Celebrating Cultural Hybridity through Storytelling: Othello as a Borderlands Character in Caryl Phillips'' the Nature of Blood

Nadal-Ruiz, Alejandro (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: This paper provides a new approach to Othello's story in Caryl Phillips' polyphonic novel The Nature of Blood (1997). The fictional Othello finds himself at the crossroads between different cultures and is struggling to define his identity. Making use of Gloria Anzaldúa's borderlands theory as exposed in her work Borderlands/La Frontera (1987), this study explores Phillips' Othello as a borderlands character. Accordingly, it is the purpose of this paper to demonstrate that, as a borderlands character-narrator, Othello succeeds in bringing together the two hitherto conflicting cultures that he knows (Africa and Venice) through storytelling. Indeed, his narrative proves a transborder testimony that contributes to creating a debate forum where cultural hybridity is celebrated. © 2021 Ediciones Universidad de Valladolid. All Rights Reserved.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.24197/ersjes.42.2021.199-215

Año: 2021

Publicado en: Es Review, Spanish Journal of English Studies 42 (2021), 199-215
ISSN: 2531-1646

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 0.3 - Social Sciences (Q4)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/H03-20R
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MCIU/FFI2017-84258-P
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MCIU/FPU18-00782

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Filología Inglesa (Dpto. Filolog.Inglesa y Alema.)