Compare Othello And Tess Of The D Urbervilles

3116 Words7 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Social and cultural tensions in Othello

Compare how Shakespeare and Hardy present situations where their characters’ love and relationships are influenced by the need to uphold appearances within society, with particular reference to Othello and Tess of the d’Urbervilles

This essay will explore the social interactions between characters, the effects of appearance on their relationships and how this drives them to make certain decisions. This includes how the claustrophobia of their society is portrayed and its effects through form, style and literary techniques. All four texts explore the conflict between public and private selves. In Othello , Shakespeare reveals the taboo surrounding an interracial sexual relationship between a black man and a white woman during the Sixteenth Century. In Hardy’s Nineteenth Century novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles , we see the clash between sexuality, laws and codes of the time. I will compare these texts to The Franklin’s Tale and Pride and Prejudice , looking at how the rigid codes of courtly love impact on male and female behaviour within relationships and how the social and cultural attitudes and values of Regency England influence young women in their marriage choices.

In both primary texts, the parents of the main characters struggle with the practice of exogomein and endogomein. In Othello, Brabantio adopts a motherly role, guiding Desdemona towards an acceptable marriage. Yet the marriage she chooses is exogamous. Brabantio sees through Othello’s high rank, royal blood and Christianity, casting a shadow over the relationship between Othello and his daughter due to Othello’s skin colour, unacceptable within that Venetian society. Desdemona lives within a patriarchal society and is objectified and commodified. Brabantio strugg...

... middle of paper ...

...entally to mete out her demise. Empathy is felt for her as she realises self-worth is the polar opposite to the superficiality of social standing. She finds peace of mind and is reunited with Angel, when Hardy tears her away with death, typical of tragedy. Othello’s military role and social worth do not majorly affect his relationship. Instead, Iago’s ruthless self-interest in enhancing his own appearance within society and disinterest in the welfare of others, kindles the doubt between Othello and Desdemona. The relationships that collapse are those of the characters whose judgments fail them as another controls them. From the study of these two texts and reference to Pride and Prejudice and The Franklin’s Tale, we can now see that it is more strength of self and mind, than efforts to uphold an appearance, which affects love and relationships within all the texts.

Show More
Related

  • Reverse Gender Roles In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

    397 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, a quintessential pair of teens fall in love, but their fate ends in misfortune. The pair falls in love in a time where women are seen as unimportant and insignificant. In spite of this, Romeo breaks the boundaries of male dominance and shows a more feminine side. Throughout the play, there is an interesting depiction of gender roles that is contrary to the society of the time period.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Insecurity In Othello

    621 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even before Iago exerts his influence over Othello, we can observe the inklings of Othello’s insecurity and the doubt he has regarding his relationship with Desdemona. During his audience with the Duke, Othello describes the circumstances by which he became acquainted with Desdemona. He says on the occasions that he told Brabantio of his life stories, he would also tell Desdemona the same stories. Then, Othello self-consciously proposes that the sole reason why Desdemona loves him is because she pitied his misfortunes: “She loved me for the dangers I had passed, / And I loved her that she did pity them” (I.iii.193-194). Othello feels way because as

    Read More

  • Compare and Contrast Society's Effect on Relationships in Othello, Lady Chatterley's Lover, The Great Gatsby,

    1984 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the majority of “Othello”, “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” and “The Great Gatsby”, Shakespeare, Lawrence and Fitzgerald seems to have this common focus on the changes in society in terms of relationships. It appears that each text has a major event in which the dynamics of the relationships change due to some aspect in society in which they are set.

    Read More

  • Iago Manipulation In Othello

    1386 Words  | 3 Pages

    Othello has many positive traits, including being a great leader and loyal. He also has one negative trait that ultimately leads to his death; jealousy. Iago provokes deep, strong emotions in Othello, jealousy being the strongest. Jealousy is a nasty little emotion. It causes people to do terrible things because once it is on a person’s conscience, it stays for quite some time. Because of these effects, jealousy can impact some of the strongest people such as Othello. The love between Desdemona and Othello was portrayed so elevated and pure and was filled with religious words and phrases that just added to the strength and sanctity of their love. Othello has such a strong mind, but jealousy caused by the manipulation of Iago, negatively impacts him. Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him with his friend Cassio. When Othello asks Iago for proof of Desdemona’s deceit, Iago describes scenes and events in which Othello has a reason to be jealous. In Act III, Scene I Iago is describing to Othello, Desdemona and Cassio’s imagined relationship, “It is impossible you should see this/ were they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys, as salt as wolves in pride, and fools as gross as ignorance made drunk.” These images planted themselves inside Othello’s mind and haunted him until he did something about it. These images led to Othello believing Desdemona really did love

