Moreover, in both texts, Shakespeare and Hosseini present how the male characters’ damaged pride causes them to inflict pain on others as a way of deflecting their own pain and suffering. The patriarchal ideals of honour and pride cause them to overlook the deeper consequences of their actions. We note this as Edmund’s damaged pride causes him to lack empathy and care for his father’s suffering, as he blames his father for his position in society. This is interesting, as in “A Thousand Splendid Suns” Rasheed damaged pride by Mariam’s inability to conceive causes him to unjustly abuse his wife as if he similarly blames his wife for the position they are in. For instance, Edmund’s damaged pride means that he emotionally disregards and abandons …show more content…
Gloucester, and is even complicit in their plan for his eyes to be ‘pluck[ed]’ out at the hands of Cornwall. Not only does this action result in physical agony, but also Gloucester’s mental state to decline to hopelessness and misery. On the heath, Gloucester laments how "As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods they kill us for their sports”. This speech reflects the despair that grips him and drives him to desire his own death as well as experiencing intolerable, unbearable physical pain.
The noun "sports" connotes light-hearted amusement and entertainment, which paints a vivid image of vicious and vindictive gods who revel in our misery and pain. This is more tragic as on stage the audience witness his eyes being brutally gouged out. Shakespeare intended for this vicious act of cruelty to be displayed in front of the audience so that it can be more tragic and the pain is more potent, as we are forced to see the extent of suffering Edmund’s pride has resulted in. In countless ways, Edmund epitomises Machiavellian as he uses his cunning traits to manipulate Gloucester to ensure that he gets what he wants, being driven entirely by self-interest. Edmund’s damaged pride is accentuated as he allowed the sinister mistreatment of Gloucester due to the fact he was illegitimate. On stage in the Sam Mendes production 2014, Edmund’s villainous traits are accentuated as Edmund appearance was a disguise of his evil treachery as he dressed smart and presentable in contrast to Edgar naked and dirty, but in reality, he is a deplorable …show more content…
character. Samuel Johnson argues that “King Lear” is a play where ‘the virtuous miscarry’. This view is very apt, as Gloucester suffers in agony despite being innocent, revealing Edmund’s self-centred nature results in the suffering of the person he should value most. Similarly, Hosseini also presents how male character’s damaged pride leads to a lack of care towards the pain and suffering of others.
Still, whilst Edmund may be involved in Gloucester blinding, he does not actually cause the physical harm, whilst Rasheed is direct in the tangible pain he causes his wife. His shattered pride at being unable to conceive a child leads to his verbal and physical abuse, perceiving Mariam to be insignificant and inferior to him. For instance, he taunts and degrades Mariam by saying “you know nothing, do you? You’re like a child. Your brain is empty.’ The degrading tone causes emotional pain to Mariam that she felt “she was nothing but a burden to him”. The accusatory tone is intensified through the repetition of the direct pronoun “you”, which causes Mariam to feel dehumanised and worthless, resulting in long-term suffering. The simile heightens Mariam’s degradation, as she is being compared to a “child”, showing how he belittles her and lacks any respect for her. Moreover, it highlights the imbalance of power between them and conditions her to believe she, equivalent to a child, is dependent on him. Coupled with the use of rhetorical questions and condescending tone, it suggests he is directly Miriam’s intelligence. It seems that Rasheed is trying to compensate for his damaged pride through belittling Mariam, a behaviour we see continues with his next wife, Laila. Through this, Hosseini uses Rasheed’s treatment of his wives symbolise the
treatment of women in Afghanistan who get abused every day by their husbands, a “2006 study by Global Rights found 85 percent of Afghan women reporting that they had experienced physical, sexual, or psychological violence”, bringing to light the problem of abuse against females. Due to society’s acceptance of domestic abuse, females endure inhumane cruelty as they are groomed to have a passive mentality. Hosseini shows the potency that men have over a woman, and how laborious it can be for the women to escape. He develops Rasheed's character to represent all the men in Afghanistan who have become monsters and believe it is acceptable to abuse their wives because they did not satiate them enough. Furthermore, this novel showed how far some men in Afghanistan are inclined to go to extremes in violence. Rasheed intended to murder Laila and Mariam, but they had enough valiancy and fortuity to elude death. Additionally, the majority of women were not able to preserve themselves from human cruelty. Therefore both show pride results in a lack of care (egotistical) for other’s suffering and pain. Whilst Shakespeare presents how male pride causes indirect suffering of others, Hosseini shows how male pride can cause direct cause of pain and suffering.
In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, many forms of social injustice towards women in Afghanistan are present. The characters face social injustice from family, relationships, society and are forced to endure them throughout their lives until they realize that the only way to bring justice is to fight back.
Justice and perception are words that often overlap. What is seen as justice by one generation can be seen a hateful act of violence by the next. The point is, justice can only truly be construed by the one perceived as the victim. In A Thousand Splendid Suns a picture of sorrow and desperation that grasp Afghanistan is painted as the backdrop to the story. Mariam, a harami, was taught by her mother to endure. That her sole purpose as a woman was to endure the suffering that a man causes. Then, one day, she takes justice into her own hands and kills her abusive husband to save her sister wife and only true companion in her life. This crime leads to her execution; even her final moments a sense of purpose fulfills her because she knows that by sacrificing her life and saving Laila’s, Laila can start anew.
