied this principle written by Augustine. It is the abuse of something that should be done between two people that love one another.
Also following by Saint Augustine’s claims, it is obvious that Caliban has not been instructed properly in the teachings of Christianity if at all, because he defies many of the virtues and principles that Augustine claims all people should adhere to: “Thus a man supported by faith, hope, and charity…does not need the Scriptures except for the instruction of others. And many live by these three things in solitude without books.” (143) Considering that Caliban lives on an isolated island, the place where he was born, it had been unlikely that he would ever come into contact with language or books in the first place. Yet when Prospero arrived and taught him how to speak, Caliban curses him for having done so: “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.” (Tempest, 19) Caliban hadn’t even wanted to learn language to begin with, so Scripture and other religious works would not appear to be of any concern to him at all. This also shows to us as well that Caliban was content being a savage being, having no desire to learn any form of language and thus severing any ties he has with other humans. Taking this into consideration, and the fact that the prospect of virtue does not fall into the realm of barbarianism, Augustine would have probably seen Caliban as a being completely outside of God’s grace, and one who is highly unlikely to even find it.
Lacan, on the other hand, would have attempted to delve more into Caliban’s subconscious character and observe what it could be that made him the way he is, as opposed to showing the flaws of his nature. If Caliban’s inner workings are explored using his theories then perhaps certain factors can be found that show where his almost beastly behaviors emerged.
We find out early on in the play that Caliban’s mother was a witch who once had the island to herself: “The island’s mine by Syncorax my mother, Which thou tak’st from me.” (Tempest, 18) Caliban’s mother was a witch we discover a little later on, and this gives way for us to analyze the potential reasons for Caliban’s behavior. Following the aspects of Lacan’s mirror stage theory, it may become apparent that his mother influenced him to behave this way. “We have only to understand the mirror stage as an identification, in the full sense that analysis gives to the term…” (991) With there being so few inhabitants on the island, it is assumed that Caliban would have identified himself with his mother during his early stages of life. Taking this into consideration, it can be imagined that Syncorax was a witch who treated others with cruelty, for if this is true than Caliban would have inherited it from mirroring her behavior.
Expanding upon this idea, Syncorax could have distorted Caliban’s mind and made him the way he is. The mirror stage, after all, is a time when the human mind is most vulnerable to manipulation as it develops and absorbs the things around it: “…the mirror image would seem to be the threshold of the visible world, if we go by the mirror disposition that the imago of one’s own body presents in hallucinations and dreams…” (992) The imago is the way a child perceives the Other they establish, in this case being Caliban’s own body, as he perceives it. Because Caliban bore witness to his mother’s own wicked nature, he himself learned only to be that way as well.
Caliban seems to take little heed to being called a monster throughout the course of the play, as though it is something he has either come to accept or, possibly, may be proud of it since it’s what he learned from his mother before her demise. “We can thus understand the inertia characteristic of the formation of the I, and find there the most extensive definition of neurosis…” (994) Caliban’s disregard for aspects of humanity appear to show this could be a possible cause for his barbarianism, and thus why he has detached himself from the rest of civilization. His mother’s treatment towards him, and the fact that he established her as his Other in the mirror stage, could indefinitely be a reason behind his behavior and actions within the play.
Now it can be analyzed the different between these two theorists by how their principles differ from one another when applied to Caliban’s character. When using Saint Augustine’s theories, we were met with a strong Christian take on how a human being should behave in this world in order to seek religious purity and salvation, all of which are broken and resisted by Caliban, who appears as a representation of abandonment with regard to virtues. His principles helped show us that outside factors such as faith and belief in God have not touched this character and this is the result of being unsaved, a meager existence of being regarded as a monster.
Jacque Lacan’s theories, on the other hand, actually get into Caliban’s character and take into account the psychological factors that might have determined how he behaved later on in life from the time he was an infant. His mirror stage theory shows to us how we can be influenced by an outside force, in the form of his mother in Caliban’s case, because she was the only Other he could be exposed to. He takes into account that a person is affected deeply by their growth from a young age and how this can become distorted depending upon the kind of behavior they are exposed to. Because Caliban’s mother was a witch, someone considered utterly sinful in this day and age for practicing magic and other pagan arts, he too is thus condemned to suffer the same fate of her. His physical appearance could also be said to mirror this deformity of his mind and soul, and Augustine may agree with this as well, since he asserts that a person without God does not have the same quality of life as someone who does belief in and worships God.
Both the theories of Saint Augustine and Jacque Lacan have been applied to Caliban’s character in order to search deeper into what motivates him throughout the story, and we can see now the potential physical and psychological factors that might have led to him becoming such a loathsome creature within the play. His crimes are limitless, from attempting to rape Miranda to betraying Prospero in order to serve Stephano and Trinculo, and from applying these theories to the play we can get an idea of why he has committed these deeds and why he has no scruples about them. Because of these theories and their aspects, we are able to observe the possible inner workings of a being that is detestable, but human nonetheless.
Caliban is described as being physically ugly and disfigured from the beginning of the play onwards, representation of his inner nature as well. For instance, we can see how repulsive Caliban is as a whole by how Prospero summons him: “Thou poisonous slave, goy by the evil himself / Upon they wicked dam, come forth!” (Tempest, 18) We learn shortly after this quotation that Caliban attempted to rape Prospero’s daughter Miranda in the past, which gives us an example of what kind of being Caliban is at his core. Caliban’s reaction to Prospero’s recalling of this event also shows his wicked nature as well: “O ho, O ho! Would’t had been done! Thou didst prevent me; I had peopled else / This isle with Calibans.” (Tempest, 19) From these excepts of the play, the reader has a good idea of the kind of man Caliban is, wretched in both mind and body, and now his character can be taken into analysis to see what could be the driving force behind his character.
