Centuries ago in Elizabethan England there were many traditions about marriage and the treatment of women. In Shakespeare's Othello these traditions can be used to examine the play in a historical context. One strong tradition of these times was the practice of marriage between races. Interracial marriages were considered extremely taboo. (High Beam). In this era marriages were arranged by the parents with strong help from the local church. The individuals had little choice as to who they would marry. (Elizabethan England Life). Yet another example of these traditions was the respectable treatment of women. While the husband was in charge of his wife, as was the father, the husband were expected to treat the women right (Elizbethi). In spurning these traditions, Shakespeare demonstrates there may be problems with how the traditions of marriage and the treatment of women in Elizabethan England.
One of the sharpest contrasts of Othello and Elizabethan English tradition was Desdemona and Othello's marriage was not prearranged. In Elizabethan England a woman had no control of who she would marry. Her father would make the decision with help from the local church. (Will Shakes) Since Barbanzio was a wealthy, influential man he would have most likely set Desdemona up with a wealthy man, young white man, which in reading Othello we see he tried to do this. Yet Desdemona would not marry any of the many young, white men her father had chosen for her. Instead she decided she would marry Othello, the famous black, Arab general much to her father’s fury. It was suggested by Iago that this was robbery as Iago saw Desdemona as Barbanzio's property. Barbanzio thought Othello may have cast a spell on Desdemona, doubting his daughter would run o...
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...o Desdemona represents innocence and purity. Shakespeare shows how this innocence and purity can be destroyed be the wrongful actions and judgments of the world.
From reading Othello one can tell Shakespeare did not agree with all of the customs of his day. It can be seen that Shakespeare thought interracial marriages were not a bad thing. Also it can be seen Shakespeare felt that a woman should be treated right and not abused. Next, we see Shakespeare was against the arranged marriages of his time. He believed that love should decide whom you should marry not who your parents want for you. As one can see many of these ideas have stuck with us. Today interracial marriages are not uncommon. Also there is no longer arranged marriages and women can decide whom they want to marry. Finally, today there are many facilities to assist women who are abused by their husbands.
The Manipulation of Gender Roles in Shakespeare’s Othello. Of Shakespeare’s great tragedies, the story of the rise and fall of the Moor of Venice arguably elicits the most intensely personal and emotional responses from its English-speaking audiences over the centuries. Treating the subject of personal human relationships, the tragedy, which should have been a love story, speaks to both reading and viewing audiences by exploring the archetypal dramatic values of love and betrayal. The final source of the tragic action in Shakespeare’s
Othello and Desdemona are so attractive that we tend to see them only as they see each other: the noble Moor, the pure white maiden. But Shakespeare shows their love, even here at the very beginning, as dreamy, utterly defensele...
The theme for honour and fidelity apply for both men and women in Shakespeare’s play ‘much ado about nothing’. Honour and fidelity is represented very differently for men and women as it would have been for the people in Elizabethan times. In this first section of the essay, I will be exploring double standards and Shakespeare’s awareness of the double standards between sexes and his feminist approach, the differences of honour and fidelity for men and women and upper class and lower class comparisons.
Imagine being a woman in sixteenth century Europe. Females were raised to believe that they were subservient and that men knew better on any subject. Basically, women had no rights. They were considered property, first “owned” by their fathers and then control was “transferred” to the husband chosen for them. Marriage was not about love, but in most cases, it was a business deal that was mutually beneficial to both families – an interesting fact is that like young women, most young men had no choice in the selection of their future betrothed. These traditions and the gender roles assumed by men and women at that time had an impact on Shakespeare’s writing and performances and a great example of this is evident in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
During the Shakespearean era, obeying husbands and fathers was looked at so highly that it matched obeying the King of England; the uppermost pedestal was reserved for the Shakespearean man. Gender roles lead to the development of self-individualism which divided the men from the women by establishing a deep distrust of women into the men along with an authoritative dominance, and in hand locked women into a permanent submissive position. One of the most oppressed groups throughout history has been women, which were socially, economically, educationally and religiously oppressed during the time period of Shakespearean society. Social normality and political views has been throughout time, arguably the most extreme oppression enforcement over social outcaste subgroups. Society also held a strong grip on artists and the creative messages of the work that artist deliver to the world, which can depict a sometimes hidden, or subtle dropping of opinions of the hard hitting issues at hand during the present time period. Shakespeare is deemed as one of the greatest known writer’s in English history, not only because he was tremendously attentive towards the Elizabethan era and the diverse struggles that haunted the streets of England in everyday life’s routine, but because he did more than just take notice, as he acted upon the travesties he observed by weaving the representation of the world he came to know through his artwork, leaving the world with irreplaceable pieces of literature and insightful history of Shakespearean society.
