A Feminist Perspective of Othello
Throughout the length of Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello there is a steady undercurrent of sexism. It is originating from not one, but rather various male characters in the play, who manifest prejudicial, discriminatory attitudes toward women.
In the opening scene, while Iago is expressing his hatred for the general Othello for his having chosen Michael Cassio for the lieutenancy, he contrives a plan to partially avenge himself (“I follow him to serve my turn upon him”), with Roderigo’s assistance, by alerting Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, to the fact of his daughter’s elopement with Othello: “Call up her father, / Rouse him: make after him, poison his delight [. . .] .” Implied in this move is the fact of a father’s assumed control over the daughter’s choice of a marriage partner. Iago’s warning to the senator follows closely: “'Zounds, sir, you're robb'd; for shame, put on your gown; / Your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul.” This statement also implies that the father has authority over the daughter. Brabantio’s admonition to Roderigo implicitly expresses the same message:
The worser welcome:
I have charged thee not to haunt about my doors:
In honest plainness thou hast heard me say
My daughter is not for thee [. . .] . (1.1)
Iago’s continuing earthy appraisals of the situation all seem to bestow upon the father the power to make decisions for the daughter. Roderigo even calls Desdemona’s action a “revolt” against paternal authority: “Your daughter, if you have not given her leave, / I say again, hath made a gross revolt [. . .] .” Upon verifying the absence of his daughter from the home, Brabantio exhorts all fathe...
... middle of paper ...
...view, LXIV, 1 (Winter 1956), 1-4, 8-10; and Arizona Quarterly (Spring 1956), pp.5-16.
Mack, Maynard. Everybody’s Shakespeare: Reflections Chiefly on the Tragedies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1993.
Muir, Kenneth. Introduction. William Shakespeare: Othello. New York: Penguin Books, 1968.
Neely, Carol. "Women and Men in Othello" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 68-90)
Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.
Wayne, Valerie. “Historical Differences: Misogyny and Othello.” The Matter of Difference: Materialist Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Ed Valerie Wayne. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1991.
In the story, the cook is described as making incredible dishes “Make good thick soup and bake a tasty pie” (394) He wears his name of cook well, enthralling all who sample his food with its captivating flavor. Comparably, Gordon Ramsay is perhaps the most well-known cook in today’s time, famous for his proficiency in the art of cooking. Yet although they are similar in their capacity to create spectacular dishes, they are incredibly different in the way they run their kitchen. While Gordon Ramsay follows strict sanitary procedures, the cook could care less about sanitation. “He had an ulcer on his knee”. Despite the fact that he is sickly and has an open, festering ulcer infecting everything it comes in contact with, he continues to serve his customers, paying no mind to their health. Gordon Ramsey would never even contemplate engaging in such abhorable scamming of the general public, and would undoubtedly openly frown at this selfish , disgusting
Neely, Carol. "Women and Men in Othello" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 68-90)
Mack, Maynard. Everybody’s Shakespeare: Reflections Chiefly on the Tragedies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1993.
Othello: The Father/Daughter Conflict Brabantio, father of Desdemona in William Shakespeare's "Othello," is not happy that his daughter is marrying the title character. This father/daughter conflict impacts the work significantly by foreshadowing the climax, giving antagonist Iago material for his evil plot. Brabantio is a Venetian Senator with definite ideas on the subject of his daughter. He wants to choose a husband for her who he feels is of her caliber and who can provide her a good life, as well as raise the family's esteem in Venetian society. At that time, this was his right as Desdemona's father.
