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Gender criticism in othello by shakespeare
The Role of Women in Othello
Literary analysis of women in othello
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Derrida argues that what we know as truth within words in our current society, is not, in fact, the actual truth of the words. Throughout time, we have de-centered language, and have begun giving it new meaning that multiply from there. We have left the true origin of words behind and have distorted them into words that, while powerful, do not represent what they should. One word that has become twisted is the word property. Originally it meant a thing or things belonging to someone; possessions collectively, a building or buildings and the land belonging to it or them, the right to the possession, use, or disposal of something; that is, ownership. It was a physical item, something that could not think for itself or have its own agency. Throughout history, however, the word has turned towards encompassing people, more specifically towards minorities. In Othello, we see females as property to their fathers, and then to their spouses. They are not supposed to have their own opinions, intellect, or agency. …show more content…
The use of thief indicates that Brabantio views Desdemona as property that has been taken from him. Earlier in the play we see Iago plant a firmer idea that women should be seen as property of their fathers. Iago exclaims “ Awake! What, ho, Brabantio! Thieves! Thieves! Thieves! Look to your house, your daughter and your bags! Thieves! Thieves!” (1.1.7) In Shakespeare’s time, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it was common practice that daughters were thought of as their father’s property. Iago knows this, and while he does not implant this idea for the first time in Brabantio, he does affirm it. As a piece of property to their fathers, daughters were at the father’s discretion to be married off, traded and bartered for, and to stay under their father’s control until they were given
The Tragedy of Othello by William Shakespeare is a great work by a great author. Shakespeare was correct in titling it The Tragedy of Othello because Othello lost so much. In the literary sense, a tragedy is the downfall of a character through that character's own flaws. The way most people see a tragedy is a story where there is much suffering and loss, and a not so happy ending. No matter way one looks at it, literary or public sense, this was a correct title. The main character, Othello, brought his own downfall upon him through his flaws, caused the suffering of many people, and he himself loss very much. All of these factors pile up to equal a big tragedy.
In Othello, Iago uses his fine reputation as an “honest man” and Othello’s insecurities to manipulate him and carry out his master plan of destroying Cassio, Othello, and Desdemona. Iago’s insight towards the other characters’ weaknesses enables him to let them know exactly what they want to hear, which helps him gain their trust. He plays upon the insecurities of others to maneuver them into carrying out the actions he needs done in order to fulfill his own desires. In looking at Othello, we will consider the Othello’s blind acceptance of “the truth” as it is presented to him and find that when we blindly take another’s “truth” and accept it as our own, we merely become tools utilized by the person who gave us that supposed truth and give up the power of being ourselves—we fail to assert a self.
During this time period, the men would work to support their family. Additionally, the woman would stay at home and care for her husband and children. This society thought of women as weaker than men. They were often treated as possessions of their husbands, “This concurs with Othello 's own insight when he describes murderous jealousy as innate in the husband-wife relationship which posits the wife as the exclusive possession of the husband and is thus at odds with the human condition wherein one can never know another person 's inmost thoughts and desires” (Vanita 342).The language Shakespeare uses in the play supports that men seemed freer than women. When Brabantio speaks of his daughter he describes her as obedient. Likewise, Desdemona obeyed Othello’s orders and stated she is indeed obedient to him. When Othello was convinced Desdemona was cheating on him he proceeded to murder
However, the dubious nature of the marriage is to cause conflict later in the story, as Brabantio effectively disowns Desdemona and gives fuel to the gossip machine. Several times the fact that Othello stole Desdemona is given as proof that she can be stolen from him.
