This paper explores the gender issues in Shakespeare’s tragedy reflecting on the … Shakespeare's Othello is a play about human nature and relationships. 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. When Iago prods him, Othello says: "My name, that was as fresh / As Dian's visage, is now begrimed and black" (3.3.383-84). 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. Overall, the oppression and prejudice of characters in Othello illustrates that the Venetian society they live in is riddled with corruption. Othello, in turn, loves the fact that she admires him. From his point of view, he has a loving, obedient wife who admires his ability to endure dangers. Throughout the play, the three women Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca are rejected by their spouses, yet still cherish them completely. Othello and Desdemona's great tragedy is one of miscommunication. In Shakespeare’s Othello you are presented with a cast of approximately twelve men and three women. English 220.03 Racism is clearly manifested throughout the play, Othello was written some time between 1600 and 1605. The fact that they are obliged to elope makes the illicit nature of their relationship in the eyes of Venice immediately clear. understanding Shakespeare’s plays is through critical reading and analysis. othello proactively investigates gender and sexuality” (greenblatt, 2109) sexual oppression in othello “neither race nor jealousy is the play’s main concern. 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 Shakespeare’s play Othello, he challenges the image of women in the during the play period as it relates to the oppression of women. According to Elizabethan or Shakespeare's society built upon … The issue of male domination and consequent oppression of women is clearly delineated in the … In Othello, there are three female characters: Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca, each of which played a major role in the plot. Shakespeare reveals his, “For most of history, Anonymous was a woman,” Virginia Woolf once boldly stated. Focusing around the main women in these two plays you can see the strong similarities in the societal perspective on women. (Act 1, Sc 3, 125-126). It Is Othello’s Own Faults In a time were ethnic…, Juliet”, the general plot in “Othello, the Moor of Venice” by Shakespeare slowly goes from upright to devastating. Othello is a classic tragedy that was written by William Shakespeare with gender inequality being one of the most prominent themes explored. However, women’s oppression in the play is tragic and the deaths of Desdemona and Emilia prove this. 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. Othello's true fear is what other people will think about him. Throughout ‘Othello’, Shakespeare uses the manipulation of the protagonist, by the antagonist, Iago, to present a play controlled by men. 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. In Act II scene 1 of Othello, the villain Iago says some harsh things to his wife Emilia in the company of many. The Oppression Of Women In Shakespeare's 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. 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’s Othello and Glaspell’s Trifles bring great female characters to the stage that share similarities. for example men use abusive terms to … I am bound to speak” (Act 5 Scene 2, Line 191). D.C. is 49% black, and Donald Trump, a white billionaire from New York, lives in its epicenter — a white house where, for eight years, Barack Obama lived. Because they are subservient to men, women are weak and objectified. The performance I saw – yes, I’ve managed to see a second play, folks – at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin played to these dimensions. Iago does this because Othello gave a promotion to Cassio that Iago had felt he deserved instead. The tragic sequence of events is triggered by the elopement of Othello and Desdemona. The Elizabethan value consensus highlights the difference in gender roles, with societal expectations being defined by the divine order. In Othello, William Shakespeare explores a tragic love that is caught in rumors and judgment. 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. These concerns are portrayed by the characters in William Shakespeare’s Othello and Much Ado About Nothing. 2.53).  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. 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. 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. For Desdemona, she has married an adventurous warrior, capable of defeating enemies and surviving oppression. As one of the most highly regarded and well, Shakespeare’s works had few females because women were not allowed to act in London in the late 1500’s into the early 1600’s. The higher the position in society tighter the restrictions. Systems of Oppression in Othello 13 A Glossary of Terms 17 Famous Othellos Throughout History 18 What Makes a Tragedy? All three of these women are a counterpart to a male in this story. The oppression of women began at the start of civilization when a need for a hierarchy arose. In Act II scene 1 of Othello, the villain Iago says some harsh things to his wife Emilia in the company of many. She does not have any choice and it is because Iago has successfully cornered her by making Othello suspicious of her character. Emilia’s role in Othello is key, her part in taking the handkerchief leads to Othello falling for Iago’s lies more fully. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. 