Gender Stereotypes In Shakespeare's Othello

1339 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Portrayal of women in the play othello

Since the beginning of time women have been viewed as weak and inferior to men. It wasn't until 1839 that women could even own property, before that a father would give the land to his sons and just skip over their daughters (Mcgree and Moore). The reasons a father would skip his daughters' inheritance was because women were thought to be unable to handle the responsibilities of holding land or any job. Shakespeare plays on these stereotypes of women by placing Emilia, Desdemona, and Bianca in Othello. These three women portray the expectations placed upon women during the Elizabethan era. Othello displays different examples of the expectations of the Elizabethan patriarchal society and the suppression of females. Although Shakespeare isn't …show more content…

Emilia challenges these roles and brings light to the unfairness of the expectations. As Penny Gay comments on Carol Thomas Neely in "Emilia Speaks Her Mind", "Within Othello it is Emilia who most explicitly speaks to this theme [of marital love], recognizes this central conflict [between men and women], and inherits from the heroines of comedy the role of potential mediator of it." (qtd. In Gay 1). Thomas and Gay both discuss how Emilia recognizes and challenges the stereotypes of women and men. Shakespeare puts Emilia in Othello to challenge these gender roles, first by having Emilia question why women are blamed for cheating. "But I do think it is their husbands' faults / If wives do fall: say that they slack their duties, / And pour our treasures into foreign laps, / Or else break out in peevish jealousies, / Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us, / Or scant our former having in despite;" (IV, iii, 86-91). Emilia explains to the "innocent" Desdemona that yes, women cheat and that they shouldn't be blamed for it because women and men have the same urges. This view is very unconventional of the time and goes against the roles of women, Shakespeare intentionally puts this here to show Emilia doesn't conform to gender roles and has unconventional views about men. Emilia, unlike Desdemona, does not let men walk all over her. Emilia confronts …show more content…

Through this Shakespeare shows the double standards at the time. Cassio cheats on his wife with Bianca and everyone thinks it is normal for Cassio to cheat but they all accuse Bianca of being a prostitute. Vijayaraghavan in "Othello: A Postcolonial-Feminist Reading" describes Bianca's interesting position in Othello "However, despite her unusual qualities, in the play's gender economy Bianca stands for the non-wife, the sexually unchaste whore," (Vijayaraghavan 9). Bianca is accused of being a prostitute even though she has an unswerving love for Cassio. Bianca's extreme love for Cassio is very apparent in the last act when Bianca rushes to Cassio's side and is so distraught. Bianca never lets being called a whore stop her from loving Cassio. Bianca is labeled a whore even though there is no evidence, Iago calls her ‘housewife' (IV i 95) and ‘strumpet' (IV i 97). Shakespeare shows how it was thought to be acceptable to blame women even if they did no wrong, he challenges this by showing that none of the women have done anything

Show More
Related

  • Women In Othello

    1216 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel Othello, written by William Shakespeare, there are a variety of ways in which women are portrayed. There are strong willed women such as Emilia, who stands up to the men, especially to her husband. If he is wrong she would openly admit that he is incorrect. There are also women who are thought to be a possession as well as extremely submissive to their husbands such as Desdemona. She is the type of woman that will obey her husband to the day she dies. Desdemona believes that her husband is always right and he will never do anything that will lead her into the wrong direction. Many of the women in this time thought the same way. They are viewed as house workers, cooks, and teachers to the children. In addition to those qualities women obtain, having no authority in marriages is also added to the list. In this novel, there is judgment against women because they are “unequal” to men. They are not allowed to do the same as men for the reason that they do not possess the same qualities as men. Men were considered to be superior to women. Women were treated as their “slaves.” In contrast, today’s time women now have power. They have the right to vote, run for office, and even work outside their homes. Women now play the part as the male and female figure in the households. They are considered independent women, not relying on a male figure. Even if they are married now, they do not listen to everything that their husbands tell them to do. It states in the Bible that a male figure is the head of the households; however women today have strayed away from that view that they had back then. They want to be the dominate figure. Times have really changed from the past to the present. W...

    Read More

  • Emilias Contemporary Stand

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    In equation with the Elizabethan era, Shakespeare offers us a male dominated society in his renowned tragedy, Othello. Consequently, this definitely persuades a negative attitude and demeanor towards the women of the times. The female characters in the play: Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca; play relevant roles in contributing to one’s understanding of this exhausted Elizabethan view. In contrast to the larger portion of the play, Emilia, spouse to the scandalous Iago, takes an opinionated stand for Desdemona in relation to her wholesome gone sour relationship with the Moor of Venice, Othello. I recognize Emilia’s “Betrayal lecture” as a justified outlook in accordance with today’s period and events surrounding Desdemona’s and Othello’s fatal misunderstanding.

    Read More

  • Discrimination Against Women in Othello

    3073 Words  | 7 Pages

    At this point in our civilization the play’s fascination and its horror may be greater than ever before because we have been made so very sensitive to the issues of race, class, and gender that are woven into the texture of Othello. [. . .] The issue of gender is especially noticeable in the final scenes of the play – with the attacks on Bianca, Emilia, and Desdemona – which are vivid reminders of how terrible the power traditionally exerted by men over women can be. (xiii-xiv)

    Read More

  • The Strength of Women in Shakespeare's Othello

    1293 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice, there are several strong, predominate female characters. Emilia, Desdemona, and Bianca have to defend themselves from the vicious men in the play. However, despite being victimized by the domineering men, their individual strengths set them apart from their abusers.

