In this post-colonial era, readers tend to give a revisionist reading to any literary text written during the colonial era. For curious minds, Shakespeare’s The Tempest, released two short years after England first colonized Virginia in 1609, is a suitable text for postcolonial study. The work, which reflects a “colonial ethos”, can easily fall into the mold of colonialist literature.
Prospero’s attitude towards the island, towards Caliban and also his usurpation of power can be interpreted from a post-colonial perspective. The time of the composition of the work also favors the investigation of the colonial interests of The Tempest.
At first, Prospero’s attitude towards the island is similar to the attitude of a colonizer going to the colonies. It is true that Prospero’s arrival on the island is accidental, not intentional. He did not come to the island to improve his condition. He was made an exile against his will. But as soon as he lands on the island his conduct does not differ much from that of a settler. He subdues the two islanders and demands overwhelming loyalty from them. He uses the island as a colony and, like a colonist, discards it as soon as he finishes using it.
Prospero’s behavior in The Tempest as an exile reflects the colonial mentality. A settler can never think of the colony he goes to as his true home. He always remains faithful to the center, to his homeland. Here Prospero also shows little love for the new world and remains a protagonist of the old world. His thoughts and attitudes are so strongly determined by his loyalty to the old world that his behavior closely resembles that of a typical settler, who explores and exploits a foreign country for selfish ends and then abandons it.
That Prospero is a settler at heart is shown by the fact that he hates the island despite having spent twelve years there. The island gave him shelter, provided him with sustenance, and created the opportunity to fulfill his final mission. But in the play he rarely talks about the island. He seldom mentions it and on the few occasions that he does refer to his own abode on the island he calls it ‘a poor cell’, ‘a poor court’.
It is true that the island is poor and bare in comparison with Milan, Prospero’s native country. But the other characters in the play don’t dislike the island that much. Gonzalo, Ferdinand, Stephano and Trinculo do not hide their resemblance to the island. Their resemblance contrasts with Prospero’s distaste for the island. Thus, the main difference between Prospero’s answers and those of the others is that while Prospero openly criticizes the island, the others do not profess any hatred for it. Prospero is eager to return to his home, Milan, leaving behind the bare island while others are not motivated by any hatred towards the island. Milan or Napoli do not attract them like Prospero. Therefore, considering his negative attitude towards the island that served as his home for twelve years, it can be assumed that deep down he will always be a settler.
For Próspero there is always a fixed house and some well-defined logos. All your thoughts and actions are governed by a deep bond with your former home and logos. They have failed him in the past, but he believes that the lost order can be restored if his restoration plan succeeds. He lived on the island as an exile and was happy to leave it. He does not figure in his future thought. For him, Milan is home and logos.
Like a typical colonist, Prospero lives in a bipolar world, clearly divided into home and physically distant colony. Home represents the values he holds dear and to which he belongs, where the island symbolizes the other with whom he has less in common.
Now let’s move on to Prospero’s relationship with Caliban. The relationship between them is obviously the master-servant relationship. Caliban represents the native population of a country recently discovered by white explorers and later colonized by them. When the whites conquered a country, they considered themselves masters and the natives slaves. Of course, by settling down, the colonizers brought many benefits to the native populations. But at the same time they treated the natives as slaves and servants. From this point of view Caliban acquires great importance as the representative of the dispossessed Indians of a newly discovered country. From Caliban’s speech at the beginning of the play we find Prospero’s treatment of Caliban and the island.
I must eat my dinner
This island is mine, by Sycorax my mother
that you took from me
Caliban is aware of his claim to the island, but the powerful Prospero rules over him and the island. Prospero’s attitude is the hegemonic attitude of a colonizer.
Thus Prospero emerges as a dictatorial colonial governor-general, whose presence on the island demands that Caliban, its native inhabitant, comply with his wishes and regulations. Caliban’s lust and his primitive religion are considered evil, but ironically, Prospero depends on Caliban’s service to survive. Prospero also demands constant and loyal service from Ariel as payment for rescuing him from Sycorax’s imprisonment. Prospero is quick to exploit the original act of kindness and humanity once he recognizes how powerful Ariel can be.
Thus, Próspero’s behavior on the island is governed by his colonial and utilitarian motives that deny all love, gratitude, and recognition of a place culturally and morally alien to him. He has blown up the island and as soon as his show is over, he decides to leave it. He is like a selfish and ungrateful guest who is happiest when he can disown the poor host from him.
