“The role and status of women is dramatically explored in Shakespeare’s Othello.” Discuss.
William Shakespeare’s “Othello”, examines not only the belief of men that women are inconsequential, but who, at the same time, were capable of enchanting men, who despite their status, were malleable, particularly to an attractive woman. The irony of men’s supposed power is exposed by their gullibility when confronted by a woman who attracts them. Thus, we learn more about women by men’s actions than the behaviour of females.
Desdemona, beautiful and innocent, turns men’s heads wherever she goes despite her inferiority in Venetian society, being born a woman. Men are bedazzled by her beauty and their status and power melts in her presence evidenced by Cassio’s description of “divine Desdemona”(2.1.73). Othello is clearly besotted by her,
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And even without the presence of Othello, Desdemona is admired by other men, Cassio viewing Desdemona as a “most exquisite lady” (2.3.17) and Iago “[warranting] her full of game” (2.3.18). Cassio also notes that Desdemona is “our great captain’s captain” (2.1.74) which shows the true puppet master of Othello. Desdemona although she is viewed as inferior compared to men, she holds power over them, especially Othello according to Iago. This is the reason behind Iago’s plan of choosing to accuse Desdemona of infidelity because, in the presence of Iago, Othello acclaims that “when I love thee not, Chaos is come again” (3.3.91-92). By this, Othello is trying to say that he loves Desdemona till the end of the world, because by saying that “chaos is come again”, he’s referring to chaos, the Greek belief of the
In the novel Othello, written by William Shakespeare, there are a variety of ways in which women are portrayed. There are strong willed women such as Emilia, who stands up to the men, especially to her husband. If he is wrong she would openly admit that he is incorrect. There are also women who are thought to be a possession as well as extremely submissive to their husbands such as Desdemona. She is the type of woman that will obey her husband to the day she dies. Desdemona believes that her husband is always right and he will never do anything that will lead her into the wrong direction. Many of the women in this time thought the same way. They are viewed as house workers, cooks, and teachers to the children. In addition to those qualities women obtain, having no authority in marriages is also added to the list. In this novel, there is judgment against women because they are “unequal” to men. They are not allowed to do the same as men for the reason that they do not possess the same qualities as men. Men were considered to be superior to women. Women were treated as their “slaves.” In contrast, today’s time women now have power. They have the right to vote, run for office, and even work outside their homes. Women now play the part as the male and female figure in the households. They are considered independent women, not relying on a male figure. Even if they are married now, they do not listen to everything that their husbands tell them to do. It states in the Bible that a male figure is the head of the households; however women today have strayed away from that view that they had back then. They want to be the dominate figure. Times have really changed from the past to the present. W...
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.
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.
Desdemona is a young Venetian noblewoman, who falls in love with a general in the army who works for her father, a senator. As a child she finds herself infatuated with Othello, and the childhood lust grows into love. Their elopement begins a downward course for them both. In spite of her youth and inexperience, she's strong enough to stand up to her father's disapproval of her marriage, and is loyal to Othello until she dies. Whether it is her father Brabantio, or husband Othello, she is objectified. Desdemona is in the risky position of attempting to reconcile her true sexual identity with the sexual identities in which others attribute to her. Brabantio and Othello misinterpret Desdemona's assertiveness and desire while simultaneously attempting to repress any signs of desire within her. In addition to Desdemona being a woman of appetites, the object of her affections is a moor. This choice of mate further strays from the role in which Venetian society would like to cast Desdemona. The location of Venice is essential to the text of sexuality and power because Venice was known for its sexual permissiveness. Desdemona's body is considered her father's possession until she elopes, then she is Othello's. She defies Brabantio by marrying Othello, taking charge of her own destiny. Brabantio's symbolic death of Desdemona foreshadows her literal death at the hands of Othello and conveys his sense of loss as he realizes that Desdemona's body is her own domain, not his. Othello also attempts to control the sexuality of Desdemona and once again she is viewed as property.
