Space, Power And Subjectivity

From the perspective of space politics, The Tempest provides a scene of heterotopia, in which the relations are defined by the dominant power. Though he is a castaway, Prospero regains his power by his magic, and rebuilds the space, physically and heterotopically, on the island. And this process of building his heterotopical space is also the reconstruction of his subjectivity.The island with no name and location in The Tempest is a place of temporary escape, and in contrast with the Europe, it is a Heterotopia. In this special space of "counter-site", Prospero rebuilds the spatial regimes and the network of relations. He enslaves Caliban and Ariel---the natives on the island as a colonist, making them the Other in this process of orientalization; he educates all other characters in the play according to his ideological standard, enforcing disciplines on all others. That is to say, he is in the dominant position in the power relations.Prospero's power on the island is achieved through the model of panoptical prison, in which surveillance and punishment are executed on all other characters like prisoners. The agent of Prospero's power is Ariel, who assumes the role of the central tower in the theoretical basis of Michel Foucault's panoptic concept. It is through Ariel's fulfillment of commands that Prospero can supervise and control Caliban and the court party. The source of his power over Ariel as well as other is his supernatural magic power derived from books.Prospero's books are also an important factor in his ability to narrate the history. He narrates history not only himself and Miranda, but of Antonio, Ariel, and Caliban. Because he can control the past, he can control the other's understanding of origin, and therefore the other's sense of identity and direction. As an exiled duke, Prospero is treated as an Other in Milan. By rebuilding the space and power relations on the island, Prospero not only regains his dukedom, but also reconstructs his subjectivity in this heterotopia.