During the Elizabethan era women had a status of subordination towards men. They had a role to marry and oblige to their husband’s wishes. Shakespearean literature, especially illustrates how a woman is psychologically and physically lesser to their male counterpart. The play, Othello, uses that aspect in many different ways. From a Feminist lens others are able to vividly examine how women were subjected to blatant inferiority. Being displayed as tools for men to abuse, women were characterized as possessions and submissive; only during the last portion of the play did the power of women take heed.
Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello is an unfortunate example of gender bias, of sexism which takes advantage of women. The three women characters in the drama are all, in their own ways, victims of men’s skewed attitudes regarding women. Let us delve into this topic in this essay.
The role of the female has developed from being submissive and “obedient” in the Elizabethan era to being independent and liberated within the contemporary setting. The racism of the first text is overtly xenophobic and natural, whilst the “moor” is unnatural whereas the updated context portrays Othello’s race as natural and racism as unnatural. Therefore these examples show how Shakespeare’s Othello, and it’s appropriation, Geoffrey sax’s Othello, reflect the context and values of their times.
There were only two things keeping Othello with the people of Venice as a black man and those are having the opportunity to be the husband of Desdemona and also being there as the general of the army. In addition, the fact that Desdemona confirmed and expresses her love for Othello before her father and the Duke strengthens Othello as well.
Othello is a man of romantic nature. He fell in love with the beautiful Desdemona. He was accused of stealing her away from her father. Othello was of a different race and did not fit in with her family. Othello makes a plea for Desdemona and tells his story which wooed her to begin with. Othello tells of the love that her father showed him since his boyish days. This was like a match made in heaven that overcame many obstacles which got in their way. Othello could not understand why he was good enough to work and fight alongside of her father, but was not good enough for his daughter.
In his novel, Othello, he uses the courage of the women in his literature to depict how women should be treated, and to contrast from how little respect they once obtained. The society in Shakespeare’s Othello is strongly dominated by men who were the political and military leaders of their homeland during the Elizabethan era. These men are expected to stay loyal to their reputations and to uphold the strong sense of character that earned them their positions in the first place. In contrast, during the Elizabethan period of time women were viewed as weak second-class citizens and inferior to males, with their only job being to serve their men.
Centuries ago in Elizabethan England there were many traditions about marriage and the treatment of women. One strong tradition of these times was the practice of marriage between races. Interracial marriages were considered extremely taboo. (High Beam). In this era marriages were arranged by the parents with strong help from the local church. The individuals had little choice as to who they would marry. (Elizabethan England Life). Yet another example of these traditions was the respectable treatment of women. While the husband was in charge of his wife, as was the father, the husband were expected to treat the women right (Elizbethi). In spurning all of these traditions, Shakespeare demonstrates a view of marriage far different from that of Elizabethan England, in doing this he is trying to plant new ideas in the people who read or view the play.
To begin with, Othello’s race and the racism around him ruined his marriage with Desdemona. Othello and Desdemona made a good couple, but you know what they say, all good things must come to an end. Almost everybody had a problem with their relationship. In that time, interracial relationships and marriage was not allowed. While Brabantio (Desdemona’s father) was sleeping, Iago and Roderigo woke him up saying that Othello was having sex with his daughter Desdemona at that very moment (Shake...
Neill, Michael. "Unproper Beds: Race, Adultery, and the Hideous in Othello." Critical Essays in Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony Gerard Barthelemy.
The portrayal of gender roles in William Shakespeare’s play Othello, demonstrates the inferior treatment of women and the certain stereotypes of men placed on them by society. Both the male and female characters in the play have these certain gender expectations placed on them. In a society dominated by men, it is understood that the women are to be seen rather than heard. The women are referred to and treated much like property. If indeed they do speak up, they are quickly silenced. One woman’s attempt to be the perfect wife is what ultimately led to her demise. The expectations of men are equally stereotypical. Men are to be leaders and to be in control and dominant especially over the women. The male characters compete for position and use the female characters in the play as leverage to manipulate each other. Shakespeare provides insight in understanding the outcomes of the men and women who are faced with the pressures of trying to live up to society’s expectations, not only in the workplace, but also in the home. The pressure creates jealousy issues amongst the men and they become blind to the voice of reason and are overtaken by jealous rage, leads to the death of many of the characters.