Desdemona in the play has enough evidence to conclude that she is angelically pure. Desdemona is a beautiful venetian girl who is a complete daddy’s girl until she falls in love with Othello. Desdemona's steady love with Othello throughout the play makes her naive to the fact that Othello has an issue. Desdemona is actually talking to Emilia and says “ I Ne'er saw this before. Sure there's some wonder in this handkerchief.” This proves the fact that she is pure and has no idea about Othello’s anger towards her. Othello being jealous and trusting the wrong people was the only reason he thinks she deceived
Throughout the length of Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello there is a steady undercurrent of sexism. It is originating from not one, but rather various male characters in the play, who manifest prejudicial, discriminatory attitudes toward women.
In Shakespeare’s play Othello, the male characters perceive women as adulterous and property, treating them as inferior that need to be submissive and obey. Iago creates a false perception of his wife thinking she is promiscuous. Also, Othello sees his wife as promiscuous, an impression created by his jealousy and one he has convinced himself of it. Furthermore, Iago and Othello perceive their wives as inferior, and by his words, the reader can see that they are both their wife and subordinate. At last, the male characters refer to Desdemona’s marriage as a “steal” and “purchase” of property, then, Iago and Othello end their wives’ lives because they see them as possessions of no good.
In Greek, Desdemona means ‘the unfortunate’, perhaps reflecting an ideology that she is not meant to be liked, merely pitied for her misfortune as a tragic victim (commonly defined as someone who dies due to the faults of others). Throughout Othello, Desdemona is presented as pure and innocent – in regards to this, Auden’s comment is unusual as Desdemona is seldom criticised; indeed many critics are complementary, giving her titles such as ‘gentle Desdemona’.
In William Shakespeare’s Othello, characters are constantly manipulated and exploited by the deceptive Iago, leading to the misinterpretation of their actions and relationships. From Brabantio’s credible allegations as a father to Iago’s devious tactics, Desdemona is soon considered a whore by Othello. Since Othello “knows nothing of Venice apart from the few months’ residence during which his courtship took place”, he is obliged to believe anything “Iago, a native” claims (pg. 292), causing Othello to accept that all Venetian women, including his faithful Desdemona, are naturally whores. Even if the stereotype that follows Venetian women is accurate, it does not necessarily encompass Desdemona. As Achidie puts it, “the problem with stereotypes is not that they aren’t true, but they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” Since Othello is misled to think all Venetian women are whores, perhaps reinforced by the rumors that reflect Bianca’s background, Desdemona lives an unfaithful “single story” as a cheating wife in Othello’s eyes.
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.
In William Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello there are numerous instances of obvious sexism aimed at the three women in the drama -- Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca – and aimed at womankind generally. Let us delve into this subject in this paper.
The women in Othello are synonymous with Venetian societal standards. Only three women are characters in Othello: Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca but the roles these women play give the reader an idea of how women were portrayed, not only in Shakespeare's Othello but in society in general.
During the Shakespearean time women were treated as inferiors. The three women in Othello, Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca encountered many degrading and unfortunate situations. They were to be obedient. The women had to comply with the commands, orders, and the instructions of the men. Women were made to believe that they had no rights. The men would publicly humiliate the three women. It was difficult for the women to stand up for themselves due to that time in society. In Shakespeare’s play Othello, he portrayed the three women to be viewed as obedient, loyal, and submissive to their husbands.
The play Othello is presented as a male-dominated society where women are only recognized as property; objects to own and to bear children. Women in the Elizabethan society and in Shakespeare society were not seen as equal to men and were expected to be loyal to their husbands, be respectful, and to not go against their husbands judgements or actions. Shakespeare presents Desdemona, Emilia , and Bianca as women in the Elizabethan time where they were judged based on their class, mortality, and intelligence. Shakespeare makes his female characters act the way they would be expected to act in an Elizabethan society. The role of these women in Othello is crucial because they show how women were treated and how unhealthy their relationships between men really were in both Elizabethan and Shakespeare's society.