Emilia’s Contemporary Stand
In equation with the Elizabethan era, Shakespeare offers us a male dominated society in his renowned tragedy, Othello. Consequently, this definitely persuades a negative attitude and demeanor towards the women of the times. The female characters in the play: Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca; play relevant roles in contributing to one’s understanding of this exhausted Elizabethan view. In contrast to the larger portion of the play, Emilia, spouse to the scandalous Iago, takes an opinionated stand for Desdemona in relation to her wholesome gone sour relationship with the Moor of Venice, Othello. I recognize Emilia’s “Betrayal lecture” as a justified outlook in accordance with today’s period and events surrounding Desdemona’s and Othello’s fatal misunderstanding.
In Act IV, scene ii and iii, Emilia shows her contemporary views about relationships to the audience and talks to Desdemona while doing so. She believes that many men and women are commonly guilty of cheating and betrayal of their partner. At this point, Othello’s worries of Desdemona’s unfaithfulness have wholly increased, and he begins to accuse her of cheating on him. Desdemona then hopes Othello sees to her honesty and truthfulness of the matter. “I hope my noble lord esteems me honest” (Act IV, scene II line 67). Othello counters her begging by beginning his sarcasm and request for her to never have been born. He says, “O, ay. As summer flies are in the shambles,that quicken even with blowing. O Thou weed, Who art so lovely fair and smell’st so sweet That the sense aches at thee, would thou hadst ne’er been born!”(Act IV scene II lines 68-70)
As Desdemona constantly denies his accusations, Othello becomes very angry. He asks for her forgiveness (jokingly) and says “I took you for that cunning whore of Venice” (Act IV, scene ii, line 93). Desdemona is left mad by Othello’s ridicule and listens to Emilia’s contrasting attitude.
As Othello and Lodovico leave the scene, the Moor commands Desdemona to exit Emilia’s presence and exclaims, “get you to bed on th’ instant.(Act IV scene iii line 7). Emilia fervently disagrees with Othello and graces us with her pro- female attitudes once again by saying, “ I would you had never seen him”, with Desdemona agreeing light-heartedly as well.(Act IV scene iii lines 19-20) .
Emilia displays to Desdemona a helping hand and says to leave Othello if she is so hurt by his “understandings”. “…Having the world for your labor, ‘tis a wrong in your own world, and you might quickly make it right” She is basically explaining to Desdemona to leave Othello for his ludicrous antics.
While it is unknown as to what occurred with every hostage during the crisis, one retired diplomat on a special assignment in Tehran, Robert C. Ode, kept a journal detailing his experience: “I strongly protested the violation of my diplomatic immunity, but these protests were ignored…Some students attempted to talk with us, stating how they didn’t hate Americans—only our U.S. government, President Carter, etc.” Ode’s description of his captivity and his captors beliefs led to an insight into the motives of the Iranians. This valuable source allows historians to understand that President Carter and the United States government were responsible for the Iranian hatred. However, Ode’s journal is limited in it’s credibility due to possible alterations of the story in response to fear or pain. In addition to the declared state of hate for the Carter Administration, the government’s poor decisions throughout an attempted rescue attempt of the hostages displayed the weakness of the United States. According to
The Mongols religious beliefs and practices come into the category that is usually called Shamanism. I find that a shaman can be best described as being a tribal witch doctor. Shamanism involves a solitary practitioner that uses the aids of psychotropic herbs and hypnotic drumming in order for him to travel to the "spirit world." Once there, he is able to retrieve the help and spiritual guidance that the tribal society needs. Shamanism seems to have originated from ancestor worship. Images of the ancestors, called ongghot, were kept in the family's tents, and were thought to provide protection if satisfied. The shaman had an elevated position in the society, wore white and rode a white horse, and carried as insignia as staff and a drum. His function were intercession with the spirits, various kinds of exorcism, the recital of blessings over herds, hunters, children and had the gift of prophecy. Prophecies were carried out by burning the shoulder blades of sheep and examining the cracks that resulted. Among the shamanist devotee's rituals was the worship of high places, since from there was an uninterrupted access to heaven (tengri.) the devotee would kneel nine times on top of the chosen hill, with his head uncovered and his belt around his neck. A necessary supplement in understanding Mongolian shamanism is the large number of orally transmitted hymns and prayers. The...
