Othello is a classic tragedy that was written by William Shakespeare with gender inequality being one of the most prominent themes explored. Overall, the oppression and prejudice of characters in Othello illustrates that the Venetian society they live in is riddled with corruption. Academia.edu is a platform for academics to share research papers. Othello from being a battle hardened warrior, after marrying Desdemona becomes less unfeeling and also more effeminate, ?So justly to your grave ears I'll present How I did thrive in this fair lady's love? Throughout his life he wrote 38 plays, ten of them falling under the category of tragedy. Being that Othello went from a noble warrior to a jealous and murderous husband shows how much of an impact Iago’s lies and schemes had on him. Thus, Othello’s downfall was more of a result of his race being that the main underlying motive behind the … [1] The least involved woman in Othello is Bianca[2]. Correspondingly, the characters described in Tobias Wolff’s “Say Yes” as well as Robert Browning’s “Porphyria's Lover” depict similar emotions and apprehensions to those in Shakespeare’s plays. Othello is a classic tragedy that was written by William Shakespeare with gender inequality being one of the most prominent themes explored. Power in Relation to Class, Gender and Race in Othello. Emilia’s role in Othello is key, her part in taking the handkerchief leads to Othello falling for Iago’s lies more fully. Therefore, Othello demonstrates that there are many ways in which a male-dominated society can be formed and, more importantly, how that society affects those oppressed by it. Oppression of Elizabethan Women. Professor Shapiro Iago is continually playing a game of deception, even with Roderigo and the audience. I am bound to speak” (Act 5 Scene 2, Line 191). 20 THE BARD: Shakespeare's Life as a Play 24 Shakespeare's England 26 Why Do We Study Shakespeare? She does not have any choice and it is because Iago has successfully cornered her by making Othello suspicious of her character. Shakespeare’s Othello occurs in sixteenth-century Europe during the Renaissance, a time when men believe they are paramount. Shakespeare's Othello is a tragic tale of the price of pride and jealousy, as told primarily from the male perspective. In Othello, Shakespeare uses the contrast between Emilia and Desdemona to argue that despite their levels of awareness of their oppression and the ways that they consequently respond to injustice, men will continue to oppress them to different degrees. The higher the position in society tighter the restrictions. othello proactively investigates gender and sexuality” (greenblatt, 2109) sexual othello proactively investigates gender and sexuality” (greenblatt, 2109) sexual Shakespeare’s Othello and Glaspell’s Trifles bring great female characters to the stage that share similarities. It Is Othello’s Own Faults The paradox or riddle that the speech creates is emblematic of Iago’s power throughout the play: his smallest sentences (“Think, my lord?” in III.iii. However, there are similarities between the three women. The oppression women face has become more complex and underhanded as society progresses. Othello’s “fatal flaw” was perhaps not even an excess of jealous passion ill-befitting an otherwise reasonable man.  In our production, Othello, and the actors who play Cassio and Emilia are also actors of color, which underlines that systems of oppression are more complex than simple othering of a minority population by a majority population. By studying these human relationships, differences in race, gender and class suggest that Venetian society consists both of empowered and disempowered groups. After this oppression, Venice falls into chaos, implying that such a flawed social structure will eventually lead to the disintegration of society. Othello serves as an example to demonstrate the expectations of the Elizabethan patriarchal society, the practice of privileges in patriarchal marriages, and the suppression and restriction of femininity. In this essay, I am going to discuss how Shakespeare uses this imagery of women within the play to give clues to how society views and oppresses women within the play.He does this by attempting to rewrite female subjectivity, touching on false accusations of adultery as a way women violate social laws, using love as a foundation for characters’ actions, and portraying women as submissive and as a possession. The play is surmounted across male and female characters and determines how the females in the play became victims in the hand of the men determining social organization. In Shakespeare’s play Othello, he challenges the image of women in the during the play period as it relates to the oppression of women. People did not begin to challenge the concept of a male dominated society, a. Iago does this because Othello gave a