The European Renaissance forever changed the life of the contemporary individual. Explosive advancements in education, technology, and trade broadened geographic and mental horizons; however, in England these developments were paired with population crises of poverty and unemployment. In addition, the increased interaction with foreign cultures fomented by various commercial and diplomatic engagements gave rise to apprehension in English sensibility. Eventually, Christian England would attempt to reshape these ‘strangers’ in their image and modern racial tensions sprung forth. Recursion of the trope of race, under the guise of blackness, heathenry, or even femininity occurs extensively in literary tradition, and especially within Shakespeare’s oeuvre. “There exists in all literature an archetypal figure who escapes both poles of the classic definition – appearing sometimes as hero, sometimes as villain, sometimes as clown…[he] has been named variously the ‘shadow,’ the ‘other,’ the ‘alien,’ the ‘outsider,’ the ‘stranger.’” It is with this borderline figure, mired in ambiguity, that this investigation is concerned: primarily with the stranger as the Moor in Othello, the Welsh in Henry IV, Part 1, and the woman in both.
This line in Act I spoken by Othello, is an indication that he is a good person, although it may appear that he has stolen Desdemona away from her father. Othello says that although he has taken Desdemona as his wife without Brabantio’s consent, he is a good person for stating his reasons for his actions as well as standing his ground. After Othello’s marriage to Desdemona, the conflict starts when Iago insinuates that Desdemona may be having an affair with Cassio, Othello’s honorable lieutenant.... ... middle of paper ...
An epithet is an adjective or adjective phrase that characterizes a person or thing. Epithets can often consist of abusive or contemptuous words such as those directed by the professionally offended Iago in Shakespeare's Othello. Iago refers to Othello with damning epithets to suggest the Moor as a lust driven animal that is violating the innocent Desdemona. For instance, he calls Othello, "an old black ram" who is "tupping" Brabantio's "white ewe"(Act I, Scene I: 90-91). He is referring to the fact that Othello is a Moor, or dark skinned man. Iago is also making the insinuation that Othello is, at this moment, copulating with Brabantio's innocent daughter, Desdemona. In addition, Iago warns Brabantio that if he does not rescue his daughter, the "devil" will make Brabantio a grandfather (Act I, Scene I: 93). Again, he is suggesting that Othello is demonic and comparable to a wild animal. He continues erupting insults shouting that a "Barbaray horse" is mounting Desdemona and that Brabantio's nephews will "neigh" and cousins will be "coursers," or strong horses (Act I, Scene I: 113-114). Yet again, Iago is suggesting that Othello is animal-like and that this quality will arise throughout Brabantio's family. It is important to note that in the play production Iago speaks such crude and obscene language while hiding behind several clustered poles below Brabantio's window. This gesture reveals Iago's attempt to remain an "honest man" in the eyes of the other characters while carrying out a plan of revenge. Although Iago's insults toward Othello appear to be racial, it does not make the entire play racist. Iago is so consumed by revenge against Othello, for passing him over for the promotion that he will say or do anything to attain his "peculiar end" (Act I, Scene I: 62).
posses such a beautiful wife from a good home, hence decided to find every way to break the couple’s marriage. Iago started putting fear in the senator about Othello’s personality since he is a black man; Sex in marriage is a good thing which brings pleasure to both couples but on the part of Othello, Iago made sex look like a crime and pointed it out to Barbantio that sexually Othello is going to use his daughter badly and after the sex her daughter cannot look at the face of Othello. He went on using the nature of sex to threaten the heart of Barbantio. According to Iago since Desdemona has been brought up in a way that she is afraid of foreigners precisely blacks, how come Desdemona is he going to have sex with someone whom she is frightened
Othello by William Shakespeare is one of the many plays that captures the phenomenal writing of Shakespeare. Similar to most of Shakespeare’s plays, Othello, is a tragic tale of how a noble warrior named Othello goes from the peak of his life to the lowest point of his life because of miscommunication and manipulation. Every character in this story plays a significant role on the outcome of the story especially the antagonist named Iago. He demonstrates that the most intelligent people aren’t always the nicest of people. Iago manipulates all of the main characters by using philosophical ideas to obtain his personal desires such as money, a higher job position, or gaining revenge on his wife. Othello becomes one of Iago’s main targets because
Othello is a man of romantic nature. He fell in love with the beautiful Desdemona. He was accused of stealing her away from her father. Othello was of a different race and did not fit in with her family. Othello makes a plea for Desdemona and tells his story which wooed her to begin with. Othello tells of the love that her father showed him since his boyish days. This was like a match made in heaven that overcame many obstacles which got in their way. Othello could not understand why he was good enough to work and fight alongside of her father, but was not good enough for his daughter.
