Feminine roles in William Shakespeare’s Othello have been discussed to depict the traditional female figures who follow the expectations of the Elizabethan patriarchal society; however, the figures of Desdemona, Bianca and Emilia, also present some characteristics which endorse the modern gender norms of women behavior.
To start with, the figure of Desdemona is depicted by her father as passive, innocent and obedient. However, when she rejects her house duties to listen Othello’s histories, she becomes an active figure, rejecting her duties entails also rejecting the women’s role of that moment. What is more, like Sinfield states “a woman should obey the male head of her family, who should be first her father (…) then her husband”, hence
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Like Desdemona, Emilia undergoes a transformation in her character. At the beginning of the play Emilia is presented as a loyal wife, who owes duty to her husband; in fact, she steals the handkerchief of Desdemona and gives it to her husband in order to satisfy him. Consequently, Emilia here represents the traditional dutiful woman who is under the control of her husband. Nevertheless, as the play develops, Emilia dares to go against her husband’s wish in order to save Desdemona from her fate; as a consequence, she rebels against the traditional values of women and the institution of marriage. What is more, Emilia in the play says 'But I do think it is their husbands' faults/ If wives do fall…”. in other words, Emilia is stating that if a woman is sexually adulterous it is due to her husband attitude towards her. Moreover, she is giving voice to the new women when she tells Desdemona that “Let husbands know/ Their wives have sense like them. They see, and/ smell, (…)” (4.3), in her speech Emilia portrays women as equals to men. Unfortunately, this transformation leads Emilia to her death. Like Desdemona, Emilia’s gained new gender is what kills her character; thus, the idea of women being disobedient to her husband cannot …show more content…
A woman had to demonstrate unquestioned loyalty and submission to either her husband and father, and since both of them condemn obedience, their fate is death. However, the figure of the courtesan Bianca represents the possibility for the new women; Bianca is not fully attached to the patriarchal society, nor to marriage, consequently, she is allowed to use her sexuality freely. From my point of view, Shakespeare’s Othello introduces the new modern gender norms for women behavior with the figure of Bianca, however, at the same time, by killing both Desdemona and Emilia, he is stating that the Venetian society of that time was not ready to accept