Saint Augustine’s theories heavily rely on the virtues of Christianity, and so his writings can be applied to Caliban in showing that this man is without any sort of grace religiously. Focusing first on the attempted rape of Miranda, Augustine would have considered this an “abuse” as opposed to an expression of love: “To enjoy something is to cling to it with love for its own sake. To use something, however, it to employ it in obtaining that which you love, provided that it is worthy of love. For an illicit use should be called rather a waste or an abuse.” (141) In this statement, Augustine shows us that love is something that should not be an expression of something excessive or simply a worldly attachment to something, which is exactly what Caliban was attempting in trying to rape Miranda. He was attempting to continue his lineage and reclaim the island that used to belong to his mother before she died and Prospero arrived, and thus he has defied this principle written by Augustine. It is the abuse of something that should be done between two people that love one another.
Also following by Saint Augustine’s claims, it is obvious that Caliban has not been instructed properly in the teachings of Christianity if at all, because he defies many of the virtues and principles that Augustine claims all people should adhere to: “Thus a man supported by faith, hope, and charity…does not need the Scriptures except for the instruction of others. And many live by these three things in solitude without books.” (143) Considering that Caliban lives on an isolated island, the place where he was born, it had been unlikely that he would ever come into contact with language or books in the first place. Yet when Prospero arrived and taught him how to speak, Caliban curses him for having done so: “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.” (Tempest, 19) Caliban hadn’t even wanted to learn language to begin with, so Scripture and other religious works would not appear to be of any concern to him at all. This also shows to us as well that Caliban was content being a savage being, having no desire to learn any form of language and thus severing any ties he has with other humans. Taking this into consideration, and the fact that the prospect of virtue does not fall into the realm of barbarianism, Augustine would have probably seen Caliban as a being completely outside of God’s grace, and one who is highly unlikely to even find it.
Lacan, on the other hand, would have attempted to delve more into Caliban’s subconscious character and observe what it could be that made him the way he is, as opposed to showing the flaws of his nature. If Caliban’s inner workings are explored using his theories then perhaps certain factors can be found that show where his almost beastly behaviors emerged.
We find out early on in the play that Caliban’s mother was a witch who once had the island to herself: “The island’s mine by Syncorax my mother, Which thou tak’st from me.” (Tempest, 18) Caliban’s mother was a witch we discover a little later on, and this gives way for us to analyze the potential reasons for Caliban’s behavior. Following the aspects of Lacan’s mirror stage theory, it may become apparent that his mother influenced him to behave this way. “We have only to understand the mirror stage as an identification, in the full sense that analysis gives to the term…” (991) With there being so few inhabitants on the island, it is assumed that Caliban would have identified himself with his mother during his early stages of life. Taking this into consideration, it can be imagined that Syncorax was a witch who treated others with cruelty, for if this is true than Caliban would have inherited it from mirroring her behavior.
Expanding upon this idea, Syncorax could have distorted Caliban’s mind and made him the way he is. The mirror stage, after all, is a time when the human mind is most vulnerable to manipulation as it develops and absorbs the things around it: “…the mirror image would seem to be the threshold of the visible world, if we go by the mirror disposition that the imago of one’s own body presents in hallucinations and dreams…” (992) The imago is the way a child perceives the Other they establish, in this case being Caliban’s own body, as he perceives it. Because Caliban bore witness to his mother’s own wicked nature, he himself learned only to be that way as well.
Caliban seems to take little heed to being called a monster throughout the course of the play, as though it is something he has either come to accept or, possibly, may be proud of it since it’s what he learned from his mother before her demise. “We can thus understand the inertia characteristic of the formation of the I, and find there the most extensive definition of neurosis…” (994) Caliban’s disregard for aspects of humanity appear to show this could be a possible cause for his barbarianism, and thus why he has detached himself from the rest of civilization. His mother’s treatment towards him, and the fact that he established her as his Other in the mirror stage, could indefinitely be a reason behind his behavior and actions within the play.
Now it can be analyzed the different between these two theorists by how their principles differ from one another when applied to Caliban’s character. When using Saint Augustine’s theories, we were met with a strong Christian take on how a human being should behave in this world in order to seek religious purity and salvation, all of which are broken and resisted by Caliban, who appears as a representation of abandonment with regard to virtues. His principles helped show us that outside factors such as faith and belief in God have not touched this character and this is the result of being unsaved, a meager existence of being regarded as a monster.
Jacque Lacan’s theories, on the other hand, actually get into Caliban’s character and take into account the psychological factors that might have determined how he behaved later on in life from the time he was an infant. His mirror stage theory shows to us how we can be influenced by an outside force, in the form of his mother in Caliban’s case, because she was the only Other he could be exposed to. He takes into account that a person is affected deeply by their growth from a young age and how this can become distorted depending upon the kind of behavior they are exposed to. Because Caliban’s mother was a witch, someone considered utterly sinful in this day and age for practicing magic and other pagan arts, he too is thus condemned to suffer the same fate of her. His physical appearance could also be said to mirror this deformity of his mind and soul, and Augustine may agree with this as well, since he asserts that a person without God does not have the same quality of life as someone who does belief in and worships God.
Both the theories of Saint Augustine and Jacque Lacan have been applied to Caliban’s character in order to search deeper into what motivates him throughout the story, and we can see now the potential physical and psychological factors that might have led to him becoming such a loathsome creature within the play. His crimes are limitless, from attempting to rape Miranda to betraying Prospero in order to serve Stephano and Trinculo, and from applying these theories to the play we can get an idea of why he has committed these deeds and why he has no scruples about them. Because of these theories and their aspects, we are able to observe the possible inner workings of a being that is detestable, but human nonetheless.