In Othello men see women as objects to control, first by their father, and then by their husband. When Iago yells to Brabantio, telling him his daughter has gone off to marry Othello, he yells "Thieves, thieves! / Look to your house, your daughter, and your bags! / Thieves, thieves!" (Othello I.i.79-80). Othello has taken away Brabantio's property, his daughter, and is called a thief because of it. Desdemona refuses to be treated like property, however and makes "A gross revolt, / tying her duty, beauty, wit and fortunes" (Othello I.i.134-135) to Othello. Her marriage to Othello is not an act of a free woman, but a revolt by Brabantio's property. Desdemona is also incapable of independent feelings or thoughts. Othello must have "Enchanted her" (Othello I.ii.63), "In chains of magic" (Othello I.ii.65), because she could never make such a choice on her own. In Brabantio's mind, only he can know what is in Desdemona's best interest and then choose it for her. Brabantio tries to guard her, but Desdemona has "Run from her guardage" (Othello I.ii.70). In Othello the culture of the time treats women as objects to be guarded and watched over, too tender and gentle to fend for themselves in a dang...
Othello is a man who is respected as a General in the Army. Brabanzio even considered him a friend. Thanks to Iago planting a seed in Brabanzio ear about his daughter, Desdemona, Brabanzio accused Othello of taking his daughter away from him by means of drugs or poision. Othello has fought on the battle-field and now finds himself on a very different kind of battle-field. He finds himself in a position of being forced to defend his honor, friendship and his love. There has been accusations made against Othello, so in a room filled with signors, masters, the Duke, and Brabanzio, Othello has a strategy of battlement in his own way. He tells the Duke to send for Desdemona, “Send for the lady to the Sagittary, And let her speak of me before her father” (1.3-115-116).
He refers to Desdemona in the same manner that someone would refer to a crown jewel or gold. Another example is when Brabantio is on the senate floor. He accuses Othello that he has “abused, stol’n from me, and corrupted [Desdemona]” (I.iii.73). When saying that Desdemona has been stolen from him, Brabantio implies that he regards her as a token possession—one that he holds dear and near to his heart—that has been ripped away from him. He does not look at Desdemona as a human being, she is just property. Othello gets to this point as well. In Act III, Othello is saying he rather be a toad and live in a dungeon than “keep a corner in the thing I love for others’ uses” (III.iii.313-314). There are two key words in Othello’s statement that shows how much he has reverted back into a mindset of a stereotypical male, those words being thing and uses. When a person is referring to something as a thing or something that is used, that thing is not likely to be a human being and more likely to be an object. However, Othello is referring directly to
Internal and external struggles influence people to action, be it swift and daring or cunning and low. In Shakespeare's plays, the events around and within a character often combine to cause a character to act in a manner that would be considered out of character or unnatural for the person. Shakespeare uses these characters to provide the audience with a lesson or theme; to give them something they can apply to life and see learn from. In Othello, the character he uses as an example is, in fact, Othello. Shakespeare informs his readers of how doubts caused by rumors and lies can lead to the breakdown of even a once noble person.
The expectation of Jacobean women was that they were the possessions of their father until married . Brabantio reiterates the idea that women are virtually “helpless pawns” when he calls Othello a foul thief who robb’d him of his daughter. This suggests that women were seen as the property of their father until they were married and that they were physically unable to live independently from men because they are unable to hold their own opinion. Iago also asserts how Brabantio has ultimate authority over Desdemona when he compares her to his house, a house symbolising ownership, property and possession. When Desdemona goes against her father by marrying Othello she openly challenges the common sexist opinions at that t...