Assimilation Of Women In Othello

In this essay, female oppression in La Casa de Bernarda Alba will be discussed and analyzed. However, in order to be able to understand the importance of this theme and the impact it has had on the play, one must first understand the role of female oppression in the Spanish society in the 1930s.

In the play ‘Othello’ written by William Shakespeare, we see not only the main male character leads. But we also see the female characters, Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca. These three women were portrayed in ways that showed them being inferior to the other male roles as well as society during the Elizabethan Era. But Shakespeare made each of these individual ladies characteristics quite unique to one another having the traits of a feminist. Even though in the play we read how the male characters did somewhat control them and made them look weak compared to them, there were moments where Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca stood up for themselves.

The author agrees with the idea of women as victims through the characterisation of women in the short story. The women are portrayed as helpless to the torment inflicted upon them by the boy in the story. This positions readers to feel sympathy for the women but also think of the world outside the text in which women are also seen as inferior to men. “Each season provided him new ways of frightening the little girls who sat in front of him or behind him”. This statement shows that the boy’s primary target were the girls who sat next to him. This supports the tradition idea of women as the victims and compels readers to see that the women in the text are treated more or less the same as the women in the outside world. Characterisation has been used by the author to reinforce the traditional idea of women as the helpless victims.

Firstly, throughout ‘Othello’ Shakespeare presents men as the dominant characters of the play, whereas the women are portrayed as characters to always

    In William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello, the wife of the protagonist, Desdemona, is the main female character. Secondly, there is the ancient’s wife, Emilia, who is morally ambivalent. Thirdly, there is the girlfriend of Michael Cassio, Bianca, who makes her appearance later in the drama. This essay will analyze the roles of these three women.

Emilia is often dubbed as “the feminist of Othello” by a scholars and critics because of her, seemingly, fiery independence among a sea of submissive women (Caitlyn, Act Four: The Feminist of Othello). The characterization of a woman who speaks out for herself suggests that Shakespeare thought progressively as during that time women were mere objects rather than human beings. The plot of Othello revolves around the misgivings of poor communication and lack of trust among the characters. Tragedy ensues, as it does in all of Shakespeare's works, but could it have been prevented? Report after report applaud Shakespeare for developing a true feminist role model, however sometimes a character who has attitude gets mistaken for honorable. This poses the question, does Emilia truly deserve the title as of a feminist?

Othello, by William Shakespeare is well known for its richness in literary content and elements pertinent to societal ideas. Moreover, women are portrayed in Othello in ways that confirm, but also contradict their treatment in Shakespeare’s time. Both female action and language represent these ideas such as expectations for a wife and expectations for how a woman is to act. That said, there are many other lines spoken by these characters that defy the expectations placed on women at time. Overall, the feminist critical lens allows a reader to understand Othello and the manner in which it is slightly sexist and controversial. This lens allows the reader to observe both discrepancies of how women are treated, and common characteristics found

   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.

Throughout history, there have been social hierarchies imposed upon society. Perhaps one of the most influential was the imposition upon women during the Renaissance era. Women during the Renaissance patriarchy were expected to be proper, pure, and above all else, mindful of the men in their life. In her essay, “Women in Othello”, Farah Karim-Cooper argues that William Shakespeare’s play, Othello, creates complicated dynamics and roles for the women within it, due to the fact that Shakespeare himself did not believe that women fit easily within the roles that they had been assigned. This essay will seek to prove, in agreeance with Karim-Cooper, that Desdemona and Emilia do not, in fact, fit neatly into

   Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello features sexism as regular fare – initially from Brabantio and Iago, and finally from Othello. Let us in this essay explore the occurrences and severity of sexism in the drama.

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.

A hero is “a man or woman distinguished by the performance of courageous or noble actions (Oxford English Dictionary).” In a male dominated society, such as the one displayed in the play Othello, many of the heroic attributes of the female characters are overlooked, and they are labeled as either weak or insignificant. However, some of the female roles within this play are more important and heroic than their male counterparts. The particularly important women in Othello are the characters Desdemona and Emilia. They are unlike each other in many ways, yet both are equally strong in their own ways. While Desdemona remains silent and faithful in the face of adversity, Emilia is outspoken and independent. While the male characters in this play use their actions to express their dominance, the females use their wit and words to show their strength against the men that try to oppress them. This play seeks to show the women as they are: strong, intelligent, and important although they are mistreated by their male counterparts. Both women attribute heroic attributes to the plot of the play and continue to influence their society even after death. The women of Othello showed themselves to be the true protagonists of the play through their unending loyalty, bravery in the face of opposition, and distinct personalities that complimented one another in order to

Jane Austen’s remark in her novel Persuasion about talking “about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures” points an accusing finger at society’s treatment of women and girls. We tend to regard them in terms of how valuable they are to men, as if pleasing men is their sole purpose in life. Misogyny is a complex system of female degradation and male entitlement and is demonstrated in Shakespeare’s Othello by bringing about the downfall of two couples ; today we still struggle with similar issues, if on a slightly different scale.

The women in Othello are synonymous with Venetian societal standards. Only three women are characters in Othello: Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca but the roles these women play give the reader an idea of how women were portrayed, not only in Shakespeare's Othello but in society in general.

Desdemona frequently exhibits her own free will and independence. She holds power over his husband Othello and tries to use it to pardon Cassio