著者

越智 敏之

出版者

英米文化学会

雑誌

英米文化 (ISSN:09173536)

巻号頁・発行日

no.41, pp.51-63, 2011-03-31

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Not only called 'fish' by other characters such as Trinculo and Stephano, but also, by the magic of Ariel, soaked into pickle-like filthy water as if he were salted fish under the curing process, Caliban is metaphorically described as fish. Abstinence lay at the core of Christianity, and fish was a preferred food for fast days, or 'fish days' in Christendom. In the thirteenth century, on more than half the days of the year, Christians ate fish for religious reasons. Then why could fish possibly be used as a metaphor to describe this monstrous slave in the New World? The nature of fish days began to change after the Reformation in England which had adopted Protestantism. Catholic doctrines, including dietary teachings, came to be no longer strictly followed, but ironically the government had to enforce the observance of fish days for nonreligious reasons; they needed to encourage the fishing industry in order to feed people, especially the increasing urban poor, and to stimulate the building of ships as a safeguard against possible Spanish attacks. And salted fish, which came to be supplied increasingly from the New World fishing banks, became vital staples not only for the poor but for soldiers and sailors in the days of religious wars and exploding international commerce. Although, with people more and more disregarding the old rules of the Church, salted fish, the metaphor for Caliban, was not a favored food, it supported the social and economic system of England and helped its expansion into the New World.