When Othello questions Emilia about Desdemona she gives forthright answers. I presume she expects to be believed. Her outburst when Othello justifies the murder on the basis of Desdemona's supposed adultery with Cassio is surely an expression of her indignation that Othello didn't believe her simple factual answers.
Though her world was fall apart with Iago creating false images of an affair between her and Cassio to Othello, Desdemona strangely remains kind, innocent, and willing to grant grace. When Cassio approaches her for help, she quickly agrees to help her old friend. While she discusses relationships with Emilia, she rejects all thoughts of infidelity. She had every reason to fight Othello when Othello carries out her murder, yet she resist only a little, She responses, “The Lord have mercy on me…[and] mercy on you too” to Othello’s “Thou diest” (Othello 5.2.50; 71-74). When she is briefly revived and quested by Emilia as to who her murderer is, Desdemona only replies, “I myself” (Othello 5.2.152).
Emilia has a fierce sense of loyalty. After Desdemona’s death she catches wind of Iago’s malicious scheme, and swears that, “I’ll make [Iago’s scheme] known,/ Though I lost twenty lives” (V.ii.87). Emilia had been a close friend of Desdemona’s throughout the play, and her death had a large impact on Emilia, who thought nothing but kindness and virtue of her late friend. Even when Othello tries convincing Emilia that “[Desdemona] turn’d to folly, and she was a whore” (V.ii.85), Emilia stays adamant on the fact that Desdemona would never cheat. Up until the point that Iago murders her, Emilia fights for the truth and defends her friend with a sense of loyalty unfathomable
The scene initiates where Othello is interrogating Emilia on Desdemona’s presumed infidelity. Earlier in Act 3, the themes of anger and confusion are introduced by Iago, where Othello begins to question Desdemona of her alleged disloyal actions. Othello, whom was previously was enraged by Iago's deceptive language regarding Cassio and Desdemona’s ‘imagined’ affair, carried through his anger and unleashed it in a fit of a barrage of accusations such as "heaven doth truly thou art false as hell." (Act 4, Scene 2, Line 39), towards Desdemona and calling her ‘a subtle whore’ and ‘strumpet’, which implies the disbelief that Othello has for Desdemona. However, Othello is oblivious to the truth, therefore leaving desdemona stunned and confused as she hesitantly questions Othello of his demeanor, stated "to whom my lord, with whom, how am I false?" (Act 4, Scene 2, lines 40). Ot...
She mentions how she physically cares for Othello, asking him to take care of himself and his body. She then uses this as a segway proving that if he trusts her council in these small matters then her advice on larger matters should hold even more weight and proof upon them. Othello agrees to her council and asks to be alone so that he may think, However Iago had different plans. Previously Desdemona had spoken to Cassio and had told him she would try to win back Othello’s favor for him, and Iago used this friendship to his advantage. After Othello had spoken to Desdemona and agreed to meet with Cassio, Iago began to whisper poisonous thoughts into his ears saying Desdemona is unfaithful. Desdemona is clueless to this change of events and continues to play in to Iago’s hands, innocently continuing to befriend Cassio and entreat Othello to accept him. Even so, she continues to love her husband even when he begins to act distant and strange. Desdemona tries again to comfort Othello when he is distraught, but this time he pushes her away, wishing not to be comforted by his wife as he is now suspicious of her. Later, Desdemona realizes her handkerchief is missing, not knowing Emilia took it as Iago had instructed her. Desdemona realizes that Othello will be cross with her, but she does not realize the torrent of frustration she has now been placed in the
Shakespeare illustrates the injustices done to women by demonstrating the treatment Desdemona and Emilia received after having been framed of adultery. Because both women are though of cheating on their husbands, they no longer fit in society’s model of an exemplary wife. Despite having proved their affection for their husbands countless of times, not having a pure image led to Iago and Othello mistreating of the women they once loved. Once both women began to stand up for themselves and challenge the authority of their husbands, the repercussions of their bravery were both women’s death. Which shows, women’s only source of authority was their reputation as a wife. Once they lost that status, they no longer held any form or respect in society or with their husband’s.
that completely destroys his life”("Othello"). Othello is shown he is a good man within the first few scenes of the play: “She wished she had not heard it; yet she wished That heaven had made her such a man” (1.3.162-163). This line in Act I spoken by Othello, is an indication that he is a good person although it may appear that he has stolen Desdemona away from her father. Othello speaks that although he has taken Desdemona as his wife without Brabantio’s consent, he is a good person for stating his reasons for his actions as well as standing his ground. After Othello’s marriage to Desdemona, the conflict is started when Iago insinuates t...
