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Emily Huntley
Ms. Juergens
IB English HL
1 November 2015
An Essence Thats Not Seen: The Primal Scene of Racism in Othello Abstract
This essay, by Arthur L. Little, Jr., explores the meaning and implications of the primal
scene of racism in the play Othello. In psychoanalysis, the primal scene is the moment when a
child first imagines or sees their parents engaged in sexual intercourse. Following this, the child
tries to repress the image and in doing so, makes the image distorted and incessant. Little argues
that the primal scene of racism in Othello is the sight and sight upon which the audience
members reactively and proactively construct an idea about the character based upon their race.
The audience subsequently attempt to suppress the image, but the opinion is still in the
subconscious of the audiences thoughts.
After Iago tells Othello that a womans honor is an essence thats not seen, Othello
spends the rest of the play attempting to find this essence of her honor (1.3.284-285). This search
also mirrors Othellos search for his metaphorical blackness, which the audience assumes he
already has because of his literal blackness. These assumptions are made in the primal scene of
racism, which is the implied sexual intercourse between Othello and Desdemona. Othello fails in
his search for his metaphorical blackness, and therefore does not accept his body. This leads him
to doubt Desdemonas love for him, which manifests in his self-conscious jealousy evident in his
quick belief of Iagos lies about Desdemonas infidelity. This self-conscious jealousy moves him
to murder Desdemona.
Little also argues that the three main structural elements in Othello are Othellos
blackness, his marriage to Desdemona, and his killing of Desdemona. To the audience, the first

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two of the elements are not congruous and the third is necessary to restore racial balance.
Word count: 281

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Works Cited
Little, Arthur L., Jr. ""An Essence That's Not Seen": The Primal Scene of Racism in Othello."
Shakespeare Quarterly 44.3 (1993): 304-24. JSTOR. Web. 01 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/2871421?ref=searchgateway:9fd554b63a33f5d0b83641744f14750b>.
Shakespeare, William. Othello. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1984. Print.