Shakespeare's Othello-Sacrifice Of Women In Ancient Times

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

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.

Her death is therefore her punishment, furthermore making Emilia a tragic victim as she has died through no fault of her own. Like Emilia, Desdemona is also a tragic victim of the men in ‘Othello’. Her murder, like Emilia’s, is through no fault of her own is a result of Othello’s jealousy and Iago’s interference. What makes Desdemona even more tragic to the audience is the fact that even in death she tries to protect her husband, telling Emilia that she has killed herself, “nobody, I myself”, this further depicts to the audience that Desdemona is a good and pure character. Her devotion to her husband makes her a tragic victim in the play as she can not be blamed for her death.

Desdemona is considered a sincere, kind, -and above all-, an honest wife and woman in general. She is like a model of the perfect woman of that time. We can find proof in her honesty when she and Emilia are talking about infidelity, and Desdemona's words are "Beshrew me, if I would do such a wrong

Desdemona- Desdemona is Othello 's wife and her goal is to prove to Othello that she loves him. They make a sacrifice by eloping without her father knowing. She stays faithful to Othello the entire time despite his suspicion raised by Iago. She spends the entire time wondering why he 's being this way towards her and trying to steer his judgement in the other direction with the help of Emilia. This is to no prevail because she becomes the victim in the end due to the actions of Iago. She serves as a foil to Emilia because their ideals contrast each other. Desdemona has a naïveté to her that prevents her from even believing that wives cheat on their husbands while Emilia is sure of it and even believes the blame falls on the husband for the actions of the wife.

This source helped to show a different side of Desdemona that I had not considered before. Douglass refers to the critic Allardyce Nicoll who shows Desdemona in a positive light when saying she is “pure and innocent” and that in terms of chasity she is a “perfect creature”(A.Nicoll, 457). However he also portrays her as being deceitful which corresponds with arguments made by Margret Loftus Ranald that say “Desdemona is not as innocent as she seem because her conduct is neither innocent, nor is it proper” (M.Ranald, 127-132). Ranald is trying to argue that by Desdemona not gaining her father’s permission when she marries Othello it is deceitful. It would have been highly improper and presumptuous for Desdemona to marry without first obtaining her father's blessing and permission. This makes me question whether Desdemona is really a tragic victim in Othello. This practise of deception establishes an impure aspect of her personality while solidifying her devotion to Othello. She made a move for love behind her father's back, might had she also do so behind Othello's back? I think this does potentially leave her behaviour open to question and is worth

In Shakespeare’s Othello, the role of women is greatly emphasized. The important characters of the play, Othello, Iago, and Cassio, each have a women that stands behind him. These women each have an obligation to remain loyal and respect their husband's wishes, especially Desdemona and Emilia.

In William Shakespeare’s Othello, women were not portrayed as strong. The men in the play does not respect women as they should and in turn, the women see it, yet are powerless due to the high social standard. There are three women in Othello and each one is bound in a relationship with a man; only one survived. In Othello, Emilia and Desdemona are both victims of the men in their lives but they also contribute to their own fate.

At the beginning of the drama, Desdemona wants to marry Othello; even through her father doesn’t want her to. She makes the choice by herself in Act I, scene iii in an act of willfulness. However, in the final scene, when she is murdered, Emilia ask her, “O, who hath done this deed?” Desdemona says , “Nobody, I myself. Farewell. Commend me to my kind lord. O, farewell” (V.ii.133–134). Desdenona takes responsibility of her death because she wants to protect her husband.

In William Shakespeare’s tragic drama “Othello”, Shakespeare puts emphasis on the role of the female characters and their influence on the male protagonists. Othello’s love and jealousy regarding his wife made this play a tragedy. 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. They lived in a society in which a woman was either a whore, or a good, angelic

She was uselessly murdered by Othello and was still loyal to him until her dying breath: “Desdemona:A guiltless death I die. Emilia: Oh, who hath done this deed? Desdemona: Nobody. I myself.

She’s proving she is a devout Christian and wife; because, as a woman, she is expected to be that way. For example, when she is defending herself to Othello, she uses a religious argument: “No, as I am a Christian: if to preserve this vessel for my lord from any other foul unlawful touch be not to be a strumpet, I am none. ”(IV, ii, 82-85) Her diction suggests that she wants to reinforce the idea she is holy and chaste and loyal- she could have used many other words to defend herself but she choses the ones that would make her out to be what she is expected to be. When she is completely alone she speaks to herself: “'Tis meet I should be used so, very meet.

Looking at the play, all along Desdemona is a very feminine character. She most likely acts like a wife and daughter. So full of cares, Desdemona at a point of the play even neglected her house quarrels and goes out to spare fellings with Cassio to try to help with his situations with Othello. So faithful she was, even when she and Othello were not on the best terms, she was still trying to fixed everything even she knows that she was not cheating, which she explains, " Yes, faith, so humbled that he hath left parts of his grief with me to suffer with him. Good love call him

Desdemona is persistent, in telling Othello that what he thinks is false and that she indeed is loyal and has always been to him. “good Christian women,” (act 4, sc. ) She tries to prove her innocence to him by consistently telling the truth. Othello still blocks out what she has said to him, believing in a third person's story rather than the women who he is in a relationship with.

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.