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Societal Norms In Shakespeare's Othello

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Societal norms often dictate the mentality and behavior of individuals. Society has continued to develop distinct cultural identities within the people who conform. The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice illustrates this philosophy as the societal norms provides insight into the characters. Marital conflict, racist remarks, and the tyrannical control men have over women reveal the internal prejudices and innate moral patterns elicited by society. Marital conflict in Othello, the Moor of Venice serves as one of the most tragic environments as marriage is an institution where two lovers are supposed to be united despite all opposition. This is evident in the beginning of the play when Othello states that “she loved me for the dangers I …show more content…

Othello states, “I had rather be a toad, And live upon the vapour of a dungeon, Than keep a corner in the thing I love For others' uses” (Shakespeare). Othello has come to despise his marriage as his beloved appears to be cheating on him. This proves significant as Othello has completely embraced the cruelty and darkness inside him. His heart is torn as he knows that his love is within sight but no longer available to just him like it should be in marriage. The tragedy of Othello is evident in this situation as the audience knows Desdemona is innocent but Othello is nonetheless convinced of her conviction. All reason and logic have been eradicated due to his poisoned mind. In other words, all trust is replaced with skepticism as Othello continues to throw his marriage away. Othello no longer appreciates and values the institution of marriage but rather exclaims, “O curse of marriage” (Shakespeare). The conflict within their marriage is primarily one sided though, which further emphasizes the tragic theme that Othello is torturing himself by creating conflict derived from …show more content…

Othello trusts “honest Iago” (Shakespeare) more than Desdemona by not giving her the benefit of the doubt that she really is innocent. Instead, he begins to verbally abuse Desdemona behind her back and never seeks to communicate with her to ascertain Iago’s honesty. He further intensifies the abuse Desdemona receives by “(striking her)” and calling her the “Devil” (Shakespeare). His excessive verbal abusement paired with the occasional physical outlash drives him to murder the women he once loved. Similarly, Iago expresses his domination over Emilia through continual verbal abuse and the expression of his chauvinistic attitude evident in the generalizations about women he makes. This is apparent when he refers to Emilia as a “good wench” (Shakespeare). Furthermore, Iago commands Emilia to steal the handkerchief for him and offers little reward besides the satisfaction she finally pleased him for once. Women serve a large role in the play as the chauvinistic attitude most men have towards them help highlight yet another shared structural pattern evident in venetian

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Othello had fallen in love with Desdemona, daughter of Brabantio who is the Venetian senator. Brabantio is upset that Othello has run off with his daughter and got married in secret. He did not like that his daughter was marrying a black man. Desdemona loved him very much, and did not care that he was black.

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In conclusion, the genders in Shakespeare’s play, Othello, misperceive each other due to generalizations created by their strongly implemented values and often times this can lead to fatalities. The sharp distinctions between men and women are strongly influenced by their values and beliefs, and as a result the men underestimate the women and the women overestimate the men. Iago underestimated his wife and Desdemona overestimated her husband, which not only led to the deaths of their loved ones, but the deaths of themselves as well. Strictly enforced morals create narrow mindsets that hinder the ability for humans to understand and connect with one

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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

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Shakespeare 's Othello centers around the power of jealousy and how it can end up causing the death of a couple and some of those around them. Othello seems to grow incredibly jealous of his wife, Desdemona, and his lieutenant, Cassio’s fake affair that Iago, the villain, has convinced Othello of. As an act of jealousy, Othello decides to kill Desdemona to prevent her from hurting more men and then after realizing everything was part of Iago’s plan he kills himself due to the guilt he feels after having killed his wife. Shakespeare’s use of figurative language and symbolism in act 5 scene 2 reveals how even though Othello truly loves Desdemona, his jealousy for what he believes she has done has completely clouded his judgment and taken over

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Vulnerability is found at the core of relationships. While with another person, one finds intensified happiness, sadness, and even jealousy. In the beginning of the play Othello by William Shakespeare, Desdemona and Othello sneak off to get married. Othello is black and high ranked in the military while Desdemona is a beautiful girl who’s father does not approve. Because of the color of his skin and other factors Othello seems to be really self conscious of himself.

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Also, each relationship in Othello provokes jealousy in one partner. In a typical Venetian society, a woman was considered to be a man’s property, so if a woman was disobedient, it negatively impacted the man, while also questioning his masculinity. The hyperbolic soliloquy as Othello expressed he would “rather be a toad” than “keep a corner of the thing I love” is Othello’s justification of killing his wife, as her untrustworthiness challenged his masculinity and reputation. Referring to Desdemona as a “thing” emphasises the idea of women being property. Iago’s jealousy of Desdemona and Othello’s relationship is emphasised through the degrading comment of Othello, “an old black ram” “tupping” Brabantio’s “white ewe”.

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