Shakespeare and the Fur Trade: Ermines and Whiteness in The Winter’s Tale

Fur was an important marker of status in early modern England.

This talk, by Dr Todd Andrew Borlick, investigates the role of fur as a performing object on the Shakespearean stage, revealing the problematic alliance between the theatre industry and the global fur trade.

It argues that Shakespeare troubles this alliance by humanising animals and bestialising humans, while exposing furs as signifiers of racialised affect. Specifically, it looks at the queen Hermione in The Winter’s Tale as a personified ermine, a creature that embodies monarchical power, female sexual purity, and hyper-whiteness.