The Relationship Between Madame Danglas And Dumas In Shakespeare's Othello

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.

Shakespeare mocks society’s extreme measures by suggesting death as the sole option for Othello when he fails to understand that Desdemona may not fit female stereotypes. Without the ability to label her, Othello fails to “assert Desdemona’s chastity and corruptibility simultaneously” and “murders Desdemona to redeem her from degradation” (Neely). The characters, like many people, struggle to alter views that have been so firmly pressed into their minds. In this way, Shakespeare negatively comments on humans’ inabilities to see beyond what society tells them and to comprehend truths unique to a specific person rather than his gender roles. Shakespeare uses the characters Desdemona and Othello to display how people become accustomed to the gender identities that society defines for them. Therefore, both characters, as depicted by their deaths, fail to understand each other personally as individuals instead of as the stereotypical man or woman that is being presented.

to be weak and naïve in the eyes of her father. We can tell this from

Dumas, Alexandre. The Count of Monte Cristo. Trans. Lowell Bair. New York: Bantam Edition, 1956. Print.

Alexandre Dumas was a master of literature; the sheer artistry in The Count of Monte Cristo makes this abundantly clear. His command of parallelism, his employ of subtle yet vivid characterization, and, most markedly, his frequent use of irony are the evidence. The latter in particular is common and used for a purpose. At times, irony is applied to insert a sliver of humor into otherwise heavy scenes; this is especially true with Dumas’s application of verbal irony. At other times, irony is exercised in order to act as a plot point. Overall, the author’s use of irony is crucial to the story’s progression.

As Edmond Dantes loses his dignity, he takes a new role as Count of Monte Cristo and other personas that was only a secret to himself and the audience, which is a form of dramatic irony. After Dantes escaped from prison, he goes to Monsieur Marseilles and tells him that he was “the head clerk of the firm of Thomson and French,”(Dumas 111) whose role he uses to buy an investment. Here he disguises himself as the head clerk of the firm of Thompson and French to prevent others from knowing, which is dramatic irony since the audience knows something that the characters in the novel don’t. Not only were his personas a form of dramatic irony, but incidents that occured after Edmond’s imprisonment were also a type of dramatic irony. Noirtier had hidden the fact that he “killed [Frank’s father]”(Dumas 310) from Franz, which is a form of dramatic irony since the audience knew about it. Through this fact, the reader can view Noirtier as very dangerous individual but also as a protective grandparent since he hid this fact from Valentine to protect her. Later, Caderousse and Andrea plans a robbery that will take place in the Count of Monte Cristo’s house, but this robbery didn’t stay a secret for long. The Count of Monte Cristo was given a letter that warned him of an upcoming robbery, and the Count inferred that “they want to kill me,”(Dumas 330) which led him to be prepared. Dumas uses dramatic irony here because it leads the Count to be prepared without Caderousse knowing, which

In the play, The Tragedy of Othello, judging from the relationship between Desdemona and Othello, seems to say that marriage based on an innocent romantic love is bound to fail. There is a common thread of betrayal and deceit among many characters. Othello and Desdemona being the most vividly portrayed. The two appear to love one another romantically at first, but it soon after transforms into a secular love. This comes to pass because there is no foundation for a relationship. There is no trust, no communication, and no understanding.

In Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello and Desdemona’s marriage was doomed from the start. They did not start well; their marriage was controversial because of their race and Othello’s failure to follow proper etiquette while he was courting her. However these issues could have been overcome with time. The biggest problem is Othello’s attitude to Desdemona. Othello’s model of Desdemona prevents him from considering her a person. He thinks of her instead as superior to himself in every way, to the point that she is a god. Her race, beauty, and status make her godly in his mind. She becomes untouchable in Othello’s mind, and he begins to distance himself from her. Because Othello thinks of Desdemona as “Alabaster”(5.2.5) he will never consider

"You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not” (Picoult, 384). This quote is the definition of true love, something the two protagonists of this play sadly never had. The tragedy Othello is about a general of the Venetian army, and his beautiful wife Desdemona, whose lives are completely ruined by the deceitful, cunning, and cowardly Iago. One of Iago’s biggest accomplishments was breaking up Othello and Desdemona's relationship by getting it into Othello’s head that Desdemona was cheating on him. This really made the reader question Othello’s feelings towards Desdemona as for someone who claimed to have love Desdemona with a passion, Othello sure was quick to believe Iago’s lies and turn on Desdemona. Based on his actions towards Desdemona, Othello proved that he does not truly love Desdemona because he is insecure, lacks trust, and is a very jealous person.

Furthermore Desdemona finds herself and her self-worth in question after Othello’s cruel treatment to her. She says " And his unkindness may defeat my life,/ But never taint my love" (4.2 line 159-160) Shakespeare makes the characters think love will bring them the most joy, but it actually brings them the most pain and suffering. This is done to portray that uncertainly of all that is in life and to make one think more about putting all ones faith, or hope in one object or person.

It is here that the audience begins seeing a different identity of Othello. Who was once regarded as so valiant and courageous, was now beginning to show signs of severe insecurities dealing with matters, most importantly, such as his lack of experience in love and marriage causing shadows of doubt over his confidence in himself and his ability to be loved by and worthy of someone like Desdemona. Desdemona, although not intentionally, seems to be the reason for all the unrest in Othello. This is an instance in the play when irony shines it's smiling face upon Shakespeare's most tragic characters. Othello feels truly happy with the presence of Desdemona in his life (Act II.1, 181-187):

Daringly, Shakespeare opens this tragedy of love not with a direct and sympathetic portrayal of the lovers themselves, but with a scene of vicious insinuation about their marriage. The images employed by Iago to describe the coupling of Othello and Desdemona are revoltingly animalistic, sodomistic. [. . .] This degraded view reduces the marriage to one of utter

Othello and Desdemona’s manifestly love-filled relationship was somewhat shielded by society’s views of the age, social position and race differences, that would evidently cause implications. In the late sixteenth century, the time in which Othello is based, it was disreputable to do anything that was thought of as abnormal, for example, marrying below your class. Othello and Desdemona’s relationship was quickly looked down upon, simply due to the fact that it was seen as

In Shakespeare’s play “Othello” the main characters Othello and Desdemona suffer a tragic fate due to their actions and unforeseen circumstances. A majority of Desdemona’s suffering is down to Iago’s manipulation. However, it could also be argued that Iago is not completely to blame for the misfortune of Desdemona. We as the readers can see evidence of this at certain points in the play where Iago has planted the seeds of despair and Desdemona and Othello have fallen for his plans. In this essay, I will look at key moments in the play where Desdemona is presented as a tragic victim by the writer and justify why she is a tragic victim using quotes from the play.

The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas is an adventure and historical fiction novel that encompasses forgiveness, power, and vengeance. The story follows the adventure of Edmond Dantès, who dedicated the rest of his life to getting vengeance on the men who crossed him. Critics Justin Kaplan and Bryan Aubrey both explain their views on Dumas’ work, in great detail. Kaplan, in Treasure and Vengeance, speaks of his own life, and connects it with Dumas’ work. Aubrey, in his critical essay, on the other hand analyzes Dumas’ piece strictly based upon Edmond’s morality.