Critical Lens FEMINISM Thesis Statement To what extent are the woman in the play oppressed? William Shakespeare's 'Othello' has strong associations to feminist theory and can be be read from said perspective. A Feminist analysis of Othello not only allows us to evaluate the social values in the play, but also enables us to review the extend of which women were subject to oppression in the Elizabethan era. Lois Tyson summarises feminist premises in her second edition of 'Critical thinking today', with the first point being 'Women are oppressed by patriarchy economically, politically, socially, and psychologically; patriarchal ideology is the primary means by which they are kept so.' The word 'oppressed' can be subjective at times and is not defined in Tyson’s premises, therefore we can assume …show more content…
Of which is, according to dictionary.com is to be subject to 'burden with cruel or unjust impositions or restraints; subject to a burdensome or harsh exercise of authority or power'. I believe that Othello mirrors the oppression of which took place in the Elizabethan era and thus heavily oppresses women in the play, on the contrary I also have the strong belief that Shakespeare made intentional attempts to create conflict and provoke thought, through giving women moments of power in the play. A vital factor of feminist literary criticism is the focus on the objectification of women, while also being a important part of Tyson’s first summarised premise. Martha Nussbaum (1995, 257) identifies seven aspects or forms of which objectification can take. These are, instrumentality, denial of autonomy, inertness, fungibility, violability, ownership and denial of subjectivity. Othello shows distinct evidence of the sixth identifier of objectification, ownership, defined by Nussbaum as 'the treatment of a person as something that is owned by another (can be bought or
The powerlessness of women is an issue that has tainted the halls of history for a substantial period of time. In Shakespeare’s Othello powerlessness of women a very evident issue whether or not it was addressed at the time. Shakespeare illustrates this
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.
Feminist critical lens examines certain texts with a primary focus on both gender’s relationship with each other and how such relationships demonstrate effects towards beliefs, behaviors, and values. This critical lens also examines a patriarchal-centered society and how such society define and interact with women with an emphasis on stereotypes of both genders that are present and evident in the text being analyzed. William Shakespeare’s Othello can be scrutinized through the feminist critical lens. A deep analysis focused on feminism of the play Othello paves way for the judgement of different societal status of women in the period when the play took place, the Elizabethan society. Othello is a best fit that demonstrates how men were
The feminist school has various goals when being used to scrutinize a piece of literature. As Gillespie points out, historically texts were written by males with primarily male protagonists, and thus, the male sentiment is most dominantly expressed in many works of literature. The lessened representation of women in literature is usually confined to typical stereotypes of the historical period. This can be seen in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, and this will be further explored and discussed. Through the feminist lens, women’s presence and portrayal in the play, as well as the common stereotypes about women in Shakespearean society, can be studied carefully, despite the centuries that have passed between the play’s conception and the present. Additionally, as stated in Literary Theories: A Sampling of Critical Lenses,
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.
Women in this play often faced prejudice and discrimination that limited them from reaching their full potential. Shakespeare’s portrayal of women cast in the perfunctory roles he places on them prove him to be a misogynist. One area where Shakespeare manifests
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.
In Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, the title character is a 16th century Moorish general of the Venetian army who, because of the cultural and historical background of the play’s setting, the playwright, and the original intended audience, is portrayed as both well-respected for his military prowess and disparaged for his race which eventually makes Othello become insecure which then leads to his destruction. Similar to the contrasting portrayals in Othello, America’s history of dehumanizing women while at the same time expecting them to be the backbone of the household create a change in how women are viewed to men and to other women. Women in today’s society are both highly regarded for fighting to be seen as equal to men because they fought for their rights, but are also constantly stereotyped as dependent on men.
In the book “Gender Trouble” (1990), feminist theorist Judith Butler explains “gender is not only a social construct, but also a kind of performance such as a show we put on, a costume or disguise we wear” (Butler). In other words, gender is a performance, an act, and costumes, not the main aspect of essential identity. By understanding this theory of gender as an act, performance, we can see how gender has greatly impacted the outcome of the play in William Shakespeare’s Othello. From a careful analysis of the story, tragedy in Othello is result of violating expected gender roles, gender performance by Desdemona and Othello, and the result of Iago’s inability to tolerate these violations.
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.
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
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.
There are only three female characters in William Shakespeare's play Othello, Desdemona, Othello’s wife, Emilia, Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s lady-in-waiting, and Bianca, a courtesan. When first introduced to this limited number of representatives of the female gender, it is quickly assumed that they will not be very present or have an important role in story. In addition, the male characters of the play see women as submissive and promiscuous possessions that should be controlled by either their fathers or spouses. However Shakespeare’s female characters are shown to question male authority and to have the ability to speak for themselves, which could be seen as feminist statement during the Elizabethan time that Shakespeare lived in.