In William Shakespeare's play Othello, there is love, betrayal, power, and pride that bring this tragedy together. In the end, there are not as many deaths as Romeo and Juliet but it is definitely just as heartbreaking. Desdemona and Emilia are the two main female characters in Othello. While the two women share many similar traits, being heavily devoted to their husbands, there is a contrast in the women in how they view the world. Desdemona is innocent and her idea of idealism is quite different in comparison to Emilia’s experience in the world and her interest in realism.…
Often the most important themes in literature are developed in scenes in which a death or deaths take place. In the play Othello by William Shakespeare, the death of the character Desdemona serves as the climatic breaking point where pervasive racism and sexism can no longer exist without resulting in detrimental harm to the involved parties. It is Othello’s prideful hamartia that, combined with sexism, is the catalyst that ultimately destroys both his and Desdemona’s life. In Othello, the cast of characters is subjected to the mounting pressures of sexism and racism without even realizing the detrimental effects it has on their lives.…
Women are always mentioned as if they are the infiorior sex, even when Cassio calls Desdemona "divine Desdemona" he is only mentioning her physical appearance, her face and body. she is only something to look at and not to be looked at as an intellectual, instead of her personality and intelligence being a factor in her divines its only the physical they look at. another quote used to empower women in this play dosent acually do that, they say that Desdemona is the "captains captian" this quote said by Cassion is said in a sarcastic and humorous as of they a joking about the power she has over Othello. the quote suggests her control over Othello is physical and is a sexual attribute that controls Othello, once again saying that physicality…
William Shakespeare is known as a master playwright, creating characters such as Romeo and Juliet to Hamlet and Ophelia, but Shakespeare’s Desdemona is usually viewed as one-dimensional. Shakespeare’s Othello is riddled with complex characters, of which Desdemona most definitely falls in the category. Desdemona is viewed as virginal and naive, but in truth is manipulative and power hungry. It is also unknown if she truly loves Othello, as her love stems from pity. The most convincing reason Desdemona is a complex character is her growth through the play.…
Emilia and Desdemona were the two dominant female figures who were supposed to act this way in Othello. However, in William Shakespeare’s Othello, both Desdemona and Emilia try to defy patriarchy and gender roles, but ultimately fail. Desdemona has thoughts of challenging patriarchy in a conversation with Emilia, but…
Though less emphasis and attention is placed on Iago and Emilia’s relationship, it is of equal importance as the previous one, contributing to the play while also representing a starkly different marriage. While the formerly mentioned marriage was modern and passionate, the one that Iago and Emilia shared was traditional and unloving. Between them was an empty love, where there is nothing but commitment (Sternberg). However, it was because of this absolute commitment they had for each other that they completely trusted one another. Iago does not hide the fact that he dislikes women and finds many situations in which he can blame or insult them (II.1.115-120).…
Shakespeare’s play Othello touches upon the main themes of betrayal, sex, and racism. During the Elizabethan era these themes were used frequently by Shakespeare to hook his audience. Many would say that Shakespeare was attempting to either create a strong bond between the audience and the character, or was trying to spark his audience’s interest. Desdemona the main character’s wife was created in an attempt to compare her to an idealistic Elizabethan woman. An idealistic woman of Desdemona’s rank would be privileged with an education from a young age, would marry a man of the same race, expected to marry while young and protect their virginity for marriage, and that the woman would be inferior towards the men in their lives.…
In Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, the title character is a 16th century Moorish general of the Venetian army who, because of the cultural and historical background of the play’s setting, the playwright, and the original intended audience, is portrayed as both well-respected for his stereotypical military prowess and disparaged for his race. Similarly, because of Othello ability to fulfill the desires of the Venetian people they loved and adored him. It was not until they gained perspective into who Othello was, a Moorish man, that they hated the color of his skin but loved the content of his character. African American men in today’s American society are both praised for (physical superiority) and hated for the thuggish image that many people…
Othello Othello’s race plays a major role throughout this play. Othello's race is a dividing element, which causes him to be seen as an outsider. Essentially, the leader and dukes are happy with Othello just working for them but because of his ethnicity, he is not entirely trusted when given control. His race, an element of difference, plays a distinctive role in his downfall. For Example, Iago seizes on the fact that Othello is so self conscious about his race, and convinces Othello that Desdemona may come back to reality liking her own “clime, complexion, and degree of men(3.3.230).…
Iago’s misogynistic ways are also illustrated when he speaks to Desdemona’s father and implies that she is property, and in that he accuses Desdemona of being unfaithful to her husband, Othello, without any reason. He speaks ill of her and to her, and ultimately, his misogynistic ways are to blame for her death, because he drives Othello to kill her. Another example of his misogyny is when he says, “You rise to play, and go to bed to work (Oth.2.1115),” implying that women are lazy except for when it comes to sex. There is theory that Iago’s misogynistic ways are due to the fact that he secretly loves Othello, and is jealous of women because of it. His slander of Desdemona, his convincing himself of an affair between his wife and Othello, and his proclamations of love for Othello throughout the play could prove this theory to be…
This is most strongly presented through the idea that this play is a Greek Tragedy. For ‘Othello’ to be a tragedy, someone has to die because of Othello’s Hamartia. Desdemona is the perfect candidate for this because she is a weak character- even Emilia, the only one who loves her properly, treats her delicately “the sweetest innocence.” This suggests that she is liable to kill because she does not add any significance to the play apart from her death and her supposed unfaithfulness yet she was one of the strongest characters- constantly denying her traditional role, despite being so young and naive. This creates the argument that women in that time were seen as feeble characters, therefore Shakespeare was mistreating her.…
During this time, men are respected and powerful. Shakespeare shows this idea of powerful men in the play when he makes the men characters hold the political positions. Othello is the lieutenant and respected among his peers. Iago is also a respected figure who felt he deserved the position Othello holds. People respect Desdemona because of her social class…
Throughout his whole life, Othello has had to deal with racism and stereotyping to the point where he has internalized the negative perceptions of his blackness. Karen Newman, an English professor at Brown University, describes how Iago’s deception of Othello was was rooted in Othello’s own prejudices against his racial identity (133). Iago put words to Othello’s deepest insecurities about his interracial marriage, including the belief that the“fair” Desdemona would prefer a white man, and Othello is convinced that “Haply for I am black/ And have not those soft parts of conversation/ That chamberers have.../ I am abused, and my relief/ Must be to loathe her” (Shakespeare 3.3.260-265). Othello’s projected facade of “honorary white”, as University of Pennsylvania professor Ania Loomba labeled him, is starting to disintegrate; he starts to believe that he possesses the unrefined black stereotype instead.…
In Othello, the reader is introduced to infidelity in the ancient Italy once again proving there is nothing new in this world. It is clear this was written in a patriarchal society, because the story has the message women will commit adultery and man will too but that’s not big deal. Almost three years ago, The National Health and Social Life Survey found that 4% of married men, 16% of cohabiting men, and 37% of dating men engaged in acts of sexual infidelity compared to 1% of married women, 8% of cohabiting women, and 17% of women in dating relationships (Lalasz & Weigel 1079-1083). According to these findings men are the main ones committing acts of infidelity in the modern world; men are still pushed towards sexual activity while women are…
First, Desdemona is an inspiring character for women. Desdemona is completely in love with Othello and obeys him without any flaws. Desdemona only wishes to keep Othello happy and believes that telling him the truth will keep him from being upset with her. Desdemona never wants to love anyone except Othello although he believes Iago that she has had an affair with Cassio. Desdemona tries to prove her faithfulness to Othello: “No, as I am a Christian.…