The Manipulation of Gender Roles in Shakespeare’s Othello. Of Shakespeare’s great tragedies, the story of the rise and fall of the Moor of Venice arguably elicits the most intensely personal and emotional responses from its English-speaking audiences over the centuries. Treating the subject of personal human relationships, the tragedy, which should have been a love story, speaks to both reading and viewing audiences by exploring the archetypal dramatic values of love and betrayal. The final source of the tragic action in Shakespeare’s
vanity, pride, and self - knowledge intervenes in the development of the virtue of the characters,
The theme for honour and fidelity apply for both men and women in Shakespeare’s play ‘much ado about nothing’. Honour and fidelity is represented very differently for men and women as it would have been for the people in Elizabethan times. In this first section of the essay, I will be exploring double standards and Shakespeare’s awareness of the double standards between sexes and his feminist approach, the differences of honour and fidelity for men and women and upper class and lower class comparisons.
The portrayal of gender roles in William Shakespeare’s play Othello, demonstrates the inferior treatment of women and the certain stereotypes of men placed on them by society. Both the male and female characters in the play have these certain gender expectations placed on them. In a society dominated by men, it is understood that the women are to be seen rather than heard. The women are referred to and treated much like property. If indeed they do speak up, they are quickly silenced. One woman’s attempt to be the perfect wife is what ultimately led to her demise. The expectations of men are equally stereotypical. Men are to be leaders and to be in control and dominant especially over the women. The male characters compete for position and use the female characters in the play as leverage to manipulate each other. Shakespeare provides insight in understanding the outcomes of the men and women who are faced with the pressures of trying to live up to society’s expectations, not only in the workplace, but also in the home. The pressure creates jealousy issues amongst the men and they become blind to the voice of reason and are overtaken by jealous rage, leads to the death of many of the characters.
In Shakespeare's “King Lear”, the tragic hero is brought down, like all tragic heroes, by one fatal flaw; in this case it is pride, as well as foolishness. It is the King's arrogant demand for absolute love and, what's more, protestations of such from the daughter who truly loves him the most, that sets the stage for his downfall. Cordelia, can be seen as Lear’s one true love, and her love and loyalty go not only beyond that of her sisters but beyond words, thus enraging the proud King Lear whose response is: "Let pride, which she calls plainness, marry her". Here, Lear's pride is emphasized as he indulges in the common trend of despising in others what one is most embarrassed of oneself.
In William Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello there are numerous instances of obvious sexism aimed at the three women in the drama -- Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca – and aimed at womankind generally. Let us delve into this subject in this paper.
In Shakespearean drama, a dynamic and explosive fusion of jealousy, pride, anger and ambition is characteristic for heroes’ behaviour. The tragedy was caused by the excessive flaw in character - self-respect and dignity combined with the feelings of hate and revenge. A disaster usually occurred to lead to destruction of the protagonist. Due to divine justice, punishment is inevitable and therefore no happy ending is possible. Therefore, time is the hero’s main enemy, mercilessly working against him. The mystery of tragedy is that once the protagonist has learnt a lesson of how to renew the order in himself, death is the only outcome /no memento mori, however/.
Greek politician and playwright, Sophocles, in his play, Oedipus the King, depicts a series of chronological events of the consequences of Oedipus’ downfall caused by his excessive pride. Sophocles’ purpose is to instruct readers that too much pride can dismally lead to unfortunate events. Sophocles illustrates an effective tone in order to inform the readers of the negative outcomes of stubbornness and denial.
Shakespeare expresses the Freudian concept of sexual and aggressive conflict by assigning the traits to female and male characters respectively. The alternating suppression, sexuality over aggression and aggression over sexuality, plays out in Hamlet ultimately proving their symbiotic relationship. The sup...
Shakespeare’s works are some of the finest examples of Tragedy and Comedy from the English cannon of literature. The reason that his works are so poignant and reflective is his use of both emotions in order to progress the other. In his interpretation of Troilus and Cressida the traditional story of tragic love and loss are peppered with irony and satire in order to address topical issues of Gender roles, Government action/inaction, and hero worship through juxtaposition and humor.
Sin was a present characteristic in not just moral dramas but also in Shakespeare plays. In almost every play that Shakespeare wrote during his career the audience could always learn something from the character’s story. In this chapter Tillyard focuses on the fall and redemption of man. Tillyard stated that the fall of man separated us from our true s...
The play, Othello is one of the most famous tragedies composed by William Shakespeare during the Renaissance period. It powerfully portrays a world where the acts of evil ultimately vanquishes fidelity, nobility and integrity. The central themes jealousy and manipulation embodies the foretold tragedies and the downfall tragedies of the characters due to one’s insecurities. Through the use of literary techniques and figurative language, Shakespeare has effectively explored the themes of jealousy and manipulation.
Shakespeare was intending to represent several different groups of people in society through his plays and “The Tempest” was no exception to the rule. I aim to show how the “human” relationships in the play reflect real life relationships within Shakespeare’s own society (as well as his future audience), for which his plays were written and performed.