Brabantio is a very protective father. He makes sure that his daughter Desdemona lives a sheltered life under his care. She is his only child so he treats her like a prized possession. He also made certain to keep her under a tight leash, especially with male callers. When Roderigo tries to court her, he disapproves, "The worser welcome!/ I have charged thee not to haunt my doors./ In honest plainness thou hast heard me say/ My daughter is not for thee" (1.1.93-95). Brabantio is in disbelief when Roderigo instead tells him of Desdemona's elopement with Othello and says:
During the Elizabethan era women had a status of subordination towards men. They had a role to marry and oblige to their husband’s wishes. Shakespearean literature, especially illustrates how a woman is psychologically and physically lesser to their male counterpart. The play, Othello, uses that aspect in many different ways. From a Feminist lens others are able to vividly examine how women were subjected to blatant inferiority. Being displayed as tools for men to abuse, women were characterized as possessions and submissive; only during the last portion of the play did the power of women take heed.
While there have been a great number of changes in the world since Shakespeare wrote Othello, there are a few truths about humanity and society that remain true. Othello is notorious for it’s examination of race, but is not given enough credit for its observations of gender. Iago embodies masculine gender roles in a severe and exaggerated way, allowing his desire for proving his masculinity to corrupt him morally. Iago then turns and uses his own fears of inadequacy against Othello as the root of his revenge and to improve his own self-image. Desdemona is hurt most by the need for gender roles, which ultimately ends up in her death. The characters in Othello are severely harmed by the gender roles they feel the need to adhere to.
Ekici, Sara (2009). Feminist Criticism: Female Characters in Shakespeare's Plays Othello and Hamlet. Munich: GRIN Publishing.
William Shakespeare’s The Tempest provides dialogue that portrays the social expectations and stereotypes imposed upon women in Elizabethan times. Even though the play has only one primary female character, Miranda, the play also includes another women; Sycorax, although she does not play as large a roll. During many scenes, the play illustrates the characteristics that represent the ideal woman within Elizabethan society. These characteristics support the fact that men considered women as a mere object that they had the luxury of owning and were nowhere near equal to them. Feminists can interpret the play as a depiction of the sexist treatment of women and would disagree with many of the characteristics and expectations that make Miranda the ideal woman. From this perspective, The Tempest can be used to objectify the common expectations and treatment of women within the 16th and 17th Centuries and compare and contrast to those of today.
In order to get a greater sense of the food personality attributes, three episodes from each show’s current season were analyzed to examine the personalities’ mannerisms and culinary identity. These attributes and characteristics were coded and analyzed (see Table 2). Content analysis started with cursory examination of the television episodes. I posed two questions during my initial examinations: how do these culinary personalities present themselves as experts in either the domestic or public spheres, and how do these presentations adhere or diverge from the earlier outlined gender culinary stereotypes. This meant looking at the theme of the shows, setting, the appearance and mannerisms of the culinary personalities, and how well these shows convey the tone of the network. While watching, I took note of any personal anecdotes or memories given while the food was being
The reality is very different than what they show, the old ways of the hospitality industry had chefs taking apprenticeships under master chefs when they were young as 15, though this practice was done in Europe mostly. Now people have the option of entering into the field either by applying for jobs working their way up the ladder or by entering specialty schools. The US is lucky enough to have a boom in students entering into these culinary schools, they have curriculum that focus on anything in the hospitality industry. Culinary, Pastry, Restaurants management, Hotel services are just a few of the degrees you can focus on in these culinary schools and
I’ve ended up as a cook through a series of serendipitous events, but I think that no matter what I would have ended up doing, I would have ultimately made it about bringing people together — about fostering community, fostering goodwill. Cooking is a very straightforward way of doing that, because eating is such a social act. People, by their very nature, want to come together around the table and eat. People are hungry for an excuse to come together and eat — to come together and do anything,
The Fibonacci sequence is often defined as {F_n }_(n=1)^∞ containing the numbers 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, and so on [1]. A formula for determining the numbers contained in the set is given by F_1=1 and F_2=1, with the recursive formula F_n=F_(n-1)+F_(n-2). In other words, the formula doesn't start until n=3, and computing elements of the set just involves adding the two previous numbers together to get the next. Using the Fibonacci sequence, it is true that the infinite sequence r_n,
Success was what lead to wars and increased enslavement, and they took pride in that. “Great is sugar and it will prevail”, the motto that mercantilists and capitalists followed (Williams 153).