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. Shakespeare cheapens Othello by lowering his standard with impertinent language. Othello ruined himself with jealousy because of the doubt that Desdemona has …show more content…
The repetition of the word ‘lust’, combined with the sexual associations of Desdemona’s bed, reflects and draws attention to Othello’s preoccupation with sensual matters. Othello even refers to his precious wife as ‘whore’ (III.iii.356), a ‘subtle whore’ (III.ii.20) and a ‘cunning whore’ (IV.ii.88), in a way to appreciate him. Shakespeare actually has indirectly revealed Othello’s fear of Desdemona’s sexuality. Even though Othello seems to be very confident in him and his control over Desdemona, he is actually tentative and afraid that Desdemona will cheat on him, proving his …show more content…
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. This conviction leads Othello into anguish and frustration. If Cassio has paid attention to Bianca’s traits other than sexuality, there would have been no failure of men. Thus, men’s view of women solely through a sexual lens has incurred a
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show MoreThe Ladies Found Within The Text And The Roles They Play Throughout this year we have read some of the best literature in all of America and have been introduced to some of the most iconic characters. I would like to focus on the women featured within these novels. In Shakespeare's tragedy Othello, we are introduced to Desdemona who is a victim of murder and false accusations.
Although being written centuries apart, the limited expectations of women presented in ‘Othello’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ differ little from each other. The female characters are confined by society’s expectations of male dominance, female purity and virginity, and the many passive roles of women. Despite the differing legalities surrounding the position of women between the centuries in which the plays were written, both plays explore the impact of how societal conventions confine women and the ways they must comply to be safe in a patriarchal society. The behaviours and treatments of Desdemona, Blanche and Stella illustrate the attitudes enforced on and the behaviours of women throughout both periods in time and it is these attitudes and behaviours that impact the plays to the greatest extent. When characters in either plays defy their norms, or demonstrate a lack of compliance they induce negative consequences, such as the murder of Desdemona and the institutionalisation of Blanche.
Shakespeare’s play, Othello, deeply explores the effects of jealousy on a person. Shakespeare also portrays the different types of jealousy and alludes to the causes of them. Othello is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare around 1603, about a man, Iago, who plots to take revenge on a Moorish soldier, Othello, for he has “done my (Iago’s) office”. The deaths of several people, including Othello’s wife Desdemona, Iago’s wife Emilia, Othello and Iago’s companion Roderigo, were all directly linked to Iago’s actions. Othello illustrates that jealousy often leads to revenge, jealousy can prevent a successful relationship, and jealousy leading to one’s downfall.
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.
Over Desdemona and Othello’s time spent in Cyprus their love becomes utterly devastated. Not only is the trust of their relationship gone but also accusations of unfaithfulness are established. These untrustworthy thoughts involving his love, lead Othello into, not only a violent state, but also create an erratic attitude. He is no longer a reasonable man, but dwells only on the jealous thoughts rooted in his heart . Jealousy, in this case ,is like a monster, it stays in the dark until your guard is down and your insecurities allow it to control your life.
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 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 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.
The common aim of playwrights of any time or location is to capture and hold the attention of their audience; this is what Shakespeare has clearly done. The tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, is one of Shakespeare 's most renowned plays. Through construction of intriguing characters, exploration of universal themes, use of comic relief and a well-written script featuring a compelling plot, Shakespeare ensured the tragedy of Othello would hold the interest of the audience; despite being over four centuries old. It possesses so many conditions that can be accentuated to hit nerves with both a Shakespearean and modern audience. The entire plot of Othello is very much like the attitudes and methods of our modern day society.
Othello’s character undergoes a significant change due to a series of events at the hands of Iago, the play’s antagonist to enhance the fact that even a valiant heroes can become corrupt. In the beginning of the play, Othello adores
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.
She is bounded to him emotionally and inwardly, thus she invariably believes the best of him. Her utmost loyalty to him is a result of her naive, obedient and passive nature. Her love for him is unconditional, and her senses are dimmed due to her absolute devotion to Othello. Consequently, she approaches and analyzes his anger, and their arguments emotionally rather than logically. She was loyal to Othello even after he committed murder to her, which is utterly against the moral values .
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
As a scheming villain, Iago begins to ensnare Othello into his trap of vengeance by echoing in Othello’s mind prospect of an affair between Cassio and Desdemona. Iago begins his insinuations by reminding Othello that Cassio served as their go-between during their courtship through a rhetorical
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.