GALDÓS, SHAKESPEARE, AND WHAT TO MAKE OF <em>TORMENTO</em>

Abstract

This article explores the hitherto ignored intertextual link between Galdos's novel Tormento and Shakespeare's Othello. Drawing on Galdos's critical observations concerning Shakespeare and the galley-proofs of Tormento, the article argues that Galdos had Othello much in mind when characterizing the protagonists of his novel as well as shaping key scenes. The cultural, ethnic, and social tensions underpinning Shakespeare's Venice offer parallels with Galdos's pre-revolutionary Madrid. The article shows how Galdos uses Othello as a counterpoint to prurient responses to female sexual transgression that typified his contemporaries and argues against critics who have seen Tormento as a novel about female duplicity.