    Read More

  • Free College Essays - The Father/Daughter Conflict in Shakespeare's Othello

    481 Words  | 1 Pages

    Othello: The Father/Daughter Conflict Brabantio, father of Desdemona in William Shakespeare's "Othello," is not happy that his daughter is marrying the title character. This father/daughter conflict impacts the work significantly by foreshadowing the climax, giving antagonist Iago material for his evil plot. Brabantio is a Venetian Senator with definite ideas on the subject of his daughter. He wants to choose a husband for her who he feels is of her caliber and who can provide her a good life, as well as raise the family's esteem in Venetian society. At that time, this was his right as Desdemona's father.

    Read More

  • Othello Reflects the Context and Values of its Time

    1338 Words  | 3 Pages

    Brabantio also endeavours into placing a seed of doubt in Othello’s mind as a result of his jealousy. Consequentially Brabantio objectifies Desdemona when he states, “Where has thou stow’d my daughter?” exemplifying how he deems her as a possession, which can be stolen like any other. Othello prolongs this objectification through asserting that he “won his daughter” portraying Desdemona as a prize to be won, and a possession to be owned and argued over by husband and father. Desdemona is depicted early on in the play as the “angel” wi... ...

    Read More

  • The Flaws of Othello, Murderer of Desdemona

    1465 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s play Othello, the main character Othello is typically victimized and portrayed as a mere scapegoat of the villainous Iago’s devious plans. However, Othello is not completely void of responsibility for the death of his wife. Othello, the tragic hero, is just as responsible as Iago for his premeditated murder of Desdemona due to his own internal flaws. Specifically, flaws such as his vivid imagination and his self over-idealization are brought to the surface by Iago, which consequently allows Iago to easily manipulate Othello.

    Read More

  • Pride In Othello

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    Othello is a Moor, and outsider who earns acceptance by being a brave soldier. He also is a great commander and this leads to his nobility. There are many underlying themes in “Othello” such as envy and betrayal; all of which can be attributed to pride. Othello loves Desdemona very deeply, but he soon lets his pride get in the way and causes him to lose all self-control and reason. Once the seed of doubt is planted by Iago that Desdemona might be involved with Cassio his world begins to fall apart. Othello is too prideful to see that Iago is deceiving him. As Iago is pushing the doubt and fear into Othello in Act 3 he says this: "My name, that was as fresh / As Dian 's visage, is now begrimed and black (1059 384-385).” This gives us thought that perhaps his biggest fear is not whether Desdemona loves him, but that his pride is more concerned with what other men think of him, concern that his name will be tarnished. Othello has had to work very hard as an outsider to be respected and honored and he can’t bear to lose the good name he has earned. When Othello goes to Desdemona and confronts her she denies ever being unfaithful, but Othello is too prideful to listen to the women he loves and hear her side of the story. His mind is made up before he even gives her a chance as we see in Act 5, scene 2: “Therefore confess thee feely of they sin/For to deny each article with oath/Cannot remove nor choke the strong conception/That I do groan withal. Thou art to die.” (1088). So, Othello proceeds with killing his loving wife who defended herself until her last breath. Othello then finally learns the truth about Desdemona’s innocence. He accepts full responsibility for the crime, but the cost is too high. He then takes his own life. Pride is

    Read More

  • Free College Essays - The Tragic and Serious Othello

    557 Words  | 2 Pages

    The tone of the story is tragic and serious. Meanwhile, there isn't any point of view because this is a play and a play doesn't normally have a narrator. Shakespeare lets the reader make up his/her own imagination with the characters' words and behavior. Since Othello is the protagonist, he is explained in more detail. Although Othello is a brave warrior, he is a jealous person; his jealousy also prevails over his good sense. The whole play depicts the fact that jealousy causes corruption. There are many conflicts found in Othello, and person vs. person is one of them. An example is when Iago seeks revenge against Othello and Cassio because of his anger and jealousy. Person vs. society appears when Desdemona's father Brabantio, disapproves her marriage to Othello because he is several years older than Desdemona, from a different class, and a different race. An internal conflict of person vs. himself is found when Othello is in a dilemma about whether or not should he believe that Desdemona is being unfaithful to him. Othello loves and trusts Desdemona until his jealousy is aroused by the cruel manipulations of Iago. Iago's intention was to persuade Othello to believe that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. As Iago succeeds in convincing Othello that Desdemona is guilty of adultery, it leads to the climax of the play. And so Othello must face emotions he can't deal with. His jealousy drives him insane, and his judgment is replaced with anger and hate. At this time, the reader notices that the death of Desdemona is inevitable. Othello smothers her, and he eventually kills himself when he knows that Iago falsely accused Desdemona. This also represents the tragedy of the play.

