Examing the Interracial Marriage of Othello and Desdemona Essay

Brabantio shows his racist ways clearly here; he feels that his daughter could never love Othello unless she had been somehow tricked! When one looks deeper into this mindset we understand how loving Othello, the Moor, could be seen as such an issue to her father. Then and even today color is associated with, “sin, damnation, and eventually, sexual promiscuity” (Hall, 182). White on the other hand is associated with, “purity, virginity, and virtue” (Hall, 183). For Desdemona to love Othello she must give up her innocence. For a “pure” and “virtuous” woman to love a man such as Othello she must be a “sinner” and a “whore.” This “realization” of his daughter’s lack of purity causes Brabantio to die due to pure grief as Gratiano explains to us:

• Using grotesque animal imagery, Iago voices an explicitly stereotypical view of Othello, as a “Barbary horse,” depicting him as an animalistic outsider. Through the image of conflict in black and white, Iago emphasises on the racial demarcation between Othello and Desdemona, that “an old black ram is tupping your white ewe,” associating Othello with uncontrolled animalistic sexuality. Iago’s overt and vicious racism becomes representative of the reigning stereotype of the African on the

It the only thing that makes him estranged from all the other characters. In the opening scene of the play, Shakespeare “exoticizes Othello with [his] references to him not by name but as, "the Moor," and as an "extravagant and wheeling stranger" (1.1.58 and 1.1.37)”(Aubrey 1). During that time black people were slaves which is why the racism in Othello was definitely racism and one of Iago’s forms of control. Othello earned his status despite his physical appearance, so its lowering to use that description of Othello when he is more than that. Furthermore, not only is Othello being outcasted in the play but also to the audience. It is set by Iago that the idea of a black man and a white woman together is inhuman. He constantly uses derogatory terms to describe to Brabantio To corrupt Othello and Desdemona’s relations. Iago claims that Brabantio will “have [his] daughter covered with a Barbary horse. [He’ll] have [his] nephews neigh to [him]. [He'll] have coursers for cousins and jennets for germans” (Act 1 scene 1 line 125-127 )if he does not do anything to stop them. Iago says this to describe to Brabantio what his mixed would look like. Moreover the animals he uses are not pure breeds which is what he want to emphasize to Brabantio that the act itself of Othello and Desdemona being together is bestial nut having his grandkids being mixed is something that Brabantio cannot stand to think about. Iago

In Shakespeare?s play, numerous examples were given as to how the women are treated like second class citizens. Those examples are concurrent with the Elizabethan time period pertaining to the rules of dating and marriage, respect for elders, and obedience to figures of authority. Children were the property of their parents, and gave them the respect that a servant might give to his master. This was a time when male domination was the norm. In this patriarchal society, women had very little, if any, choice in whom their husbands were to be. In order for families to benefit, marriages were arranged. Shakespeare demonstrates this in the relationships between the dominant Theseus, Egeus, and Oberon and the characters they attempt to control. Egeus demands that his daughter, Hermia, must either marry Demetrius or answer to Athenian law. Theseus orders that if Hermia does not marry his son, she will face death or be sent to a nunnery. Oberon, the king of fairies, after arguing with his Titania over an Indian boy, decides that he will disregard her wants and attempt to control her without

Iago uses racial slurs comparing Othello to an animal once again when he is waking Brabantos up. He says an “old black ram” comparing Othello to an animal and once again dehumanizing him. Tupping, has slept with your white ewe talking about Desdimona. Almost as if trying to plant a fear inside of Barbantos or that if he should have a fear of this animal sleeping with this white pristine woman. Playing on the social insecurities created that have imprisoned Brabantio. “Brabantio. This is Venice. My house is not a

to be weak and naïve in the eyes of her father. We can tell this from

The fear of interracial marriage in Venetian society is used by Iago in an attempt to alienate Othello. Othello himself acknowledges the fact that interracial marriage is frowned upon and that racism still applies to him despite his position. A common attitude in Venetian society is that black men and women are inhuman and animalistic in nature; Iago capitalizes on this idea in order to aid his plan of antagonizing Othello. Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, is a prime example of the attitude of Venetian society as a whole, in the sense that he “loved” Othello as long as he remained a servant of Venice and would rather Othello not intermingle amongst the Venetian society. Initially Brabantio “oft invited [Othello]” to his home and “queston’d [him] the story of [his] life”, showing an admiration and sincere interest for Othello’s

In Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello and Desdemona’s marriage was doomed from the start. They did not start well; their marriage was controversial because of their race and Othello’s failure to follow proper etiquette while he was courting her. However these issues could have been overcome with time. The biggest problem is Othello’s attitude to Desdemona. Othello’s model of Desdemona prevents him from considering her a person. He thinks of her instead as superior to himself in every way, to the point that she is a god. Her race, beauty, and status make her godly in his mind. She becomes untouchable in Othello’s mind, and he begins to distance himself from her. Because Othello thinks of Desdemona as “Alabaster”(5.2.5) he will never consider

Iago plays on Othello’s own insecurity about his race to trigger jealousy; an example of this would be his observation on lines 227 and 228, where he insinuates that Desdemona may be better suited to somebody “of her own clime, complexion and degree”. This follows a quote from Othello, stating that his relationship is ‘nature erring from itself’, allowing the audience to see his own uncertainty about his ethnic background, which Iago then develops and twists to suit his needs. Iago’s quote implies that Desdemona would be better matched with a man of similar race, such as Cassio, rather than Othello, which is designed to spark jealousy within Othello, and is shown to have a profound effect on him towards the end of the scene, with his aside to the audience “Why did I marry”.