promotion to Cassio that Iago had felt he deserved instead. A careful reading of Othello reveals that, if anything, the evidence is a bit too obvious, that Shakespeare has perhaps made the theme of what Fredrickson calls the “revulsion at miscegenation—the ultimate horror of the racist imagination—“ too melodramatically explicit. Both authors write about Patriarchal dominance. There is no logic to systematic oppression that keeps money in certain pockets and not others based on skin color; and if there is, it is not a logic I want to feel comfortable with. The limitations of social mobility provide a strong platform for the theme of power to be embedded upon, with characters such as Desdemona and Emilia representing the struggle that women faced living in a dominant patriarchal, Feminism in Othello In Act II scene 1 of Othello, the villain Iago says some harsh things to his wife Emilia in the company of many. When Cassio shows courtesy to Emilia, Iago quickly adds his own criticisms to her character and shortly after begins his tirade: “Come on, come on. In Othello, William Shakespeare explores a tragic love that is caught in rumors and judgment. Start studying Key Quotes: Women in Othello. The fear of being controlled and the fear of choosing the wrong person can both have drastic effects on a marriage, as well as, Oppression Of Women In Shakespeare's Othello, Shakespeare often incorporates social issues that occur during the time period into his play, Othello. Even though Othello was labeled as a Moor from North…, Shakespeare has a tendency to analyze that “The course of true love never did run smooth”(A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Act 1, Scene 2). Emilia’s role in Othello is key, her part in taking the handkerchief leads to Othello falling for Iago’s lies more fully. The plays were ahead of there time, dealing with and including subject matter that was ‘offensive’/ kept hushed by society at the time of publications. However, women’s oppression in the play is tragic and the deaths of Desdemona and Emilia prove this. In royal families, dire times cause for the princess to marry against her will to form alliances. Yet, Othello is the title character, displaying the range of the human condition just as fully… The fact that they are obliged to elope makes the illicit nature of their relationship in the eyes of Venice immediately clear. The Oppression Of Women In Shakespeare's Othello. The title character begins the play a great and esteemed general, despite the fact that he is a member of an 'othered,' despised race against which some whites have great prejudice. From his point of view, he has a loving, obedient wife who admires his ability to endure dangers. This extent of hostility and aggression coming from several other sources in the play was enough to ruin Othello. for example men use abusive terms to … All three of these women are a counterpart to a male in this story. Later, when speaking to Desdemona, Othello whines: "But alas, to make me / The fixed figure for the time of scorn" (4. Shakespeare’s and Sears’ Othello…, Throughout history, women have been oppressed and silenced. Shakespeare's Othello is a play about human nature and relationships. understanding Shakespeare’s plays is through critical reading and analysis. In such a male dominated society, Shakespeare presents the women in the play as tragic victims at the hands of their husbands, in particular Desdemona and Emilia. Both Glaspell and Shakespeare follow the same theme, while using both foreshadowing and irony to illustrate that Desdemona, Emilia, Bianca, Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Peters, and Mrs. Hale live under similar oppressive conditions. This purpose of this research paper is to determine the role of gender in the Shakespeare’s play ‘Othello’. In Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello is a highly acclaimed general and because of his many achievements he has transcended stereotypes projected upon Moors in Venetian society. She discovers Othello as Desdemona’s murderer and uncovers her husband’s plot which she exposes; “I will not charm my tongue. Shakespeare created these daring, strong-willed, quick witted female characters that went against the norm of society. Iago is continually playing a game of deception, even with Roderigo and the audience. The play Othello stars a Black, Muslim—Othello, sometimes, having a character who, is by race, black in a play or story, would somehow automatically contain issues about racism. He however disregarded the standards that were imposed on women of this time. The paradox or riddle that the speech creates is emblematic of Iago’s power throughout the play: his smallest sentences (“Think, my lord?” in III.iii. This paper explores the gender issues in Shakespeare’s tragedy reflecting on the … Desdemona and the nature of her affair, although it is false, is considered to be the root cause of Othello’s downfall and violent demise. The oppression of women began at the start of civilization when a need for a hierarchy arose. 