Structural Analysis of Cultural Hegemony in Shakespeare’s Othello

Abstract

: Parallel to language, cultures are made up of structures
which departmentalize individuals into different categories. This study
applies Saussure’s theory of structuralism on social structures of racism
and gender exhibited in Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello. These cultural
structures dictate the role of the characters, particularly, of the
protagonists: Othello and Desdemona. The characters like signs are
regulated and determined by the social structures prescribed by
community. These social systems are arbitrary as there is no any logic of
signifying Othello by his ‘blackness’ which further signifies ‘barbarism’
and ‘wildness’. Likewise, Desdemona is signified by ‘feminity’ approved
by the collective inertia of Venetian society. This process of arbitrary
signification makes the whole social structures arbitrary which protects
them from any modification in community. The inflexible sign system in
social structures leads to their rigidity and conservativeness. Any attempt
of these characters to assert their autonomy makes them distrustful in the
community which, eventually, causes their tragedy.