Watson, Stephanie. "Iranian Hostage Crisis." Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence and Security. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 158-60. U.S. History in Context. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” female heroine Louise Mallard’s judgment is questioned after her inability to show emotion following her husband’s death. Instead of feeling desperate and hopeless, Louise feels a sense of freedom and liberation. This depiction of an independent woman prevails in The Awakening as Chopin discusses a woman who battles to fulfill traditional Victorian female ethics in the midst of undergoing a physical and emotional awakening. Edna and Louise are similar because neither woman is happy with accepting conventional gender roles. In The Awakening, Chopin discusses the different female roles that Edna Pontellier, Adele Ratignolle, and Mademoiselle Reiz’s represent to emphasize the different ideas that women
First, in order to defend Desdemona's chastity, Emilia challenges the societal norm of silence. Recall the incident when Othello calls Desdemona a "whore" for cheating. In response, Emilia protests loudly against Othello and attempts to disprove his belief that Desdemona is not chaste: "A halter pardon him [Othello]! And hell gnaw his bones! / Why should he call her [Desdemona] whore? (4.2. 143,144). Instead of Emilia conforming to the attribute of Renaissance women as silent, she condemns Othello for his false accusations against her mistress, Desdemona. Later in the play, after finding Desdemona killed, Emilia challenges silence again: "As ignorant as dirt! Thou hast done a deed-... / The Moor hath killed my mistress!" (5.2. 171,174). Although Othello tells Emilia that it would be "best" for her to remain silent, she ignores his request and ridicules him for killing "sweet" Desdemona (5.2. 169).
Proponents of physical education often contend their case with these and other similar arguments, but upon closer examination of the physical education system, its true use and effectiveness are highly questionable. Those who argue that physical education is integral to the nation’s health must reexamine the nation in which we live, a nation in which more than one-third of adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pennsylvanian legislation has mandated physical education since 1999, but since 1999, the adult obesity rate has risen by 11%. Regardless of the proponents’ claims, physical education is not having its intended effect on public health. (Note: I am not trying to suggest that physical education is deleterious to public health. I am just showing that physical education has done a negligible job promoting health). Furthermore, physical education consumes an entire class period of a student’s day, a class period which could be spent learning one of many highly important, pertinent 21st century subjects that the Common Core has inexplicably ignored: micro and macro economics, U.S.
Religion has been a stable part of many societies, ancient and modern, throughout all of history. Despite this ringing true in most cases, this was not always the case for the great Mongol Empire. They have had many views ranging from neutral, extreme tolerance, and then to Khans and the Mongols themselves taking on different religions, or bringing in advisors that were monks or religious teachers. Their views ranged from one extreme to the other, changing throughout the years almost as often as the wind changes directions. Even though their views on religion varied throughout their time as an empire, these views are exactly what helped them thrive through the changes made via their expansive world conquest.
Over the past decades our culture has changes dramatically. To which our nation was once a physically active nation. Yet now it seems that society discourages physical activity. The human race has been dependent on automobiles, discouraging people to walk or bike, increasing the chance of a poor life-style. Yet there are many factors that affect the achievement and maintenance of a healthy life. Young people are growing into a diverse society, which is characterized by rapid change, inactive work and leisure practices that influence unhealthy behaviors. By incorporating physical activity into peoples daily routine will increase their chances of being healthier, reducing certain diseases and learning how to avoid injuries. Physical education helps students improve their knowledge about health issues and practices that will lead to a more enjoyable life. Students playing and working in a team together develop social skills, teamwork, achieving goals, and development of self-esteem. Overall physical education provides the potential for a better life style.