The Role Of Women In Shakespeare's Othello

"Are you a man?" (3.4.58) Lady Macbeth asks her husband as he exhibits signs of unstableness when confronted with Banquo 's ghost. A simple question that seems unsubstantial, rhetorical, as she obviously knows her husband 's sex. However, it is worth closer investigation: Why is Lady Macbeth questioning her husband 's masculinity? Smith states: "[M]asculinity, in cultures all over the world is not a natural given, something that comes with possession of male sexual organs, but an achievement, something that must be worked toward and maintained" (131). At a first glance, people familiar with Shakespeare 's tragedies Macbeth and Coriolanus might state that the men presented in these works are indeed bursting with masculinity after this definition: The honoured nobleman Macbeth, who does not shy away from fighting for his land and status, as well as the prototypical warrior Coriolanus, who is defined almost exclusively by his strength

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

All throughout time women have been treated differently from men. They were not given a voice or trust but was it for the better? I am deciding to defend feminist because women need to be treated better and in this essay i will show you how women were treated and why it 's wrong. Although i believe in defending feminism some believe women should not be treated equal. I am explaining this through showing that men were not expected to love their wives. The feminist lens provide modern society with the most compelling view of literature because men don’t trust women, men think women are cheaters and whores, and women don 't have a voice.

“And though she be but little, she is fierce” -William Shakespeare. In today’s day and age, one of the greatest topics of debate is gender roles. It is evident everywhere, from cyberspace to the streets of home, from online petitions to marches across the country such as the Women’s March. Shakespeare lived in the Elizabethan Era of England, where Queen Elizabeth I, the virgin queen ruled. At that time in history, the status quo and social norm was simple. Patriarchy was the predominant force as men were regarded as superior to women, both in society as well as the relationship scene. Shakespeare attempted to change this perception through his multiple works of literature. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare uses the theme of gender roles to express the idea that the status quo and social norm in the Elizabethan era can be challenged through courtship, father-daughter relationships, and wedlock. The play commences with the courtship of multiple individuals.

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

Macbeth is a tragedy chronicling a highly esteemed man’s demise, due to his transformation into a ruthless and apathetic human being. Regardless of his tyrannous behaviour, is Macbeth deserving of sympathy because of the external forces that meddled in his affairs? Francesco Aristide Ancona and Mary Ives Thompson attempt to deal with this question and the impact of gender roles in their essay, “ He says/ She says: Shakespeare’s Macbeth (A gender/ personality study).”

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. Throughout the play we observe Emilia’s character change, and how she suffered the consequence of challenging the system.

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 1400’s, women's lives were completely dependent on men. They were raised to not do anything for their own interest, but for the interest or benefit of the men in their lives. Women were not at all seen as equals to men, and especially not so if they were unmarried. In Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, Juliet Capulet’s life is influenced by the dominant male figures that surround her. Juliet’s gender is what forces her to be dependent on others and their decisions, which will eventually lead to her death.

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 . When Emilia ask Desdemona about the cause of her death, she replied with “Nobody. I did it myself. Farewell! Greet my husband for me. Farewell!” It is evident that she is entirely loyal to Othello regardless of rights or

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 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

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.

Many female critics have looked towards The Wife of Bath as a feminist role model (Reisman) She wanted authority over her five husbands, “She’d been respectable throughout her life, with five churched husbands bringing joy and strife, Not counting other company in her youth;” (Chaucer, l. 459-461) In Othello, the society centered around the men having all the control over women except in their beds, which was when the women could take control. Othello uses his power to over Desdemona to mock her,“Ay, you did wish that I would make her turn. Sir, she can turn, and turn, and get go on, And turn again. And she can weep, sir, weep. And she’s obedient.- Proceed you in your tears.- Concerning this sir- O, well-painted passion! I am commanded home.- Get you away. I’ll send you anon..” (l. 284-290.

The play Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare is based in the Elizabethan Era which was a time when women had little input in decisions while men dominated society. The difference in power between the two sexes is shown in this play displaying how little power women had over their own lives. The character Beatrice who is one of the most powerful women in Shakespeare’s plays shows her disdain for this fact throughout the play trying to regain some sense of power over her own life.