Desdemona and Emilia can be perceived as a foil to each other because of their different beliefs for women’s roles in marriage. Her obedience toward her husband causes her to steal the handkerchief and give it to Iago, so he can falsely set Cassio up with it. Without Emilia, Shakespeare could not have exposed his view on women’s roles and marriage, and the storyline for his tragic play Othello could not have been achieved. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Othello.
In the first act King Lear commands his daughters to profess their love to him as payment for their part of the kingdom. The conflict starts when Lear’s youngest daughter Cordelia refuses to respond to the king’s request, due to the fact that she does not want to lie to her father. Lear comes across as a very egotistical man who has to have everything his way. Therefore, due to Cordelia’s response it would make sense for him to become so enraged that he would ruin her marriage with Burgundy. Lear makes it very apparent that he wants all of Cordelias love and isn’t satisfied with Cordelia’s words which are not offensive, but hurtful to her father who desires all of her love.
The families of both Romeo and Juliet involve themselves in centuries of feuding. The ongoing feud between the Montagues and Capulets drives Romeo and Juliet into a life of secrecy, which ultimately causes their deaths. Youth is another theme and ties directly to how young both Romeo and Juliet are both in their age and their relationship. The story of Romeo and Juliet uses sex as a theme as well although not in the intimate details of more modern stories. The two lovers concerns are not with the wishes of their warring families, they just want to be together “Deny thy father and refuse thy name / Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn by my love / And I’ll no longer be a Capulet” (2.2.34-36).
Roderigo shows a destructive influence of jealousy in the play "Othello". His jealousy is for anyone who captures Desdemona's heart. Roderigo desperately wants to marry Desdemona, but her father Barbantio disapproved. When Iago tells Roderigo that Othello has married Desdemona without her fathers consent, he replies ignorantly by saying, "What a full fortune does the thick-lips owe,/ if he can carry't this" (I.i.68-69). He wanted to be with Desdemona badly and because Othello married her without consent he is jealous of him.
Friar Laurence's support for their marriage encourages them for a wrong decision of marrying each other. Friar Laurence makes their decisions without their parents' permission. Romeo and Juliet's marriage leads to their tragic end. Friar Laurence marries Romeo and Juliet in the hope of getting two families together. He states, " For this alliance may so happy prove,/ To turn you households' rancour to pure love."
As Juliet’s world seemed to shift to everything Romeo as soon as they meet. Juliet even kills herself just to be with Romeo. Feminist critics say this shows how Juliet becomes dependent on how Romeo feels, affecting the way she feels. While some say Romeo feels the same way towards Juliet making it a fair and genuine relationship, invalidating the feminist argument. However, the actions of Juliet’s father re-valids the argument because he told Juliet, who she was going to marry and when she says no to his opposition, he becomes enraged at her.
In Act 1 Scene 5 after Romeo and Juliet’s love is kindled, the Nurse scolds Juliet saying, “His name is Romeo and a Montague the only son of his enemy.” (Lines 150 and 151). When the Nurse says “his enemy”, she is referring to Juliet’s father, Capulet. The Capulets have a feud between the Montagues and no parent would want or approve their daughter or son to be in “love” with their enemies’ child. In Act 2 Scene 1 the chorus states, “With tender Juliet matched, is now not fair. Now Romeo is beloved and loves again, (Lines 4 and 5).
When Shakespeare wrote Othello, women had few rights and little power in society. They had virtually no say in arranging their own marriages, and were expected to marry a suitor chosen by their father. Desdemona, however, despite proposals from various suitors and public discouragement, continues her pursuit of Othello, and marries him. Although she is "…bound [to her father] for life and education…" , she affirms her belief that she belongs with Othello, and has such great love for him, so much that "a heave interim shall support his absence" . Soon after their elopement, envious Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him.
He believes this because of his mothers rush to marry Claudius. In Hamlet’s eyes, he sees this Gertrude’s wedding as her just wanting someone to sleep with and to not feel lonely. However, Hamlet does not see that what she is really trying to do is to help the people of Denmark cope with the hardship of King Hamlet’s death by marrying Claudius. Hamlet did love Ophelia and Gertrude, he just did not respect them. Hamlet was desperate for revenge and that drove him mad, therefore making him very emotional and unstable.
This Ophelia is a victim of a distrustful lover and an authoritative father. She is an obedient daughter, who is controlled by her father Polonius, an advisor to King Claudius. Therefore, she believed she had to do everything her father told her to, which caused her to stifle her love and hurt Hamlet, the man she loved (Hamlet). In Branagh’s version, Ophelia is more emotionally mature and physically stronger. The reasons for her madness are outcomes “of her frustrated romance with [Hamlet] as well as her status as a pawn of all the men in her life” (William Shakespeare’s Hamlet; Teker, par.