The term Orientalism, according to Said, is “principally a way of 'defining' and 'locating' Europe's others” (Ashcroft, Ahluwalia 48). An other, as one may define, is one's equal no matter their social class and education. The Orient defines Europe and balances Europe as its counterpart, as both the Orient and Europe are interdependent. That is to say European much of the culture and civilization derives from the Orient, that what is made up by Europeans becomes a part of their way of living — even if such means integrating the Orient into education as well (Dexheimer 1). Europeans went as far as using Art to display such interdependency and influence Orientalism, as one can see from the below example.
This painting, An Egyptian Potter Seller Near Giza by Elisabet Jerichau-Baumann is one prime example of Orientalism during the early nineteenth century. The painting shows an idealized, glorified female potterer intended (or seemingly so) for the male gaze. The male gaze is appropriated by the further glorification of the Orient as seen by Europeans. Such Art and imagery encourage the idealizations the weak Orient needs the strength and power of the West (Sered 1). With paintings and such encouraging the idealization of the Orient, one in the nineteenth century may have believed Europe to be the center of the world; where what is being taught in Europe should be adopted by those elsewhere.
In the movie Princess Caraboo, we see a lonely female, wandering about in odd clothing. She speaks not one word of English and is dressed in outlandish clothing. An aristocratic couple soon discovers her and takes her in as they fancy her — they find the woman intriguing and dub her “Princess Caraboo”. What makes her so intriguing to the couple is the fact that they cannot determine her place of origin: Did the Princess come from India, from China, or from elsewhere? Because they cannot determine her place of origin, the couple are set out to translate her language in some way, and in turn give her a place to stay.What exactly makes Princess Caraboo so interesting to the aristocrat couple? Below you will see a summarized example of the movie and the thoughts of the journalist.
As we can see, the behaviorism the Princess embodies is what some Europeans considered the behaviors of the Orients, making all observers Oriental. For instance, “The woman is both eager to be dominated and strikingly exotic. The Oriental is a single image, a sweeping generalization, a stereotype that crosses countless cultural and national boundaries” (Sered 1). The first observation one can make about Princess Caraboo is the tongue in which she speaks. In today's society, one possibly can conclude that the “language” Princess Caraboo speaks is entirely made up. During the nineteenth century, one would not conclude nor reason against Princess Caraboo's misuse of language and tongue. In fact, one may wonder who would be able to translate what is said and the origin of the language — as seen in the film. Secondly, once Princess Caraboo is in care of the aristocratic couple, does she continue the role of being an exotic Oriental. Princess Caraboo exemplifies an “eager(ness) to be dominated” as the Oriental would define her, even to the point of her bowing (Sered 1).
One finds that the conception of Orientalism does not necessarily mean Europe was lacking in culture or history, but quite possibly because they feared what the East may present to the West. The nineteenth century was a time where science, invention, and industrialization began to arise. One may deduct Europe decided to get ahead of the game, if you will, to stand their ground as the most advanced in the world. This does not mean that Princess Caraboo was the most advanced person in England at the time, but more so she was able to create such a ruse that people believed for months. How those around Princess Caraboo were able to accept her as an Oriental princess can be debated a number of ways. One may posit questions such as: Did the Europeans create their ideas of the Orient in order to remain as the “superior” being, to regain their imperialism? (Ashcroft, Ahluwalia 47) or did they create the Orient out of pure ignorance or trust entirely the words of scholars?
One shall take both stances and apply the concepts to Princess Caraboo. On the viewpoint of the ignorance of Europeans, for instance, may be explained by the cultural racism phenomenon. The concept of cultural racism is “a frame that relies on culturally based arguments […] to explain the standing of minorities in society” (Bonilla-Silva 28). In the nineteenth century, one may suspect that the Orient was created to understand the East and its culture using little information. Cultural racism is created out of the ignorance of others — those who do not see a culture for its worth, but rather what is recognized. The Orient was only created because “myth, opinion, hearsay and prejudice generated by influential scholars quickly assumed the status of received truth” (Ashcroft, Ahluwalia 49). This shows that ignorance does not just start from one's own thoughts, but also how one is influenced by the media and education. If a scholar is misinformed or misinterprets a society's culture, then those who learn from these scholars are also misinformed. In the most extreme cases, such cultural racism can lead some to believe they are more privileged over other races.
