Women In Othello

The Treatment of Women in Shakespeare Plays

Thesis: As we look at the plays of William Shakespeare, we get the idea that he treated woman with very little respect. He portrayed them to be weak, strong, submissive, rebellious, and even not very intelligent. We will look at some of these women and their qualities. Today, women are still treated with some of these same qualities. Have the times really changed?

Hippolyta

She was known as an Amazon Warrior Queen who used her seductive looks to get the man who is fascinated by her to fall for her. She was killed by Hercules. In the play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, it's unusual to show the strength and empowerment of women at this particular time "Amazonian Mythology seems symbolically

Desdemona

In the play Othello, Desdemona, she became the wife of Othello when they eloped. She becomes submissive and obedient to her husband, which was what they expected from women at that time. She was basically framed by lago to get back at Othello for overlooking him in a promotion. She was killed by her husband Othello because he believed she was cheating on him (Bevington, 2014). "The necessary project of exposing the long-ignored but long-standing oppression of women has almost destined us, when we focus on women, to focus on their circumscription. Couple that to a tradition of representation in which

rebellious, outspoken, or desiring women habitually end up married, muted, or dead and there seems to be no escape, even for those subjects who show remarkable autonomy before they go" (Bartels, 1996).

She eloped with a Moor

She becomes the perfect wife

She was a sneaky woman

She was framed by

She was one of three daughters of King Lear. He had grown old and was going to divide the kingdom between his other daughters based on who loved him more. She was banned from the kingdom because she would not confess how much she moved him. She knew that she would get married and become one with her husband. Her father wanted to be his daughters all and it infuriated him that he wasn't. She later returned for her father and was captured and killed. Her sister Goneril killed the other sister Regan out of jealousy (Bevington, 2014)

She loved for father like a daughter should, no more no less

She came back after being banned to help her father who had been overthrown by her sisters and their husbands.

Upon her return, she was captured and murdered by

These plays show women being in different roles. You have one being portrayed as strong, seductive, and independent, you have one that is portrayed as being submissive, and you have one that is seen as rebellious and stubborn. The treatment of the women in these plays was seen as harsh. All these women died in cruel ways. Shakespeare wrote plays that made women appear to be humiliated or disrespected but most of these women showed a great deal of