Theme Of Women In Othello

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

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.

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

In Shakespeare’s Othello, the nominal character, an honorable Venetian general, is driven to madness through the deceptions of his honest right hand Iago. Iago plots to ruin Othello and through his deception, he drives Othello’s insecurities by implanting the idea of infidelity of his beloved wife Desdemona. Othello goes on to murder his wife, and after he discovers Iago’s plot, he kills himself. In a time when women were looked down upon, Shakespeare crafted a drama in which women took part in major roles. Modeled by Elizabethan England the women in Othello were portrayed in a light justified by society as in Othello, these women were nothing more to than objectified possessions, forced to submit to the ever dying will of their husbands. This is displayed by Desdemona and Emilia’s and relationships with their husbands.

At the outset of the play Iago persuades the rejected suitor of Desdemona, Roderigo, to accompany him to the home of Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, in the middle of the night. Once there the two awaken the senator with loud shouts about his daughter’s elopement with Othello. This is the initial reference to the role of women in the play – the

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 order to succeed requires taking chances. Taking chances requires courage. Many are held back from expressing their courage because of what society has shaped civilians. Women, especially, are entitled with fragile or emotionally unstable compared to men. Therefore, women rely heavily on men in order to achieve happiness. However, Mary Wollstonecraft, a feminist who wrote From a Vindication of the Rights of Women, who beliefs are opposite from society believed that all women have the full potential to do the same challenges as men. Having said that the play Othello, by William Shakespeare, only has three female characters throughout the play which can conclude how women are overshadowed by men.

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

In creating our collage, we wanted to convey one of the central themes in Othello, and that is one of female inferiority. While we don’t know if Shakespeare was either mocking or reflecting the society he was living in, the theme is presented as one that was important to the lives of Othello and his men. We touched on many different aspects of how women were projected in the book, as well as throughout different time periods in our physical representation of the theme. With the use of color, words, and images we collectively explicated how both of us interpreted the book and how the class interpreted our theme, as discussed in class. Our collage had many graphic including one of a sculpture of a man and woman both naked and intertwined, cut-outs from various magazines dealing with topics ranging from women's’ menstrual cycles and sanitary products, to

The women in Othello are synonymous with Venetian societal standards. Only three women are characters in Othello: Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca but the roles these women play give the reader an idea of how women were portrayed, not only in Shakespeare's Othello but in society in general.

In the play, Othello, Shakespeare displays a patriarchal, or male dominated, society in which women are seen as the inferior. Women are expected to be loyal, do as told and to never question the judgment of men. The three women in the play, Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca, represent three different classes of women with the same expectations. Class standing didn’t make a difference in what was expected of them, but certain acts can bring one down by class. Through Desdemona and the other two women, the audience is shown the injustice that Renaissance women face in marriage and in society.

In medieval literature women are portrayed in many ways, two of which are exemplified in Shakespeare’s works. In Shakespeare’s Othello Desdemona epitomizes the ideal wife, while Emilia portrays opposite qualities although both women love their husbands. Through this story, and many others, a reader may learn how authors of medieval literature viewed women in their time, forever encapsulated in literature. Even in the beginning of Othello, one can tell that Desdemona is madly in love with Othello. She epitomizes the ideal wife by pledging her love and allegiance to her husband over anyone else, including her father.

Othello by William Shakespeare was written in an era where women were considered a piece of property and only meant to appease their husbands. Society in the early 1600’s did not respect women or even consider them as an individual with rights. Shakespeare perfectly exemplifies this through his famous plays, especially Othello. William Shakespeare interestingly demonstrates the dramatic portrayal of women through the main characters’ actions and words.

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

This article's main point discusses the deeper meaning of character's actions along with the behaviors each character experience. Bloom and Heims attempt to demonstrate this idea by characterizing Othello as, "a proud, strong, experienced, and disciplined soldier" any other terms such as "gullible" would make his character weak and less masculine (54). Othello's description fabricate the idea that emotions are a sign of weakness for males. Male characters are seen as strong and powerful. On the other hand, Bloom and Neil state, "Emilia’s nature was not very delicate or scrupulous" (143). Female characters in Othello are depicted to act a certain way, such as Emilia's character is discriminated for acting outside the norm. Bloom and Heims both