20 October 2017 As the play progresses, the oppression of the two women increases, despite key differences between the two. The issue of male domination and consequent oppression of women is clearly delineated in the … 109) or gestures (beckoning Othello closer in Act IV, scene i) open up whole worlds of interpretation. They were objects that had no freedom to do what they wanted, explored in various ways throughout ‘Othello’, Shakespeare uses the vulnerability of characters’ flaws to allow power shifts to occur through manipulation. One of four representations of a person of color on Shakespeare’s stage, Othello constantly brings up the question of racism. For Desdemona, she has married an adventurous warrior, capable of defeating enemies and surviving oppression. Women also have limits to their freedoms and opinions. Williams Shakespeare’s tragic play, Othello, reveals a detailed illustration of victimization of females in society. It is at this point of the play Othello has unraveled and will continue to do so under Iago’s oppression. The plot of the story consists of a general, Othello, being ruined by his jealousy because he believes his wife is cheating on his Lieutenant, Cassio. The small stage and sparse production was close, intimate, as if squeezing us into Iago’s twisted mind, Othello’s tormented psyche. Also, the men in the play are fortified by their fello… In Shakespeare’s play Othello, he challenges the image of women in the during the play period as it relates to the oppression of women. Including, but not limited to oppression regarding gender, religion, race, and general hierarchy, revenge stemming from personal betrayal, and negative relationships, specifically between fathers, Throughout history great writers have brought women’s struggle under male dominance to light. While the two begin the play in perfect synchronization, as their relationship deteriorates, so does their 2.53). Shakespeare reveals his, “For most of history, Anonymous was a woman,” Virginia Woolf once boldly stated. His play has been adapted into films, plays, and stories such as Djanet Sears’ 1990s adaptation, Harlem Duet. Because they are subservient to men, women are weak and objectified. The tragic sequence of events is triggered by the elopement of Othello and Desdemona. She discovers Othello as Desdemona’s murderer and uncovers her husband’s plot which she exposes; “I will not charm my tongue. ...February 27, 2013 Othello Act 5 Scene 2 William Shakespeare was an English Renaissance writer who lived between the years 1564-1616. In the play Othello, by William Shakespeare, the tragic protagonist Othello is tricked by his subordinant, Iago, into thinking that his wife, Desdemona, has been unfaithful to him with another man named Cassio. Shakespeare makes an effort to rewrite female subjectivity by attempting to reveal the oppression of women in, Analysis Of Mira Nair's 'Monsoon Wedding', Summary Of A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings. The male dominated society has hardly left any stone unturned in empowerment of women. (Act 1, Sc 3, 125-126). Iago’s words which accuse Desdemona of adultery are what penetrate Othello’s guard and leave him to grope for some semblance of trust in her loyalty. Her education allowed her to explore the works of the most celebrated authors, but one who she had a long and complicated relationship with was the Bard of Avon himself, William Shakespeare. The Elizabethan value consensus highlights the difference in gender roles, with societal expectations being defined by the divine order. Othello is a play that only contains three female characters. Throughout the play, the three women Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca are rejected by their spouses, yet still cherish them completely. All three of the women are in an unbalanced marriage where the women in the relationships exert more feelings for, Women in Shakespeare’s Elizabethan period lived in chains bound by the society with the leash handed first to their father and after marriage to their husbands. Academia.edu is a platform for academics to share research papers. Othello, in turn, loves the fact that she admires him. Othello is a play that asks us to examine the position of women in society, since it explores issues such as: clandestine marriage, accusations of adultery, and it includes three different social classes of women. Othello feels anxious about the racist nature engrained in Venetian society and eventually projects, they first appeared is a very prevalent feeling, especially in literature. The character of Othello and his downfall truly shows how noble he really was. 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