Examples Of Misogyny In William Shakespeare

In the Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, Desdemona proves herself to be a well-spoken, intelligent and loyal woman. In the introduction, Desdemona proves much wit with her choice of words and explanations of her love for “the Moore.” In Act 1 Scene 3 lines 187-88 Desdemona makes her case in favor of her loyal marriage to Othello; “So much I challenge that I may profess/ Due to the Moor my lord,” (1.3.187-88). Women of this era were typically given away by their fathers, but it is seen in Othello that Desdemona created her own path and marries the Moor against her father’s wishes. In fact, Brabanzio states that Othello is a “foul thief” who has “enchanted her [Desdemona],” (1.1.63-4). This beginning deception leads to the demise of Desdemona by the end of the play. She proves to be loyal to Othello allowing his destructive path and personality shape her fate into what now

She is then disowned by Barbantio with no further words directed to her by him but is referenced as a liar and should be kept on watch for her conniving ways by him towards Othello. Which then begins Shakespeare’s in depth writing on Othello and Desdemona’s relationship where she is as “a child to chiding” (4.2.119-120). Not even a moment after her father leaves Othello commands Iago to tell his wife, Emilia, to tend to Desdemona as a babysitter. Irony occurs within (2.1.169-171) where Desdemona challenges Iago and stands as an independent woman for Emilia objecting to his conclusion, that women no matter how beautiful or intelligent play the same “foul pranks”. However, as Othello’s jealousy and rage arises throughout the play it seems as her character has to fight even harder to breathe under his control; symbolic for her death of suffocation. Desdemona is a gentle women living under her love’s control with no power to object even if she had opposed this type of controlling relationship. As a higher class woman she had more power and respect over other women characters such as Emilia or Bianca, but is this dominance enough to feel in control of oneself? It is believed that Shakespeare added the 2 other

Gender stereotypes are not a modern notion and as such expectations and limitations have always existed for both men and women. Fortunately women, who have formerly beared great burdens of discrimination, now have very liberated roles in society as a result of slowly shifting attitudes and values. Shakespeare was integral in challenging the subservient role expected of women in the 16th century. Throughout the play, ‘The Merchant of Venice’, women are expressed as powerful characters who behave, speak and live in a way that breaks away from the conformist role of females during the 16th century. Therefore, the submissive stereotype expected of women in Shakespearean time is confronted and defied through

Shakespeare 's complex play Othello holds numerous pressing issues within its intricate layers that seem to leap out to modern society. One such issue seen by many is the representation of women. Women within the play can be characterized as submissive possessions and temptresses. This ideology, though commonplace in this time period, appears controversial to the modern eye as we deconstruct the characters of this play. This dominate patriarchal society present within the setting merely conditions this belief further as it is prevalent within the characters dialogue.

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.

   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.

n Shakespeare's play Othello many issues are undertaken and explored. The three women play a vital role in this. Only one of the women in this play survives. All the women have no separate identity within the play; all three are married or associated with a male character. Bianca is the mistress of Cassio, Emilia is married to Iago and Desdemona is married with Othello. According to the time that the play was written in and the general hierarchy within Venetian society men hold all the power and women are considered to be of low intellect. Yet it is the women that speak the most sense throughout the play and it is also the women that are able to trust other characters in the play. Each woman represents a different social level, Desdemona

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.

Women, especially Desdemona but Emilia as well, are obviously targets of male violence in Othello. For some reason Shakespeare’s play often put the emphasis on the role of the female characters and their influence on the main male characters. For instance, the result of the passionate love of Romeo for Juliet, the effect of Ophelia’s insanity had on hamlet, and so on. In Othello, Shakespeare made Desdemona and the other women in the play no different; Othello’s jalousie and love made the play a tragedy. Shakespeare made Desdemona the faithful wife of Othello. She was such a kindhearted and wished to make everything work even when the situation where she lost her handkerchief she tried to fix the situation and calming Othello. However, her innocent sympathy towards Cassio made lago’s lies more credible. Overall, one can say that her naïve nature causes her to become a target for the men in the play.

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

It is true that the majority of women in the 17th century were housewives (Lambert). However, in Shakespeare’s eyes, this did not translate to inferiority of women. Instead, he believed that society’s flawed thinking was both unjust and dangerous. He saw women for what they were worth: humans capable of performing and becoming something everyone else could. Regardless of their genders, woman could be just as assiduous, shrewd, and vindictive as their male

In the play Othello , Othello strongly represents feminist criticism because he cares so much about their relationship that he couldn’t handle the thought of her cheating on him. He played a big role in the play from being a powerful governor along with being a deep lover. Othello and Desdemona, the daughter of A senator from Venice, fell for each other and are married behind her father’s back. The father, Brabantio, finds out and says that Othello used his magic on her, but yet he still sent the two to Cyprus together. Othello captured Desdemona with his stories about his past and Desdemona quickly falls in love with him. Even though the love of the two is strong Othello lets his ensign Iago draw him into his lies about his woman showing

Perhaps the theme that is most recurrent in William Shakespeare's plays is that of filial relationships, specifically the relationship between daughter and father. This particular dynamic has allowed Shakespeare to create complex female characters that come into conflict with their fathers over issues ranging from marriage to independence. At the same time, the dramatist exposes his audience to the struggles women face when attempting to assert themselves in a misogynistic world. Through the daughter-father dyads portrayed in The Taming of the Shrew and A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare highlights the effects that gender constraints have on female characters while simultaneously drawing attention to the sharp contrast between both relationships.

With Shakespeare being born in the sixteenth century, there were still three centuries to go before women started the feminist’s movement. However, with his storyline in both The Merchant of the Venice and Twelfth night, the females leads disguised themselves as males to accomplish what needs to be done. Both plays, shows the heroine choices which challenges the characters they interact with. These endearing characters shows similar and different traits. The focus of these plays was based on Portia’s and Viola’s ambition which showed Shakespeare’s respect for women.