Feminine Roles in Othello Essay

Desdemona, the daughter of Venetian senator Brabantio, is captivated by Othello’s fables of bravery as a warrior and she falls in love with him. In view of the fact that Desdemona is a “fair” woman and Othello is “an old black ram”, commonly referred to as ‘the Moor’, their marriage indicates that her fate might be tragic. In ‘Othello’, Desdemona is portrayed as a courageous young woman whose character is used against her in plotting her death. The particularly unfortunate event is the irony that the very qualities of her personality that make her a good woman defeated her.

The basis of Shakespeare’s plays appears to focus mainly around the dominant male character and his conflicts, which tend to deal with a woman. There are only three women in the play Othello; Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca. The way in which these women behave and present themselves strongly reflects the ideological expectations of women within Shakespeare’s imagined Venetian society as well as the Elizabethan society in which he lived. This patriarchal Venetian society presented in the play depicts women as possessions of men who should remain submissive and meek at all times. The women are expected to unselfishly and unreservedly devote their lives to serve their fathers until they are of age to do so, their husbands. All three women love

Alongside this chain of events triggered by the avarice of Iago is another chain of events springing from innocence and morality. They center around the characters of Desdemona and Othello: She leaves her selfish father to share her love with the ideal man. He calmly rebuts the accusations, some prejudicial in nature, against his conduct toward Desdemona. She defends the Moor’s moral integrity and her own in front of the council; he does likewise. She unselfishly agrees to live with another family while her husband is busied in the war with the Turks; he concurs in this sacrifice. While waiting with Emilia and Iago at Cyprus, she heroically calls the ancient a “slanderer” and comes to the aid of his wife, who has been repeatedly downtrodden and hit upon by Iago. When the general’s ship arrives safely into the Cyprus port, he immediately greets his wife before anyone else, “O my fair warrior!” and “O my soul's joy!” When Governor Montano asks Cassio if the Moor is wived he responds with: “Most fortunately: he hath achieved a maid

The tragedy of Othello, written by William Shakespeare, presents the main character Othello, as a respectable, honorable, and dignified man, but because of his insecurities and good nature, he is easily taken advantage of and manipulated by his peers and alleged friends. The dynamic of Othello’s character significantly changes throughout the play. The contrast is most pronounced from the beginning of the play to its conclusion, switching from being calm and peaceful to acts of uncontrolled venomous rage. Othello’s motivation in the play appears to be his love and concern for his wife Desdemona, which ironically, ends up being his downfall in the end.

Contextually it is important to understand how women are presented as tragic victims of men in ‘Othello’. Contemporary views of women were, according to Sir Thomas Elyot “to be mild, timorous, tractable, benign, of sure remembrance, and shamefast.” Conversely men were seen to be “fierce, strong in opinion, covetous of glory, desirous of knowledge, appetiting by generation to bring for his semblable.” Elyot’s views of the contemporary man, though much grander than those of women, could prove to be their downfall in ‘Othello’. Shakespeare’s protagonist’s downfall could be based on the fact that he is desirous of knowledge, and Iago’s manipulation of Othello’s trustworthy nature suggests that not only are women the tragic victims of men, but it is men who are also victims of men.

    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.

Desdemona starts to talk so lovingly of Othello, yet she hardly knows him. It helped me understand how Desdemona was overwhelmed by Othello’s virility and maleness.

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

By tying Othello’s new evil nature with a woman, the play has again reinforces the stereotype that sinful women purposefully hurt men. This idea that women will cause men to become evil, forcing the reader into the belief that women should be stripped of sexual power, because they will use it to manipulate men. By classifying women in that way, the play supports the idea that women are manipulative beings that the viewer should hate.

Shakespeare had portrayed various themes of humans’ feelings inside his play, Othello. Love, jealousy, repentance, betrayal and racism were all shown throughout the story. Gender roles in Othello played a very important element for the construction of this whole play. The way men and women were shown were considered to be pretty different from general idea of their roles compared to modern societies.

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.

To some extent, slowly but steadily, the heroine’s thoughts, believes, ways of behavior undergo transformation. “My love doth so approve him That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns – Prithee unpin me – have grace and favor in them” (Lee Jaimieson) On the one hand, she is a pure, fragile creature, who falls deep in love with her husband and who has the guts to conflict with her father for the sake of being happy. But, on the other hand, she becomes to realize crystal clear that she is under the charge of jealousy Othello and evil Iago. For example, Iago persuades Othello, by hooks and crooks, to accept the fact that Desdemona is an negative person. So, undoubtedly, she loses her innocence and under the pressure of Moor, Desdemona lies to

In William Shakespeare’s Othello, if we read the play in women’s direction, we can see the situation of women in Shakespeare’s time and their features. There are lots of figures, motifs and examples about concept of woman in Othello. It is obvious that in Othello women are only exist for marriage. Women’s duties are simple; take care of the houseworks and children.

Gender Issues in Othello Gender issues have impacted many aspects of life, one such aspect being literature. William Shakespeare and his literature were no exception to this as they were subjected and influenced by these gender issues. One of his more infamous works of literature that display these gender issues is the Shakespearean play Othello. Throughout the play, gender issues that occurred during the time of Shakespeare are portrayed, more notably how Shakespeare viewed women, how men viewed women, and how gender influenced the story and the choices that were available in for women during that time.

Feminism is and has always been a prominent focus in society. Specifically during the Renaissance, when Shakespeare’s Othello was written, were women thought of as subordinate to men. Shakespeare portrays women as merely FOIL characters to their male counterparts throughout the play. They help shed light on the men’s dark sides as well as their true faults. Their roles include wives, prostitutes, and even messengers. The women in the play are disrespected and treated as lesser beings. Although there are imperative female characters in Shakespeare’s Othello, many of them are treated as tools or objects and are disrespected by the men, specifically Iago, Othello and Cassio.