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Views on women in othello
How the story of othello creates feminist views
Views on women in othello
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Views on women in othello
How the story of othello creates feminist views
Views on women in othello
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Desdemona is the perpetual dutiful wife to Othello, which fulfills feminist expectations of women as wives during this time period. Desdemona can be viewed as submissive and oppressed.n this quote, Othello is stating that his wife’s supposed infidelity has ruined his name and turned it “black” and dirty like his own face, showing that a woman’s fidelity was linked to a man’s honor. In this case, a woman’s promiscuity not only devalued her, but also her partner.
The women in Othello and Chaucer's Wife of Bath differ, but in the end both want their husbands to love them. In Othello there are only three women displayed in the story, but the statements that were said about these three women were the belief that all women in that society were all the same- evil, whores who were temptress to the men. The three women; Desdemona, the wife of Othello, Emilia, the wife of Iago, and Bianca, perceived as a prostitute who is a “customer” (l. 138. 4.1) of Cassio. Iago is one of the main characters who degrades and slanders all women including his wife Emilia.
In Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’, women are portrayed as either pure angelic beings and jewels, or as whores who are impure. They are objectified and shown as something to be used. The only women in this play are Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca compared to the main 6 male characters, not to mention the minor characters, who are also all male. Their depicted purpose is to belong to a man; Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca’s lives revolve around being wives to Othello, Iago and Cassio. This fits into the idea of a perfect Elizabethan woman, who’s lives are subject to their husband’s rule across all aspects, to be disposed of as men wish.
The way that these three women are shown and represented is certainly linked to the ideological expectations of Shakespeare’s society and to the patriarchal society that he creates. Women All through the play are displayed as possessions,submissive and temptresses. An example of women being shown as possessions, is when the Duke hears out Othello and Brabantio, and finally decides to grant permission for Desdemona to go with Othello to Cyprus. Not ”To his conveyance I assign my wife Desdemona, as Othello’s wife, is treated as his possession” (Scene3 Page11).
Modern day women do not endure the same amount of disrespect that the women of the Elizabethan era faced. In “Othello”, Shakespeare compellingly illustrates how women during the Elizabethan era were treated by male figures in Venetian society. For instance, Othello is a warrior who respects and loves his wife just as she loves and respects him. In contrast, Iago is outright disrespectful to his very own wife, and he makes it clear that he does not think too fondly of women in general. Depicted as the handsome bachelor of the play, Cassio is highly respectful and seemingly flirtatious to all women naturally, which serves as the fuel for Iago’s malicious scheme in the play.
The feminist perspective challenges sexism and other beliefs and practices that result in the domination of women. When we look at Othello from feminist point of view it is important to note how the women of this play are treated and stereotyped.
In this paper, I will explore the contributing factors as to why Othello places more trust in Iago than he does his wife. The interactions in Act 1 quickly establish Othello's implicit trust of Iago. He holds firm belief and reliability in Iago's statements and thoughts, and confides in him regularly. This is evident in how Othello continually refers to Iago with positive modifiers such as "honest Iago" (2.3.177; 2.3.6; 5.1.31). When the Duke tells Othello he must leave immediately for military duty in Cyprus, Othello tasks Iago with delivering important documents from the senate because "A man he is of honesty and trust" (1.3.284).
He states, “the demi-devil Iago has ensnar’d my soul and body” Othello feels bad that Iago betrayed him into believing the worst of his wife. Betrayal can be harmful, it can not only cause emotional pain but physical as well. We witness the death of characters and broken bonds. Betrayal can destroy one’s life and have an immense impact on others. If Othello would have been a rationalized man he would have discussed his concerns and fears directly with his wife, rather than speculating
In the play Othello, William Shakespeare creates an elaborate tragedy with various in depth characters, enhancing the story with powerful characterization. Iago, the main antagonist of Othello, exemplifies Shakespeare’s use of characterization to create in depth and complex characters. Using his manipulative nature, intellectual mind, egotistical attitude, and dishonesty, Iago controls the other characters in order to achieve his goal, leading Othello to succumb to an overwhelming jealousy causing his downfall. In order for Iago to gain control of the characters in the play, he manipulates Othello, Roderigo, Cassio, and more to believe false information and turn on one another.
For Shakespeare’s plays to contain enduring ideas, it must illustrate concepts that still remain relevant today, in modern society. Shakespeare utilises his tragic play Othello, to make an important social commentary on the common gender stereotypes. During early modern England, Shakespeare had to comply to the strict social expectations where women were viewed as tools, platonic and mellow, and where men were displayed as masculine, powerful, tempered, violent and manipulative. As distinct as this context is to the 21st century, the play exposes how women were victimised by the men who hold primary power in the community in which they compelled women to conform to the ideal world of a perfect wife or confront an appalling destiny for challenging the system. Moreover, Shakespeare utilises the main antagonist, Iago, to portray how men are desperate to achieve what they want and to indirectly fulfil the stereotype of masculinity and power through manipulation.
Shakespeare's Othello is set during the Renaissance period and therefore the roles of the women in Othello are supposedly bounded by the period when women are considered to be of low intellect. In Othello, most male characters assume that women are inherently promiscuous, which explains why all three women characters in the play are accused of sexual infidelity. Yet Shakespeare develops the women to speak the most sense throughout the play and able to trust other characters in the play. To the men in Othello, female sexuality is a threatening force more than it is an attractive one.
1. Consider one of the male-female relationships in Othello (Othello and Desdemona; Iago and Emilia; and Cassio and Bianca). Do they love or hate one another, or, is it both? How are the women treated in each relationship? Explain.
When he does not get the position he wants and also heard that Othello has been sleeping with his wife Emilia, Iago’s manipulation increases. Iago plans his scheme based on, “[Othello] has done my office, I know not if’t be true/ But I, for mere suspicion in that kind/ Will do as if for surety” (I. III. 431-433). This use of manipulation is all based on an assumption that Othello has slept with Iago’s wife, and this assumption leads to even more horrible events.
A Modern View of Feminist Criticism William Shakespeare 's "Othello” can be analyzed from a feminist perspective. This criticism focuses on relationships between genders, like the patterns of thoughts, behavior, values, enfranchisement, and power in relations between and within sexes. A feminist examination of the play enables us to judge the distinctive social esteems and status of women and proposes that the male-female power connections that become an integral factor in scenes of Othello impact its comprehension. I believe that the critical lens that provides modern society with the most compelling view of literature is Feminist Criticism because it analyzes distrust and disloyalty among relationships, women being treated as possessions
In William Shakespeare’s Othello the two main characters are Iago and Othello. The entire story centers around Iago 's plan to achieve revenge on Othello for not promoting him to lieutenant. Throughout the story Iago tries to convince Othello that his wife Desdemona has cheated on him with his lieutenant Cassio. Iago’s plan is successfully and easily executed. Othello is tricked into believing that desdemona has been unfaithful and in the end he kills her.