Othello Gender Analysis
Desdemona is the perpetual dutiful wife to Othello, which fulfills feminist expectations of women as wives during this time period. Othello was written in the Elizabethan Era, so that means that Desdemona had to be the perfect wife that a Elizabethan wive would be. Desdemona had to obey the commands that was given to her. Desdemona can be viewed as submissive and oppressed.
The strongest friendship is between Desdemona, the princess and wife of Othello and, Emilia, Desdemona 's attendant as well as Iago 's wife. Together throughout this tragedy, these friends battle the men in their lives. However, the way these go about it are completely different. There are two types of women, the ones who allow to be eaten, and the ones who don 't. Because of Emilia 's personality, she does not allow herself to be eaten, unlike Desdemona. Emilia is the practical and confident woman of her time.
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.
One criticism that he doesn’t portray is Feminist criticism. Iago cares about himself and his reputation than he does his own wife. If Iago doesn’t care about his wife then why is he married? Iago is married for one simple reason, his need for control. “ Good girl, give it to me” ( Act III, Scene III 322).
Behind the Scene with Desdemona While people believe Desdemona can be portrayed in a variety of ways from a rash young woman to an independent, free-thinking woman who stands out for the time-period, I cannot wrap my head around her being anything less than a intensely independent, strong character. The film version of Othello inspired me to portray Desdemona as a strong woman with undying loyalty to her husband. Considering the film adaptation paired with the original storyline, I envision Desdemona as a fiercely strong female character. While I did not completely agree with the portrayal of Desdemona in the film, I felt it was a good foundation to start my own interpretation.
Throughout the play we observe Emilia’s character change, and how she suffered the consequence of challenging the system. Shakespeare’s Othello, utilises a range of dramatic techniques to showcase how women where portrayed during early modern England, as tools, chaste and naive. The antagonist, Iago takes this to advantage to manipulate his wife to unintentionally take a part in the moral dissembling of Othello. The idea where women were being victimised is presented when Iago utilises his power and authority to
With regard to the play's plot, Bianca functions to call Cassio's credibility into question. Though Cassio is relatively respectful to Bianca, he doesn't take her seriously. Cassio laughs about how much the woman loves him, how desperate she is, and how easily beguiled she has been by his false intentions of marriage. Iago has also referred to her as a prostitute, "A house wife that by selling her desires, Buys herself bread and clothes"(IV.i.97). Shakespeare further elaborates their dismissive speech over Bianca to arouse Othello’s suspicion into conviction that Desdemona is having a love affair.
Emilia’s opinion about the betrayal expresses a contemporary view of the relationship between the sexes. Even though it might be hard for us to really connect to this today but during the Elizabethan era, these were more than just views, it was the harsh reality of how men and women treated each other. Othello is a book that successfully portrays this relationship. In the book Othello, Emilia states, “ Tis not a year or two shows us a man; They are all but stomachs, and we all but food; To eat us hungrily, and when they are full, They belch us. Look you, Cassio and my husband” (3.4.92-95).Emilia’s statement clearly suggests what it is like to be a woman during her time and how men would treat them.
He views his wife Emilia as a piece of property as well. She has no voice, similar to the wife Othello. She is simply there to serve her husband and he simply utilizes their relationship to Desdemona to his own advantage that will eventually led to the death to both of these women. Emilia is the opposite of Desdemona. She started out as being the typical wife of her time, someone who was very weak, obedient, and someone who didn’t have much of an opinion.
In Othello, Othello and Desdemona are both characters that are struggling with their identities. In the beginning of the play we find Othello as a respectful man that is successful, but then we get Iago that manipulates him to make him seem as the bad guy. We also find Desdemona that turns against her father and the Elizabethan society to marry Othello, but we also find that she is respectful and obedient to Othello.
Buddha once wrote, “We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think”. The world is full of selfish people, who strive to serve themselves. We struggle to reconcile that our minds are self-gratifying. Therefore, accepting the actions and decisions of others can be difficult- everyone has different motivators, different stressors, different perspectives.
Outline: How could the text be read and interpreted differently by two different readers from different race and gender. Key points: -Point of view by the readers could matter depending on the type of person such as feminist or a racist. -The interpretation of the character Othello -Iago being racist to Othello Throughout the play Othello by William Shakespeare, there could be many different interpretations and disagreements with other readers, depending on what time period you have lived in, what race you are and what gender you are.
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
While Desdemona is a remarkably strong character, Emilia also displays independence unmatched by any other female in Othello, and there are multiple details of Shakespeare and his time that may have prompted such a portrayal. In Elizabethan England, many women worked behind the scenes of productions, like Shakespeare’s, as uncredited authors and editors (Crowley). Due to their anonymity, nobody can be sure that women were involved in Shakespeare’s plays nor Othello in particular, but there is a genuine possibility that female writers did have leverage. This may have had to do with how Emilia was portrayed as resilient from the time of Desdemona’s death all the way until her own, standing up for herself regardless of the ridicule it caused her (Iyasere). In fact, it even killed her in the end.
Prospero the protagonist in Shakespeare's The Tempest, struggles to position herself as a paternal/maternal figure and protector of Miranda. Upon arrival of Ferdinand to Prospero's safe –place the island, Miranda falls head over heals for Ferdinand, and him likewise, exploring their attraction on an intellectual level, forcing Prospero to trust her daughter's expression of self, beyond the control of her supernatural powers. The Julie Taymor screen adaptation of the playwright portrays Ferdinand as feeble, not a major threat to Prospero or Miranda, as well as a maternal Prospero who takes on the identity of a female, demonstrates gender identity to plan a minute role. Familial relations are explored through the sporadic nature love Miranda and Ferdinand share, lending themselves as the vehicle to changing familial relations of Prospero.
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