William Shakespeare 's Othello - Lack Of Respect And Authority

Emilia acts similarly when she defies her husband in the final Act of the play. She is of a middle class and serves as a maid and a loyal friend to Desdemona. Her character is somewhat different as she follows her husband, Iago, diligently but speaks disparagingly of men and believes them to be foolish and perverse. This is particularly evident in Act 4 Scene 3 “let husbands know their wives have sense like them: they see, and smell, and have palates both for sweet and sour” and “what is it that they do when they change us for others? Is it sport? I think it is”. She expresses the inequality between men and women living in this time

In ‘Othello’ Shakespeare portrays the main three female characters as being quite inferior to the other male characters such as Othello himself, Iago and Casto. Because during that time of which Shakespeare was writing these plays in the Elizabethan era. Society was in which religion was as at the very most top and after was men being the second part of the social ladder and later come women and rule justified women's subordination as the natural order because women were thought to be physiologically and psychologically inferior to men women were expected to be silent, chaste, and obedient to their husbands, fathers, brothers. Even education during the Elizabethan era was only for smart men, and not for women, the women were only allowed to work as cleaners and being mothers. Which makes them inferior to the male sex, we see this in

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

Contextually it is important to understand how women are presented as tragic victims of men in ‘Othello’. Contemporary views of women were, according to Sir Thomas Elyot “to be mild, timorous, tractable, benign, of sure remembrance, and shamefast.” Conversely men were seen to be “fierce, strong in opinion, covetous of glory, desirous of knowledge, appetiting by generation to bring for his semblable.” Elyot’s views of the contemporary man, though much grander than those of women, could prove to be their downfall in ‘Othello’. Shakespeare’s protagonist’s downfall could be based on the fact that he is desirous of knowledge, and Iago’s manipulation of Othello’s trustworthy nature suggests that not only are women the tragic victims of men, but it is men who are also victims of men.

Towards the end of the play Emilia becomes so angry with Iago, after all he had just caused Othello to kill his wife and

In the last act, Emilia is capable of speaking out Iago’s bloody guilt in front of gentlemen bravely. For instance, she is unafraid of resisting Iago by saying “’Tis proper I obey him, but not now… I will ne’er go home”(V, ii, 195). Emilia’s anger is perfectly delineated through her speech. To some extent, Emilia is equivalent with the status men since she firmly claims that she "will not charm [her] tongue", and that [she] is bound to speak” (5.2.183-184). When Iago demands Emilia to go home, she expresses her emotions being long suppressed. In spite of the traditional view that restricts wives to be reticence and passive, Emilia becomes an outspoken individual as she breaks the rule of obeying the husband in order to act on her behalf. At last when Iago brutally stabs Emilia to death, her self-sacrifice is heroic as she lived to protect her mistress. Furthermore, Emilia is in fact the only character in the play that is excluded from Iago’s malicious plan because of his neglect. Emilia’s disobedient acts ultimately constitute Iago’s downfall and significantly display the ideas that women can be as strong as men, thus, her braveness and belief fits the ideology of

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)

Iago’s worry that he cannot do what Desdemona asks implies that his dispraise of women was candid and easily produced, while the praise requires labour and inspiration from a source beyond himself. His insufficiency is more surprising because elsewhere in the play Iago appears as a master

Women in the sixteenth century were commonly dominated by a patriarchal society. Meaning their loyalty and respect lay amongst the men in their lives with little choice for opposition. In Othello by William Shakespeare, he portrays the role of women in a way typical to their representation in Elizabethan and Venetian society. While the women may be presented as mentally stronger than their male counterparts, the language given to these female characters suggest that they have internalized society 's expectation of them. Apart from moments of private conversation and Emilia 's reaction to Desdemona 's death, the women behave in a submission that is expected of them, believing it to be the natural way, as the men continue to downgrade and treat them as secondary citizens. Shakespeare represents this status of women through the traditional views of the male characters, moments of submission from the females, and how the women internalize this society.

The Archetype of Women The female characters in Othello are all dependant on their company. When around men, they conform to their idea of what a stereotypical woman would be in the 1600s, but while around other women or themselves, they become more like their modern counterparts. Their constant, unconscious transformations reinforce the idea that they have to fit in a box if they want to be chosen by a man. By using conflict, diction, and tone, Shakespeare demonstrates the divide between the two personas of the women in Othello.

In the play, Othello, there are many different representations of characters and archetypes. The women of the play are seen as symbolic representations of how the men in Shakespeare’s generation saw women. The women of the play are all individual characters with different personalities. They are seen as objects but stray from the average mold. Shakespeare converts these women into the play with roles that represent the strong stereotypes of women and how they are not what the rumors portray them as.

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.

Shakespeare had portrayed various themes of humans’ feelings inside his play, Othello. Love, jealousy, repentance, betrayal and racism were all shown throughout the story. Gender roles in Othello played a very important element for the construction of this whole play. The way men and women were shown were considered to be pretty different from general idea of their roles compared to modern societies.