Rasheed’s cruelty inflicted on Mariam reflects his belief in the male-run Afghani society as he struggles to maintain control and remain on top. For Mariam, Rasheed’s abuse reveals her willingness to sacrifice for what she loves. From Mariam’s endurance, to Rasheed’s abuse, to her ultimate sacrifice, she becomes a strong woman in juxtaposition to the impassiveness of how he treated her once before. By adding cruelty to the novel, Hosseini adds depth and complexity to the characters, revealing their values and other character traits. In another way, Hosseini also reveals how cruelty in itself is driven by self interest. Specifically, Rasheed acts cruel because of his thirst for dominance. In effect, a person is not born to be cruel, and they act upon it out of choice. Much of the mind-set involved comes as an effect of the surrounding environment or society. The society set in the novel focuses on men in power and women underneath, encouraging Rasheed’s abuse. By the same token, cruelty is the product of human emotion, and in A Thousand Splendid Suns Hosseini unfortunately shows how natural it is for “bad” to exist in the
While reading the novel I could see at the beginning of the novel that this novel can be examined with a feminist lens. The first thing that I saw in the novel is that the main character of the novel is played by a young girl (Mariam) as well as a girl who is growing up in a less fortunate condition. While reading the novel it was obvious that in “A Thousand Splendid Suns” men have authority over women, domesticity, which states that women belong at home, and the representation of elderly women as bitter, and
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. Each female character is treated by men as a possession. However, there are also moments when they are presented as confident and challenge a male authority. This would have been exiting for Shakespeare’s female Elizabethan audience as women
In the progressive modern world, the ancient mindset of men’s superiority exists in many societies. Women who are opposed to such ideology are, in some cases, perceived as rebellious when words such as feminism has come to acknowledgement for over a century. Through the struggles that the characters of A Thousand Splendid Suns faced in the patriarchal Afghani culture, Khaled Hosseini delivers his feminist ideas. For her whole life, Nana endured the troubles given by men, and she is one of the “fallen female warrior” of the novel because she fought against the oppression and lost, due to the unfortunate circumstances of her life. Mariam also suffered the torments imposed on her by the men in her life, sharing a similar fate as her mother, Nana, in a way. Nevertheless, Mariam is not a fallen warrior but a victor. Contrasting from Nana, Mariam fought her battle with resistance rather than endurance. She broke free of the oppressive culture and realized her self-worth in the end. Fariba is one of first non-submissive females of the novel and was portrayed as the woman with a progressive mindset. However, after a long time of struggling against the society and the loss of her two sons in addition to that, her role as an ideal feminist challenger is no longer dominant. Much like Mariam, Laila is a victor. The difference between Mariam and Laila is Laila has been defying the norms of the culture throughout her life, unlike Mariam, who was submissive for the early years of her lifetime. Laila represents a hope for woman in the male dominated culture, as she goes on to escape from her abusive husband, finds happiness, pursues education, and contributes back to the society postwar. The male characters are also notable to observe from the novel because the patriarchal society, as well as for the comparison purpose. Hakim, Laila’s father, has an advanced
Evil is something that affects not only the evil person, but also those around them. The wicked behavior or attitude of an individual is more than often protect onto the individuals peers. This is evident in A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Rasheed is a critical character and arguably, his personality is so powerful that it shapes both Mariam and Laila’s character to a significant degree. Rasheed’s exhibition of pure cruelty, his abusive attitude and his desire to have a child are extremely important to the story.