Europeans “want” to remain as superiors to others, especially those whose presence (culture, schooling, education) may pose a threat to Europe's standing in the world as “superiors”. Said argues that the West “created a dichotomy, between the reality of the East and the romantic notion of the Orient. The Middle East and Asia are viewed with prejudice and racism” (Deheimer 1). Although learning about the Orient could bring about adverse effects on society's way of thinking (cultural racism), learning may also enhance certain behaviorism. For instance, consider privilege (one shall use white privilege in this example): “[Any person] racialized as 'white' — or as members of the dominant race — receive material benefits from the racial order, they struggle […] to maintain their privileges” (Bonilla-Silva 9). During the era in which Orientalism came about, one can argue (as Said may have) that Europe created the Orient in order regain their standing, revitalize imperialism. The Orient reinforces Europe's standing in the world as the superior, above all. Said continues, “To write about the Arab Oriental world, therefore, is to write with the authority of a nation, and not with the affirmation of a strident ideology but with the unquestioning certainty of absolute truth backed by absolute force” (Sered 1). A European who learns under such pretext will ignorantly live believing, with certainty, that Europeans have the right to define all that is Asian.
By housing Princess Caraboo, the aristocratic couple, the Worralls, enforce the cultural racism approach to the Orient. The couple does not question the Princess enough, rather, the couple accept the Princess in their home. Initially, Princess Caraboo is an unknown and is only deemed important once a scholar (anthropologist in the real life scenario) realizes a part of her language is from the Orient. The Worralls realize what a grand opportunity they have to host such an exotic being — based on the fact that they know nothing of her background and her social class. That being the case, one interesting factor of Princess Caraboo's hosts is that they allowed for Princess Caraboo to stay in their household despite her social class. Princess Caraboo was given a social standing on equal grounds to that of the Worralls; she was, by being an “exotic” from the Orient, raised on a pedestal. The Worralls were vain in their decision to assume anyone who speaks in tongues comes from the Orient. But because they were so conditioned to believe what scholars taught and what images (Art and the like) portrayed, did they only take in Princess Caraboo for such conditioning.
Princess Caraboo, on the other hand, encourages the belief of social class and white privilege. Cultural racism is enforced by way of the Worralls; but through Princess Caraboo, her actions and demeanor encourage white privilege. On the surface, one may find Princess Caraboo as one who is acting as a person from the Orient as exotic. This makes her a person of interest, a person to study as her habits are unique and not like any others. By the Princess embodying such mannerisms, she enforces Orientals. For example, during the scene where the Princess is to shoot a bow and arrow, she hops around as if she is performing some sort of ritual. The Princess herself does not know if what she is doing represents any part of Asia, but continues to act as she pleases. How does her behavior enforce white privilege, then? Princess Caraboo is found as a wanderer and someone with no social standing. She uses the hype of the Orient to her advantage, so she may gain some social class in her society despite portraying herself as an Orient.
The nineteenth century dwelled on the concept of the Orient to the point where Art and the media was involved. Princess Caraboo lived on her throne in the care of the Worralls for months on end because of the Worralls' belief in her (being from the Orient). She spoke no English for those months (whether she attempted to learn English is unknown) and was never questioned about her background once. When the Princess became so exotic, so popular, only then did someone discover her lie. The Princess was found via the media, what one learns from a scholar or the media indeed has adverse effects. Orientalism did not stop at Princess Caraboo, however. The period of Orientalism continues even until now — we may not idealize Asian countries as we once had in previous decades, but some still approach Asia with the same attitude. Observing this, one can hope that Orientalism in today's soceity does not create Orientalists, and one should further hope the scholarly work of Edward Said is taught to avoid disillusionment of the “Orient”.
Works Cited
Ahluwalia, Pal and Bill Ashcroft. Edward Said. New York, New York: Routledge, 2001. WEB.
Dexheimer, Jim. Orientalism. Western Michigan University, 4/29/09. May 15, 2010. SITE
Sered, Danielle. Orientalism. Emory, Fall 1996. Web. May 15, 2010. SITE
Varisco, Daniel Martin. Reading Orientalism: Said and the unsaid. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 2007. WEB.
Yaqoob, Yahira. East meets West — and it's love. The National Newspaper, May 16, 2009. Web. May 15, 2010. SITE
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