In the tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare depicts the role of women, through the ladies of the Capulet household and their suppressed role compared to that of a man which consequently, results in the women being slandered, objectified and being forced to comply with decisions they don’t
Women were to operate on a completely separate sphere than their husbands. A woman’s place according to the cult of domesticity was in the home where everything in her life would be completely privatized. Women had no say in anything politically, that was the man’s job. Women were to Under this thought process, women were “designed exclusively” to be good wives and mothers. Women were expected to be seen and not heard.
Not only did men see women as unintelligent, they also saw them as weak and compliant. What made this worse was that women of higher status would have a lot of free time since they had servants to do everything. They would spend their time strolling around or doing ‘feminine hobbies’; this affirmed mens’ notion that that women were idle and did not do much, so they treated them this way. To see how dire their situation was, one must must only have to read A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While fictitious, this story does show one bit of truth, the way women were being treated during this era.
Firstly, what was the women, in particular, in the eyes of husbands and fathers in the family? In early modern Europe, many people believe in that, the most appropriate place for women was the family which gives them certain responsibilities like obedient daughters, wives, and widows. Many books and theories included that women should marry and constitute their own family. These kinds of thoughts were strengthened by medical assessment about '' the biological nature of women, who were thought to be at risk of severe physical and mental illness if they did not engage in regular sexual relations.'' General belief in that time was that women were sexually more greedy, which came in sight in ribald
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 play “Othello” by William Shakespeare. Can best be examined through a cultural, historical and feminist perspectives. Othello can be viewed by using all of these different lenses. By looking into the dominate beliefs of Shakespeare time. By seeing “Othello through a feminist perspective.
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.
Women were subject to the image of staying in the home and abiding by the roles and morals that were given to them. They aimed to fulfill this sense of piety and purity, when in reality they were stuck to the customs that were given during this era. Domesticity, according to the Godey’s Lady’s Book deemed housework, childcare, decorative sewing and embroidery as uplifting tasks that maintained and fulfilled a woman’s purpose and place in the world. Purity was another characteristic that was held as a high standard that women had to live by. Without sexual purity, a woman was considered to be a “fallen woman” such that you were believed a lesser being compared to others.
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
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.
Hamlet’s dislike of women is shown through his behavior and language toward his mother, Ophelia, and women in general. In the play it is very obvious that he is heartless towards the opposite sex by the actions that he takes and the words that he speaks. During the time that this play was written women were viewed as insignificant human beings. Hamlet found himself having feelings for a woman and he does not know how to portray these feelings because he holds his mother responsible for his inability to love Ophelia.
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.
In his play “Othello,” Shakespeare is very compassionate towards the women of his era. He treats Desdemona with special sympathy. She is the victim of two crossed male aspirations — the devilry of villain Iago and the jealousy of her husband. The main cause of Desdemona’s tragedy is the total absence of women’s personal liberty. The lack of self-development without restrictions of society and family constricts the mind.
