Shakespeare in Action directed a play Otîhêw for their annual, free outdoor summer production. This is a reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, Othello, which is set in a north-western factory fort along the Saskatchewan river in 1816. The story takes place at the height of imperial trading that drove colonization over sovereign Indigenous lands. Otîhêw is a Métis woman who is married to Desmond, an Afro-Indigenous fur-trader. The play follows the same themes of Shakespeare’s play of racism, jealousy and betrayal but uses a different script and this adaptation seems very different from the original play. In Othello it is jealousy that appears to destroy him and this emotion is implanted in him by the cunning Iago in Act 3, Scene 3.
Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy!
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on. (3.3.165-167)
This seed of jealousy grows into a monstrous monster in Othello’s mind. He is driven to insanity thinking about the infidelity of his wife Desdemona with Cassio. She is transformed from a paragon of virtue to a whore. Iago manipulates Othello noticing his tendency to insecurity and overreaction, but he does not imagine that Othello would react as he did. Iago produces a handkerchief. Othello gave to Desdemona, claiming he found it with Cassio. Othello driven by sexual jealousy strangles Desdemona as he cannot bear the thought of sharing her with another man and has lost all sense of reason and justice.
It is jealousy that sets in motion all the destructive events. Roderigo is jealous of the Moor’s successful courtship of Desdemona and becomes a pawn for Iago’s poisonous plot. Iago’s jealousy is of a different kind. He has multiple jealousies and he uses jealousy as a tool to destroy Othello and Cassio whom he resents because he feels that he is entitled to their successes. His wife speaks of this nature of jealousy :
But jealous souls will not be answered so.
They are not ever jealous for the cause,
But jealous for they’re jealous. It is a monster
Begot upon itself, born on itself. (3.4.158-161)
Jealousy has no cause but itself. In other words, jealous people are inherently jealous. Emilia pictures the confounding image of jealousy as a monster that gives birth to itself. Jealousy is depicted as a snake swallowing its own tail and therefore stuck in a self-perpetuating loop.
Otîhêw uses indigenous storytelling through Shakespearean fiction. This play reveals colonial exploitation of indigenous lands. Jealousy is shown in the character of Hamish who resents the leadership of his sister and poisons her mind of her husband’s infidelity with the colonizers. Otîhêw explores truths about the Fur Trade era, and demonstrates how love, female leadership, care for water, and preservation of culture can mend the land and its people.
Some of the provoking arguments that Shakespeare presents is that jealousy does not happen in isolation and it is a symptom of society and institutions. Insecurity in Othello as an outsider in Venetian society makes him a victim of sexual jealousy. Iago does not have to have a reason to be jealous. Anybody who is successful or happy can ignite jealousy as jealous people are inherently jealous if they perceive others even slightly better off than them. On a personal note, reading about Shakespeare’s characters has provided valuable insights of human flaws and frailties.
WORKS CITED:
Shakespeare, William. et al. Othello. East Rutherford: Penguin Publishing Group, 2016. Print.