Time and time again in the play we see countless examples of the women, Desdemona and Emilia in particular, being treated like nothing more than pieces of property that their husbands can lay claim to. We see an example of this in the play when it says in Act 2 scene 3, “Come, my dear love, The purchase made, the fruits are to ensue”. In this quote we can see that Othello refers to his marriage to Desdemona as a purchase, as if she is simply just an object that he can claim ownership over. This quote is important when showing why the Feminist perspective provides society with the most compelling view. We are able to see how women were treated in the past, and then by reading modern literature analyzing if any changes have been made to society.
“Saying something important to me, but holding the little boy’s hand”. To Florens, this shows that her mother is choosing her brother instead of her. However, in the end, her mother explains the reasons why she insists with giving Florens to Jacob. She sees the need of sex for her daughter in Senhor’s eyes. As shown through “You caught Senhor’s eye”.
After she becomes Othello’s wife, Desdemona is no longer a dissenting character as “she does not question the woman’s obligation to obey” (Greenblatt 1980: 239), she becomes a passive and obedient woman towards her husband. Moreover, the way in which Othello calls her wife: “Come, my dear love,/ The purchase made, the fruits are to ensue” (Othello, Act 2, scene iii), reinforces the idea of women being possessions to their husbands. Finally, Desdemona’s sexuality is questioned by Othello’s internalized Protestantism, who condemns her supposed adulterous wife to
Thus it is likely that Desdemona’s, and Emilia’s, honest developments were influenced by awareness of a female audience. Furthermore, Shakespeare doubtlessly wrote Othello as somewhat of a social commentary on the patriarchal society in which he was living. Generally, women were thought of as “subjects” to the men in their lives, and were to be used at their disposable, doing whatever they demanded (Iyasere). Shakespeare even clearly points this out by means of Emilia’s speech early in the play, discussing with Desdemona why Othello was acting so aggressively about his lost
Accompanying King Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth, Othello is one of Shakespeare 's four excellent tragedies and therefore a pillar of what most critics consider being the peak of Shakespeare 's dramatic art. Othello is unique among Shakespeare 's tragedies. Unlike King Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth, which are set against a backdrop of concerns about state and which reflect with suggestions of universal human affairs, Othello is set in a private world and centers on the passions and personal lives of its main characters. In particular, Desdemona, the bride of Othello, and Emilia, the wife of the villain Iago, are the two major female figures in Shakespeare’s Othello. Though they are both loyal to their husbands, an explicit contrast between these women is realized with regard to their experiences as well as perceptions of reality in general.
Shakespeare 's use of language through prose and verse highlights the connections between the issues addressed by the play’s premise and those of its lively times. One of the keys to understanding vernacular in The Taming of the Shrew is about relevance that is given to the power and strength that it had when artfully executed. Mutually, influenced and received by Elizabethan unfavorable realities of roles of women and men social constructs. The situation of women during Elizabethan era also known as the epoch within the Tudor period are moments that celebrated basic qualities of a subordinate female as an expected cultural affair. Openly, impacted and predisposed by the domestic or relationship-based hierarchies of the period.
Elaine Showalter (1960) is one of those critics whom highlight the distinction between male and female characters. She wrote as ““I must ‘tell’ Ophelia’s story.”But what can we mean by Ophelia’s story? The story of her life? The story of her betrayal at the hands of her father, brother, lover, court, society? The story of her rejection and marginalization by male critics of Shakespeare?
Dadi speaks upon the importance of the mother in law, the mother in law was to be respected in any way possible when you were a new daughter in law. If the mother in law was not respected the husband would teach the wife a lesson for not respecting his mother. Now, daughter in laws exert their power towards not only their mother in law but also their husband. In early era, daughter in laws used to fear their mother in laws as they were not to speak up for themselves on how they were treated, as Dadi explains. As times have changed we take notice on the difference of how Dadi speaks on her experiences to what we see now with the interaction with the daughter in laws and her family in law.
Through her chastity, a woman protects the womb which is active in ensuring proper descent and family lineage. In other words, a woman can (re)produce children by her lawful husband. Patriarchy 's purpose of patrilineal confirmation through the female womb functions in conjunction with the ideological theory of motherhood celebrated through its cultural production as one of amazing concern and diffident love. Taslima Nasrin discarded this patriarchal-delegated position, and contests its schema by first foregrounding, and then threatening the patriarchal utility of womb exploitation for effecting proper male
But you do…You have taken over your son’s youth. It follows that you should accept everything that comes attached to it.15 Yayati, by asking Chitralekha to accept the aged Pooru, tries to curb her claim of the sexual rights, which are so easily crushed in the patriarchal order. Chitralekha, in her fit of anguish even offers herself to Yayati to ensure that she would bear the child of the Bharata family. Chitralekha’s proposal shocks Yayati and he accuses Chitralekha for harbouring such ‘low’ thoughts. Here he expects a young girl to become an epitome of resistance and penance.