The Status Of Women In Shakespeare's Othello

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In William Shakespeare’s Othello, the status of women at the time, exemplified by Othello’s belief that Desdemona belongs to him, leads Othello to trust Iago more than he trusts his own wife. In many of Shakespeare’s plays, women lack social agency, and therefore their lives are run by men. Although Desdemona is a strong character, the fact that she is a woman creates room for Othello to doubt her. Othello begins to trust what Iago tells him more than he trusts Desdemona, which shows how little he trusted her in the first place. Othello even starts to believe that Desdemona may be unfaithful because he is black. Finally, because of his anger and the general attitude towards women at the time, Othello objectifies Desdemona. All of these factors …show more content…

Women were used to gain a dowry after marriage and as a tool to create offspring for a man. This status leads to Desdemona’s death. Othello sees Desdemona as his property, and therefore treats her like she is an object and not a person. By having this jealous mindset from the start, Iago is easily able to persuade Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him. Although Iago is extremely deceptive and talented with words, if women had a higher status in the world, and Othello was not as misogynistic and territorial, he most likely would not have believed Iago. Othello is also easily manipulated because he is insecure about himself and his status as a Black Muslim in the world. Desdemona deceived her father to marry Othello so, as Brabantio pointed out, what would stop Desdemona from deceiving Othello? Although Iago’s rhetoric and Othello’s race and ethnicity constantly caused problems for the couple, the root of the issue fell onto Othello’s attitude towards women, and especially towards Desdemona. Other than women lacking social agency in general in that time period, Othello treated Desdemona like she was a prize to be won, and after he won her, she was his to treat as he pleased. This idea that Desdemona was a pure virgin and belonged to Othello ultimately led to her

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