Theme Of Women In Othello

Throughout history, there have been social hierarchies imposed upon society. Perhaps one of the most influential was the imposition upon women during the Renaissance era. Women during the Renaissance patriarchy were expected to be proper, pure, and above all else, mindful of the men in their life. In her essay, “Women in Othello”, Farah Karim-Cooper argues that William Shakespeare’s play, Othello, creates complicated dynamics and roles for the women within it, due to the fact that Shakespeare himself did not believe that women fit easily within the roles that they had been assigned. This essay will seek to prove, in agreeance with Karim-Cooper, that Desdemona and Emilia do not, in fact, fit neatly into

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

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.

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, written by William Shakespeare, is a tragedy centered around its many distinct characters. Women in the 17th century time period of Othello devote themselves to men in their life, as this was the way of life for generations before them. Emilia and Desdemona are the principal female characters in the story who are married to Iago and Othello, the antagonist and protagonist of the story. Though these two women have extremely different experiences and power, they are both blindly loyal. Emilia’s and Desdemona’s obedience has a central role in the story and leads to their inevitable deaths.

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.

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

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

Othello is a tragedy written by William shakespeare during the 1600’s which is known as the Elizabethan Era. Society during this period had certain standards that all citizens were expected to follow. Order and obedience were a crucial part of women’s lives at this time. Women had little freedom in what they could do and were expected to listen to men. In the play Othello, Shakespeare uses Brabantio, Iago and Desdemona to describe the expectations of women during the Elizabethan Era.

Feminists believe that marriage is a source of conflict, in the play it suggests that marriageability is most women’s only road to power, the goal was to secure family, wealth, and protection from a male. And to fulfil this, women needed to be continuously sexually attractive yet pure and modest. Once married, it was self-evident that wives should follow their husbands and be humoured by them in return. After a wife had provided an heir, she was truly secure. This can be reflected in Iago’s cynical comment ‘She never yet was foolish that was fair, for even her folly helped her to an heir’ (Othello: Act 2. Sc. 1. 7). In modern-day terms, he is saying that no pretty woman can be considered stupid since they are all clever enough to use their looks to ensnare a husband and this achieves respectability. Feminists argument to women and marriage in the play would be that currently there are many women who would more likely choose their career instead of chasing someone to be their husband. Women don’t need to do anything for men to feel secure. Secondly, it very much objectifies women as being possessions to patriarchal heirs. Marxists would believe that this form of thinking is just all down to the bourgeoisie and how marriage is an institute that allows everyone in society to have a set order and in feminist’s eyes, they view society undermining female equality.

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 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 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

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.