Gia Mancuso
Mr. Ellrott
Advanced Composition
08 February 2023
Othello
Through a feminist lens, it is evident that views on women are second-class. In William Shakespeare's Othello, it is demonstrated that women are held to preeminent standards. Othello epitomized in various cases that women had no say so in judgment of themselves. Othello allowed himself to be deceived by Iago's tellings, which caused him to form a different view on his wife, outside of what she projected to him. Throughout the five acts and fifteen scenes, women were subjected to the desires and criticism of men.
Othello let the other men around him determine the value of his wife, regardless of the image she profiled of herself. Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, was the first to place an opposing thought of Desdemona in Othello's head. Brabantio stated,
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Desdemona's actions reflected how Othello felt he was looked at or to be treated. Othello tells Desdemona that her cheating on him makes him a target for ridicule. He explains “To try me with affliction, had they rained all kinds of sores and shames on my bare head steeped me in poverty to the very lips, given to captivity me and my utmost hopes,I should have found in some place of my soul a drop of patience. But alas, to make me a fixed figure for the time of scorn” (4.2.57-65). Othello allows his feelings about himself to be justified by a woman's actions. Because he is sought to believe that Desdemona is cheating he alters his whole image of himself causing anger. “I will chop her into messes! Cuckold me?” (4.1.219) Othello inflicted a whole new personality on himself, allowing to be shamed in the society they were in. Othello allows Desdemona's actions to make him feel less of a man. “The immortal Jove's dread clamors are counterfeit, Farewell! Othello's occupation's gone!” (3.3.397-409) He feels he cannot no longer hold a masculine title with Desdemona betraying
And also as a source of income. Of gold and jewels that I bobb'd from him, As gifts to Desdemona” (Act 5, Scene 1). Othello’s change in character, from being a warrior to becoming effeminate after marrying Desdemona, also supports the idea that the men of Othello who provoked feminine qualities were suppressed in the society. In the land of Cyprus, Othello became an insecure man due to his differences amongst others and was over run by many unknown emotions which lead him to kill his wife,
Now, Desdemona does not get to live out her life, all because of one man’s jealousy. These two examples reveal that Othello’s stupidity and his desire for revenge influence his decision to yell at and eventually kill Desdemona, showing how an innocent woman was caught in the crosshairs of a bigger
He manipulates Othello into seeing a completely different and false treachery. Due to Iago’s scheming, Othello was beyond convinced that Desdemona was sneaking around with Cassio behind his back. He felt she betrayed their “sacred” matrimony and irrationally thought his only solution was to smother her to death. This fake betrayal exemplifies the themes of jealousy and the fragility of the love between Othello and Desdemona. Iago made sure Othello’s jealousy ran so rampant that his mind was overtaken by anguish.
Othello was so paranoid that he ignored reason and assumed the worst. Not only that, but Othello did become angrier the more Desdemona tried to convince him it wasn’t true, and Othello let this anger and paranoia control his actions. Othello verbally and physically abused Desdemona, by calling her disrespectful names which represented how Othello’s paranoia made him see people differently. Iago’s words and actions completely changed Othello’s mental state. Othello then plots to kill Desdemona and succeeds by strangling her to death (Othello).
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
In the tragedy of Othello, the protagonist Othello transforms from a loving husband to a paranoid shell of himself, tortured by delusions of infidelity. At the beginning of the play, Othello and his new bride, Desdemona are married despite their differences in age, race and background. Othello was initially accused of using “witchcraft” to lure Desdemona into marriage. After Desdemona assured her father before the senate that her loyalties are now divided between her father and her new husband and she was willingly embarking on this new chapter, he bestowed his blessing upon the couple.
Inês Caetano Silva Cristina Lupoi English 11 U 27 April 2023 How Othello Embodies Gender Discrimination The manner in which society perceives women generates a never ending trend of women being perceived as weaker and less than men, which in turn, traps them into a cycle of oppression. From before the Roman Empire to modern civilizations, women have been exposed to unsafe environments where education, respect and human decency are limited, disregarded and rights are restricted. In addition, some of the world’s most recognizable authors incorporate sexism into their works, proving that not even literature is an exception from gender bias. An example of this is Shakespeare’s
Desdemona defends herself and her husband by stating their love is pure and true. Stating she fell in love with him through the stories he shared of his valor. “[Desdemona] falls in love, not with Othello’s self but his adventures… What she responds to is more properly called self-creation than self-dramatization, for through his stories Othello attempts to shape an image of himself that will win acceptance in Venice and ...awaken Desdemona’s love.. Othello’s ‘identity depends upon a constant performance. ”(Edward Berry, “Othello’s Alienation” ) These stories of valor are ways to prove himself not only capable but worthy of the same things that white men at the top of the racial hierarchy experience, like marrying a white woman.
Sheltyn Carvalho Othello In the play of Othello written by the great William Shakespeare, people would argue that Othello was very much a villian after killing Desdemona for thinking she was unfaithful to him. Well I am here to explain why I disagree with that statement, even if he gives us every reason to think he was such a bad person. Back in that time of the 16th-17th century men had a lot more power than women so things that would fly then wouldn't be okay now. So if you had read or watched the play you would realize that Othello had a lot of say in everything that went on, even in his wife Desdemona’s life.
This shows that whining for her is a sign of a insecure man. Othello’s crazy side kicks in later in his mission to kill Desdemona. In act 5 Othello is in a room with desdemona about to kill her and his logic is so she can not flirt with other men. Othello explains to desdemona “It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul./ Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars,/ It is the cause. Yet I’ll not shed her blood,/Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow/ And smooth as monumental alabaster./
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.
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.
Othello believes his friend Lago over Desdemona his own wife. Instead of treating her fairly and the way she deserved he argues with her and ridicules her. Desdemona is a perfect example of a wife and Othello will not believe her because she is just a woman. Othello is easily convinced his wife is cheating and feels humiliated and therefore feels it is justified for him to smother her. When Othello states, “She turned to folly, and she was a whore” (5.2.134)
Desdemona is Othello's wife, and he loves her dearly, but because to his fears and Iago's scheming, he believes she has been unfaithful. Othello's jealousy is influenced by his ethnicity, which makes him feel less desirable and less able to cling to his wife's love than a white man could. The drama ultimately comes to a catastrophic finish because of his unreasonable and violent actions motivated by his
He tells the Venetians that he loved his wife, and his dedication created his destructive behavior. In doing so, he admits that he “loved not wisely but too well; Of one not easily jealous” (Lines 7-8). He partially takes accountability for his actions, implying he reacted the way he did to preserve his love for her. Othello now sees that he has killed Desdemona based on false accusations that Iago created. It shows the audience that he was susceptible to Iago’s lies, which ultimately reveals Othello’s insecurities and flaws.