The most influential impact on Othello and Desdemona’s relationship was the differences in race. Differences in races have –and will- impact on relationships for a very long time. Desdemona was fair skinned, as was the rest of her family, and Othello was a dark-skinned Moor. Race discrimination has been an issue for thousands of years, with the common misconception, that ‘whites’ are better then ‘blacks’. Othello and Desdemona put this judgment aside, and fell in love with each other. This, of course, shocked others around them, primarily Desdemona’s father, Brabantio. Brabantio had liked and trusted Othello, before he found out that he was with his daughter. He couldn’t accept them being together, and believed that Othello had put a spell on Desdemona, as ‘black’ people were often presumed to be part takers of witchcraft. Othello also felt threatened by other ‘white’ man around Desdemona, particularly Casio, which made him jump to the conclusion of

When Iago makes a point of including Othello’s race in a conversation with a confidant, it proves that he feels that Othello’s race is the reason for his actions. There is an obvious abhorrence for Othello based upon his race. Later in the play, Iago goes on to say “If she had been blessed, she would never have loved the Moor” (Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum “WRAC” ). This statement shows that Iago is jealous of Othello because he won the love of Desdemona and is cause for insecurities on his part. Iago must now question his marriage and whether or not Othello is cause for infidelity. These insecurities act as extra motivation for Iago’s actions.

Othello is a Moor, born in northern Africa. From the beginning of the play Iago voices a hatred for Othello rooted in his race. In Act I Scene I Iago refers to Othello as, “an old black ram,” (90), “…a Barbary horse…” (113), and speaks to the unnaturalness of the union between Desdemona and Othello saying, “…your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs” (116-17). These quotes are all derogatory terms, demeaning Othello and comparing him to an animal. Sixteenth century audiences would have seen this comparison to animals very offensive because at that time the chain of being was very important. The chain of being is a hierarchical order of creation. At the top are humans (reason), followed by animals (motion, sense), plants (growth), and stones (mere existence). Calling Othello a ram and a horse made him less than human in Elizabethan times, expressing Iago’s deep rooted hatred of Othello based on race. When referring to the two backed beast Iago reveals his belief that the marriage of Othello, a Moor, and Desdemona, a Venetian, is unnatural. Later in the play he also says, “Not to affect many proposed matches/ Of her own clime, complexion, and degree, / Whereto we see in all things nature tends-/ Foh! One may smell in such a will most rank, / Foul disproportion, thoughts unnatural” (Act III Scene III, 245-49)

One of the major issues in Shakespeare's Othello is the impact of the race of the main character, Othello. His skin color is non-white, usually portrayed as African although some productions portray him as an Arabian. Othello is referred to by his name only seventeen times in the play. He is referred to as "The Moor" fifty-eight times. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) states that a Moor is "Any individual of the swarthy races of Africa or Asia which have adopted the Mohammedan religion. In Spanish history the terms Moo, Saracens, and Arabs are synonymous." This indicates that Othello is constantly being degraded and set up as an evil person throughout the play. What this really means is that

Therefore, even before Othello is physically presented to the audience, the Elizabethan audience would already have an image of Othello being wild and “moorish” since they would have the similar notion as Iago and Rodrigo towards black men. Therefore, Shakespeare establishes the racist concepts from the very beginning of the play to set the base for the tragic downfall of Othello. Racist language is not only limited to the beginning of the play; it is constant throughut the play. Iago uses racist words when he wakes up Brabantio to inform him about Desdemona’s marriage. Iago says an “old black ram” is “tupping” Brabnatio’s “white ewe” which is highly racist and reveals the Elizabethan society’s prejudice against black men. The Elizabethan era believed that black men have animal-like and sexual nature and Iago uses this notion to make Brabantio fear about the mixed marriage and persuade him to stand against Othello. Also, Iago makes use of the racist Elizabethan notion that the colour black meant evilness by calling Othello as “the devil”. This is ironical because in the play, Iago is the one who is playing the role of “the devil” whereas Othello just the biggest victim who is manipulated by Iago. The irony adds on as Iago, white man, is the most evil one in the play where normally according to Elizabethan racist notion, black men are the one who should be the

Roderigo is the first to bring the racist attitude to the surface when he refers to Othello as "the thick-lips" (66). Iago retorts by referring to Othello as “an old black ram” (88). Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, suddenly despises Othello. Iago shouts that Desdemona is being mounted by a "Barbary horse" (112) and Brabantio’s in-laws or future family of Desdemona’s suitor will be “gennets” (113) or black Spanish horses. Even though Brabantio has told Roderigo that he is “not to haunt about my doors” (96) because he is not a suitable partner for his daughter, his sudden despise for Othello has no obvious base other than the implied racism.