What impact does a wife have on her husband? What impact does the First Lady have on the President? In a true relationship, the two people complement each other. When one is weak, the other is strong; when one is hurting, the other comforts. The relationship between a man and woman is unique. A woman brings to the relationship things a man does not possess. The nature of a woman from the beginning, even from biblical times, was to assist a man. This holds true in William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice. The two main female characters in the play are Desdemona, the Venetian daughter of a Senator, and Emilia, the wife of Iago and Desdemona’s appointed servant. Shakespeare brings to light similarities and differences in the personalities of an upper class woman and a servant woman, combined with their trusting behavior, and their influence on other characters they come in contact with.
At first sight, the likelihood of Desdemona and Emilia sharing anything in common would be a stretch. Shakespeare does a fascinating job with the contrast and comparison of these two women during a time when women had their place, their function and, most of all; they had a duty to remain true to their husbands no matter the cost. The relationship between the men in this play and these two women are indicative of the time. Women were subservient and in most matters did not have a voice in decisions. This was the culture then and for many years afterwards: “The Venetian world presented within the play is a patriarchal world in which “women must think of themselves as ‘other’ and man as primary or ‘subject’.” (Iyasere). Shakespeare would be surprised to see how closely his culture is parallel to the world we have evol...
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...his play? Would he see any positive changes?
Works Cited
Garner, S. N. "Shakespeare's Desdemona." Shakespeare Studies 9 (1976): 233-252. Rpt. in Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Lynn M. Zott. Vol. 68. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resource Center. Web. 21 Apr. 2011.
Iyasere, Solomon. "The Liberation of Emilia." Shakespeare in Southern Africa 21 (2009): 69+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.
Neely, Carol Thomas. "Women and Men in Othello." William Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. 79-104. Rpt. in Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Lynn M. Zott. Vol. 68. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resource Center. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice. Literature: Reading
Fiction, Poetry and Drama. 6th ed. Ed. Robert DiYanni. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2007. 1454-1542. Print.
Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. 366-398. Neely, Carol Thomas. “Shakespeare’s Women: Historical Facts and Dramatic Representations.”
Pitt, Angela. "Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies." Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint of Shakespeare's Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.
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)
The Shakespearean drama Othello renders less to the female gender than it does to the male gender. All the women characters are victims – unjustly so. Let’s talk about the obvious sexism throughout the play.
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
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.
Ekici, Sara (2009). Feminist Criticism: Female Characters in Shakespeare's Plays Othello and Hamlet. Munich: GRIN Publishing.
Neely, Carol. "Women and Men in Othello" Critical Essays on Shakespeare’s Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 68-90)
Neely, Carol. "Women and Men in Othello" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 68-90)
Pitt, Angela. "Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies." Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Shakespeare's Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.
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).
Barthelemy, Anthony G. "Introduction" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 1-19)
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.
The Shakespearean classic work Othello enchants the readers mind through the tragic love story of the witty and cunning soldier Othello and the charming and powerful Desdemona. The continuous reinforcement of their tragedy is molded by the gender roles present in the play, particularly those of Bianca, Desdemona, and Emilia. Although the men are important within the outcome of the play, mainly Iago and Othello, the women take a more subtle, yet effective approach in manipulating the work through their personalities. Bianca is a woman of self-esteem and sexual power while Desdemona is the keeper of Othello’s heart and handkerchief, never once denouncing him, even her death. Emilia subtly represents that women are just as powerful, if not more,