    Read More

  • Desdemona from Othello

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    Desdemona is a victim of both Othello’s jealousy (the ‘green-eyed monster’) and Iago’s malevolence. However, as a literary construct, she is unable to prevent herself from falling victim to the hamartia of Othello and his hubris, an essential flaw in the tragic hero according to Aristotle. His pride is wounded by the idea that society would consider him emasculate due to having been cuckolded – in this sense, her fate was inevitable. Another of Aristotle’s theories purports that catharsis (often experienced following the death of the tragic victim) is a vital component of tragedy; as a great tragedy, catharsis must certainly be felt by the audience of Othello. However, the purging of emotions should surely only be felt towards characters which are genuinely liked, demonstrating the intricate link between pity and likability and highlighting the paradox in Auden’s statement: the audience must like Desdemona to some extent for her death to have a dramatic effect. Regardless of personal opinions on Desdemona, it is an upsetting final thought for the audience that there seems to be little hope for their own lives if evil can prevail over someone so good and taint something as beautiful as Othello and Desdemona’s love.

    Read More

  • Iago To Blame For Desdemona's Death

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    That’s Othello’s weakness that Iago deems as useful. Othello’s love turns to jealousy. The question is how sympatric is Othello to the reader. Othello feels betrayed. But Othello loses his look of a gullible, good guy when he decides he wants Cassio and Desdemona dead. The rage of his jealousy turns the character of Othello the readers know on its head and creates a different look. Only during and after the death of Desdemona can the reader see the good that was once in him. Othello shows regret and kind of a sense of torment. Clearly parts of him doesn’t want this to happen. And after the death of Desdemona he sees the misplaced change and rage he had. When Othello hears of Iago’s disseat he changes back to the good Othello that was present in the start of the play. He might be filled with regret and a new rage for Iago, but is morals seem solid

    Read More

  • othello

    578 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Act 1. Desdemona admits that she fell in love with Othello's eloquence and harrowing adventures; 'I saw Othello's visage in his mind'. This outlines his sense of nobility in language,which empahsis how much of an experienced warrior ans revered noble man he is. Moreover Desdemona reveals Othello's nobility of love, 'She loved me for the dangers I had passed/ I loved her that she did pity them'. She succeeds in unveiling a side in Othello's nature which show him as a loving, respectful husband. He is clearly trustful of Desdemona and is not by any means jealous of him, as he allows her to travel to Cyprus with Iago,' To his conveyance I assign my wife'.

    Read More

  • Gender Inequality In The Great Gatsby Essay

    2135 Words  | 5 Pages

    Within this extended essay, the subject chosen to study and formulate a question from was English Literature, in particular the portrayal of women during the 19th and 20th centuries, where the following novels 'The Great Gatsby' written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' were set in and originated the basis from. The question is as follows 'How does Jane Austen and F Scott Fitzgerald portray gender inequalities in both lower and upper class relationships particularly through love and marriage within the novels 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'The Great Gatsby' from the different era's it was written in?' This particular topic was chosen reflecting the morality and social class during the two different era's and determining whether there was change in the characteristics of women as well as men and how their behaviour was depicted through the two completely different stories, as they both reflect the same ethical principles in terms of love and marriage. The two novels were chosen in particular to view their differences as well as their similarities in terms of gender inequality through love and marriage, as the different era's it was set in gives a broader view in context about how society behaved and what each author was trying to portray through their different circumstances, bringing forward a similar message in both novels.

    Read More

  • Desdemona as a Tragic Victim in ‘Othello’

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s play “Othello” the main characters Othello and Desdemona suffer a tragic fate due to their actions and unforeseen circumstances. A majority of Desdemona’s suffering is down to Iago’s manipulation. However, it could also be argued that Iago is not completely to blame for the misfortune of Desdemona. We as the readers can see evidence of this at certain points in the play where Iago has planted the seeds of despair and Desdemona and Othello have fallen for his plans. In this essay, I will look at key moments in the play where Desdemona is presented as a tragic victim by the writer and justify why she is a tragic victim using quotes from the play.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Trust In Othello

    1208 Words  | 3 Pages

    Therefore it gives Iago the advantage to use Desdemona’s character to manipulate Othello through their difference in sex, good nature of male and female friendship into an affair and also difference in race. Using the play Othello it shows how easy it is for human to be manipulated by another through words and action and when the trust is lost between two individuals their love and relationship is also lost as

    Read More

More about Compare Othello And Tess Of The D Urbervilles

Open Document