The Oppression Of Women In Shakespeare's Othello

/ [Duke:] If you please, / Be't at her father's. / [Brabantio:] I'll not have it so. / [Othello:] Nor I. / [Desdemona:] Nor I" (I.iii.254-262). Even in time of war, Othello's and Desdemona's love holds true. They cannot stand living apart for a long period of time. Brabantio also knows that Desdemona will only show her loyalty to Othello, so he would rather have her away with Othello than home with him. Much later, Othello and Desdemona again show each other their love. Othello plans revelry for the evening in celebration of the defeat of the Turks and in celebration of his marriage to Desdemona. Once the celebration begins, Othello leaves Cassio on guard and departs to consummate his marriage: "Come, my dear love, -- / The purchase made, the fruits are to ensue; / The profit's yet to come `tween me and you" (II.iii.9-11). Othello only wishes for the best from his new marriage with Desdemona. He shows no sign of any desire for anything bad to happen. Othello's and Desdemona's marriage stays free of problems because their love for each other stays strong.

The society in which Othello takes place is a patriarchal one, where men had complete control over women. They were seen as possessions rather than being just as equally human and capable of duties performed by men. All women of the Elizabethan were to obey all men, fathers, brothers, husbands, etc. Which leads me to the most reliable and trustworthy character of Desdemona, whom goes through many trials just to satisfy her love. Shakespeare brings the thought of Desdemona into the play by Barbantio, her father, “It is too true an evil. Gone she is.\...Oh, she deceives me\ Past thought! …” (1.1.163)(1.1.168-169), whom has just found she has taken off with Othello and firstly suspects they have been hitched. Shakespeare gives reader the

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

“Othello” begins in middle of an argument between Roderigo and Iago. Desdemona and Othello’s wedding is the main topic of their argument. Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who is treated as a possession of her father, Brabantio, but by marrying an outsider Othello, she goes against the tradition of venetian custom which she is expected to marry a rich man to maintain her family’s honour. Iago reports Brabantio that his daughter is being stolen by Othello. “Awake! What ho, Brabantio! Thieves, thieves!” (1.1. 76). This quote depicts how unmarried women were treated back in 16’s century. However, while everyone in the play thinks that Othello has stolen Desdemona to marry him, Desdemona speaks herself to prove that she truly loves Othello. “That I love the Moor to love with him” (1.3. 246). Also, she even asks for her permission to go to Cyprus with Othello because she can’t stand the thought of remaining at home, which doesn’t have any adventure. There is a comparison between her social class and her

In a deep analysis, this phrase best explains the expectation of a women in Venice that they are supposed to agree in accordance of all their husband’s will and use them in any way their husbands wish to utilize them. Furthermore, the capacity of women as connected to marriage was portrayed by the sweet message that came from the lips of Othello to Desdemona. “Come, my dear love. The purchase has made, the fruits are ensue; The profit’s yet to come ‘tween me and you” (Act II, Scene 2, Line 8-10, Page 100). With this statement, it can be said that purchase and marriage are synonymous. If the message is read between the lines, it can be inferred that Othello purchased or bought Desdemona and she is anticipated to meet the sexual pleasures that Othello need or want. Tied to women perceived as possessions is their personal assumed characteristic of being passive.

Although misperceptions about the other gender are dangerous causes of downfall, flawed views among one’s own gender are also great contributors to destruction. Othello and Desdemona best exemplify this notion. Desdemona presents herself as pure, compassionate, and understanding towards everyone, especially Othello. Shakespeare theorizes on how some women believe the stereotype about females is valid and must be followed, and men can exhibit the same

Othello is set during the Elizabethan era, where men were considered to be the leaders and women their inferiors. Women were often regarded as the ‘weaker sex’. This patriarchal society and theme of male superiority is portrayed throughout the play. These themes are depicted through the relationships between the characters. Brabantio and Desdemona’s relationship shows how he believed the traditional Elizabethan view, that men were to control and dominate their wife’s or daughters. He is furious at Othello for stealing his daughter from him. Also, Othello’s masculinity is destroyed through the poisoning of his mind against Desdemona, his wife. Iago also treats his wife

During this time period, but less so now, the idea of a woman cheating was outrageous. The man would be thought of as less because he cannot control his wife. This double standard also goes so that if a man cheats, he is simply doing his duty. Women are to be obedient creatures yet when they have a thought that is undesirable they are slandered. The thought of cuckoldry impacts both Othello and Iago. For Iago, he uses it as a reason to ruin Othello's relationship with Desdemona. After being told that he is a cuckold, Othello becomes vulnerable to Iago's words. Men are seen as strong protectors however once they believe that they are being cheated on, they become weak and easily influenced by others' words while becoming their wife's worst enemy.

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.

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.

    Othello represents a prime example of Shakespeare's ability to develop relationships between the sexes so as to demonstrate those relationships' weaknesses. In Othello, the sexes are divided by misconceptions and ego- centric views of the opposite gender. The men of the play, in particular Othello, maintain a patriarchal, chivalric notion of the sexes, while the women of the play yearn for more involvement in their husbands' affairs. So it is that the thrust of the play emerges from "the opposition of attitudes, viewpoints, and sexes." (Neely 214)

Desdemona is shown as the most pure and proper of the women in Othello and is put into the center of all the drama. The men of the play manipulate her image of a naive lover to being a “ ...strumpet!” (V.ii.94). Desdemona is oblivious to what is going on around her and stays loyal to her morals but Iago’s rumours lure Othello to thinking otherwise. Desdemona’s true morals is her absolute devotion to her husband. She stayed loyal to her lover throughout the entire play and in the end it did her no good. “Nobody; I myself. Farewell! Commend me to my kind lord. O, farewell!” Desdemona on her deathbed, still defends her Lord’s actions. She does not fight back nor call for help, Desdemona begs for her life asking to “Kill me (Desdemona) tomorrow; let me live tonight!” (V.ii.97). She is not as strong-willed like the other ladies and is Shakespeare’s example of the archetype of the innocence and has the bases of a flat character. After the

In this scene of Othello, Shakespeare explores the characterization of Desdemona and Emilia to portray their opposing views on fidelity. As Shakespeare reveals, Desdemona’s naivety makes her unsupportive of any form of disloyalty, however, Emilia’s wordly nature argues for the wife's right to sleep with someone else once their husband has already cheated. Not only does the two women’s traits present different perspectives to a problem but it brings them closer together. As Desdemona walks back to her room with Emilia, after Othello has commanded her to go to bed, she begins to think about fidelity.

The women attempt to act unfazed by this in an attempt at not seeming weak or vulnerable. Desdemona does acknowledge this disrespect and lack of reason when Othello is accusing her of being disloyal to him. “Heaven stops the nose at it and the moon winks” (4.2.88). This roughly translates to “Heaven has to block his nose when you are around and the moon must close his eyes”. Othello dumped all of his anger on Desdemona without asking her, nor Cassio for their opinion on the topic, leading to catastrophic results. Desdemona, understanding her position in society as a woman, didn’t fight back and accepted that she was unable to do anything about it. Othello is using the power that is granted towards him by the society to aggressively let Desdemona know that she did something wrong. Contrary to what Desdemona did in this situation, some women decide to defy the odds of gender stereotypes. When Emilia is livid about Desdemona getting accused by the Moore of being a whore and ends up calling out her own