Marion D. Perret, in “Petruchio: The Model Wife,” states, “The relationship and duties of husband and wife are copiously discussed in Elizabethan sermons and books on domestic conduct. The playwright need not have one of these works beside him as he wrote: the standards set forth in them were widely enough known that he could assume, for instance, that playgoers would understand why Desdemona should come and go at her husband’s command even after he has unjustly struck her- the onstage audience shows shock at Othello’s action, but no surprise at Desdemona’s obedience (pg. 223-224).” According to this textual evidence, using characters from another Shakespeare play, Othello inequitably strikes Desdemona, in which Desdemona reacts by obeying her husband. The example of Othello and Desdemona can show that females’ blind cooperation toward their husband or other male authority is customary for the Elizabethan era. Hamlet shows blind obedience of women toward men due to the fact that this was the social and historical
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. She falls in love with some hero stories and even got married to it. Her life must have been bored and very constrained compare to contemporary time when everyone’s story sounds like a hero. Her father makes her to choose between him or Othello, and she can’t reserve the right to be close to both, similarly the feudal law worked
Othello’s first action of weakness shows when he turns jealous. Iago, his ensign, convinces him that his wife, Desdemona, has been having an affair with his lieutenant, Cassio. This is Othello’s response to Iago’s mortifying news, “She’s gone, I am abused, and my relief / Must be to loathe her. Oh, curse of marriage / That we can call these delicate creatures ours / And not their appetites!” (3.3.308-11). In this quote, Othello says that there is nothing more to do than hate Desdemona, wives cannot truly belong to their husbands. This is a sign of weakness because Iago has no real evidence to back up the claims he has made to Othello, however, Othello is not strong enough to brush them aside.
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
The way these women act and conduct themselves is unquestionably related to the ideological expectations of Elizabethan and patriarchal society. Desdemona, Othello 's wife and Brabantio 's daughter, is represented as the ideal woman. So she would never be disloyal to her husband. On many occasions, Desdemona obeys her husband firmly and calls herself obedient even after Othello hits her. She was loving and loyal to Othello and wishes a long marriage of prosperity and commitment that would lead to her ultimate happiness. She is an independent character because, she confidently defends her love marriage to a man her father hasn’t accepted who is many years older than her. She was interested in adventure when she heard the stories of Othello’s great battles and travels. Then she expresses her own desire to go with him on his journey to Cyprus. Othello thought that she could be unfaithful to him so he felt that murder and violence was the only way answer to his dilemma. The most important argument is that she takes the blame for her own murder. Her final words, when Emilia asks who has done this to her, then she said - Nobody; I myself.
In the play Othello, there are many perspectives one could choose. But there is only one view that is appropriate for this topic and that is the feminist view. The feminist lens shows us that Desdemona was more an object of play than a person in love. If you don’t know what it was about, The Othello play is about a guy who is Jealous of a moracin war general. Then causes the general to kill his wife. He creates doubts in their relationship witch inevitably kills them. these events caused Desdemona to be unable to satisfied Othello because of the lack of trust and the fact that Othello was being set up by his vindictive friend Michael. Feminist perspective show us a wider view of what is going on in the film as well as in the book with Desdemona
In Shakespeare’s play Othello, the male characters perceive woman as property of their own who have to be submissive and they treat them as adulterous.
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.
The Power of Words is important in the play Othello. Words are used to show power in Othello, words are also used to show what the personality of the characters are and that is used to show the reader what the characters are like and lastly, words are used to have a conversation with the audience. Through the words in the play the audience can understand the play and also the audience knows most of the time what is going to happen before the characters know what is happening.
Iago plan to destroy Othello evolves when he notices Desdemona's assertive behavior towards her father. Iago realizes this characteristic because Iago's wife, Emilia, is a cynical character that is similar to Desdemona's assertiveness. He is already accustomed to his own idea that women are objects because he is crude and disdainful towards his wife. In act II, scene I, Iago publicly questions Emilia's virtue and loyalty by Desdemona. "Sir, would she give you so much of her lips / As of her tongue she oft bestows on me, you'll have enough." (2.1.109-111), He humiliates his own wife with accusations without actual evidence. He views her as an unquiet woman that blocks his way. His close-mindness hinders his ability to view women as humans. similarly, to Emilia's character, Desdemona disputes with her father to leave with Othello.