    Read More

  • Power Of Women In Othello

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    Emilia, while lying next to her best friend on her deathbed, began to suppress her passive nature and attempts persecute the murderer. Nonetheless, the only woman who stood up for herself got killed in the end by her own husband. Othello and Iago’s wives were thought to be disloyal to their husband, while only one of them was correct in this accusation, Desdemona and Emilia were both murdered by the people they pledged their allegiance to. But, Emilia was the only woman who denounced the authority men had over women and compares the qualities of both men and women. She is fully aware of the gender

    Read More

  • Gender Bias in Othello

    1865 Words  | 4 Pages

    At this point in our civilization the play’s fascination and its horror may be greater than ever before because we have been made so very sensitive to the issues of race, class, and gender that are woven into the texture of Othello. [. . .] The issue of gender is especially noticeable in the final scenes of the play – with the attacks on Bianca, Emilia, and Desdemona – which are vivid reminders of how terrible the power traditionally exerted by men over women can be. (xiii-xiv)

    Read More

  • The Perception Of Women In Shakespeare's Othello

    781 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s play Othello, the male characters perceive women as adulterous and property, treating them as inferior that need to be submissive and obey. Iago creates a false perception of his wife thinking she is promiscuous. Also, Othello sees his wife as promiscuous, an impression created by his jealousy and one he has convinced himself of it. Furthermore, Iago and Othello perceive their wives as inferior, and by his words, the reader can see that they are both their wife and subordinate. At last, the male characters refer to Desdemona’s marriage as a “steal” and “purchase” of property, then, Iago and Othello end their wives’ lives because they see them as possessions of no good.

    Read More

  • Feminism In Othello Essay

    1641 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ps their characters to function with adjusted roles in culture. In his novel Othello, William Shakespeare reveals Desdemona and Emilia’s courage through situations involving conflict to portray the ability for women to stand up for themselves as he exhibits his idea of feminism through their actions. The courageous attitudes of these women and their passionate voice grew stronger throughout the play as they eventually died staying true to their beliefs. This transformation parallels the rights of women over history, as the female population progressed very slowly towards a more equal position in society. With Shakespeare being an advocate for women’s unheard voices during the Elizabethan period of time, he is able to use Desdemona and Emilia’s characteristics to contrast what the world was like during that era, and how he viewed and wished the world would function.

    Read More

  • The Character of Emilia in Othello

    627 Words  | 2 Pages

    The definition of Renaissance women is fundamentally important in William Shakespeare's play Othello. One of the major causes of Othello's tragedy is his belief that Desdemona is not chaste. According to the men of the Renaissance, chastity, silence, and obedience are three attributes that define Renaissance women. Although Othello takes place during the Renaissance, the women in the play, Bianca, Desdemona and Emilia, defy traditional norms by lacking at least one of the major attributes defining women; Bianca's lack of chastity is clearly displayed when she unlawfully sleeps with Cassio; Desdemona's lack of silence is clearly displayed when she constantly urges Othello to give Cassio's position back. However, in the last two acts, Emilia displays the strongest challenge to the definition of Renaissance women as silent, chaste, and obedient, mainly to defend Desdemona.

    Read More

  • A Feminist Analysis of Othello

    1738 Words  | 4 Pages

    When Othello summons Desdemona and dismisses Emilia, “Leave procreants alone . . .; / Cough or cry hem if anybody come. / Your mystery, your mystery! . . .” (IV.2.28-30), he not only dismisses Emilia, accuses Desdemona of infidelity, and betrays his own insane bitterness, but he converts the marriage into a brothel arrangement in which all three are involved, and by so doing establishes imaginative lines of connection with the role of Bianca and particularly with the Iago philosophy of sexual conduct. (331)

    Read More

  • The Negative Impact of Gender Roles in Othello

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Women in Othello

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...of Elizabethan England and put women in their place. Men view women as possessions, who are to remain obedient and submissive all the time. The only power over men women have is their sexuality, which is seen as evil and is to be resisted my men. Men are free to call women whores and accuse them of lewd acts with no substantial evidence. However there is a suggestion that women are starting to question the male authority society has set, this is evident when Desdemona is conversing with Emilia: 'Nay, we must think men are not gods" (III.4.144). This suggests that Desdemona had viewed men as god like in the past, but perhaps her experiences with Othello have changed her mind. The language and actions of the three women in Othello, while they seem to follow the expectations and standards of society, also seems to take a big step towards a more egalitarian society.

    Read More

  • The Portaryal of Gender in Othello by William Shakespeare

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Treatment Of Women In Othello

    1665 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throw your vile guesses in the devil’s teeth, from whence you have them. You are jealous now that this is from some mistress, some remembrance: no, in good troth, Bianca.”(Shakespeare 3.4.184-187). The men would speak to the women in very demanding tones. Bianca was the prostitute that loved Cassio. She was used by both Iago and Cassio in different ways. Iago for his plan and Cassio for his own pleasure. Cassio was especially rude to Bianca since we would never marry her, but would like to sleep with her. Bianca, in a way was seen as unimportant and was only used when convenient. She had a true love for Cassio, but he gave her nothing in return. He was ashamed of being around her in

    Read More

  • Women´s Portrayal in Shakespeare´s Othello

    1426 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...es not see her as a wife material and this explains why he shows no commitment towards her. Bianca knows she deserves much better than the way Cassio treats her and this is prove when she leaves him. Bianca is a little bit like Emilia in a sense where she stands up for something and in this case it's for herself, " I am no strumpet, but a life as honest as you thus abuse me." (scene 5, lines 142). With this character Shakespeare shows that the lower class women know they deserve better but they lack the power to be heard because they are considered as nobodies. Bianca would be Emilia's follower is Emilia made a move to fight for women's rights. However even Emilia treats Bianca poorly because she believes what men say about her.

    Read More

More about Gender Stereotypes In Shakespeare's Othello

Open Document