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). Academia.edu is a platform for academics to share research papers. 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. 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. Though she was from a privileged background and was well educated, Woolf still felt she was faced with the oppression that women have been treated with for as far as history goes back. 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. oppression in othello “neither race nor jealousy is the play’s main concern. Overall, the oppression and prejudice of characters in Othello illustrates that the Venetian society they live in is riddled with corruption. The issue of male domination and consequent oppression of women is clearly delineated in the text through the actions and behaviors of the characters. In Othello, there are three female characters: Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca, each of which played a major role in the plot. 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. The character of Othello and his downfall truly shows how noble he really was. 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. Thus, Othello’s downfall was more of a result of his race being that the main underlying motive behind the … Othello is a play in which these unequal positions are clearly portrayed. The oppression women face has become more complex and underhanded as society progresses. 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. Throughout his life he wrote 38 plays, ten of them falling under the category of tragedy. 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. Yet, Othello is the title character, displaying the range of the human condition just as fully… Othello is a psychological play and a political play. However, there are similarities between the three women. 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. In this play, I saw how one person can cause so much conflict that it results in the death of the main characters. As the play progresses, the oppression of the two women increases, despite key differences between the two. This indictment of discrimination against women, though subtle, mirrors the way Shakespeare deconstructs sexism in some of his other 20 THE BARD: Shakespeare's Life as a Play 24 Shakespeare's England 26 Why Do We Study Shakespeare? Shakespeare’s Othello occurs in sixteenth-century Europe during the Renaissance, a time when men believe they are paramount. Professor Shapiro In Shakespeare’s Othello you are presented with a cast of approximately twelve men and three women. It is at this point of the play Othello has unraveled and will continue to do so under Iago’s oppression. Iago is continually playing a game of deception, even with Roderigo and the audience. The small stage and sparse production was close, intimate, as if squeezing us into Iago’s twisted mind, Othello’s tormented psyche. 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. She discovers Othello as Desdemona’s murderer and uncovers her husband’s plot which she exposes; “I will not charm my tongue. His play has been adapted into films, plays, and stories such as Djanet Sears’ 1990s adaptation, Harlem Duet. By studying these human relationships, differences in race, gender and class suggest that Venetian society consists both of empowered and disempowered groups. 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. This indictment of discrimination against women, though subtle, mirrors the way Shakespeare deconstructs sexism in some of his other The Effects Of Racism In Othello 1640 Words | 7 Pages. Othello is a play about human nature and relationships. This purpose of this research paper is to determine the role of gender in the Shakespeare’s play ‘Othello’. 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. This paper discusses the characters of the three female characters in the play and those of the men’s whom they trust and how they later get betrayed by them, without being at fault. othello proactively investigates gender and sexuality” (greenblatt, 2109) sexual 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. Desdemona has displeased her father which leaves her bound by her new identity. Othello’s “fatal flaw” was perhaps not even an excess of jealous passion ill-befitting an otherwise reasonable man. After this oppression, Venice falls into chaos, implying that such a flawed social structure will eventually lead to the disintegration of society. Start studying Key Quotes: Women in Othello. Oppression of Elizabethan Women. Shakespeare lived during a time person in which the world was essentially male dominated, women weren’t their own people. In addition, women in Shakespeare’s Othello are represented as a sex object, and are represented as passive individuals in the play. One of four representations of a person of color on Shakespeare’s stage, Othello constantly brings up the question of racism. People did not begin to challenge the concept of a male dominated society, a. Analyzing Shakespeare’s plays as it turns out is both very complex and very gruelling. 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. 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. All three of these women are a counterpart to a male in this story. Throughout ‘Othello’, Shakespeare uses the manipulation of the protagonist, by the antagonist, Iago, to present a play controlled by men. 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. Emilia’s role in Othello is key, her part in taking the handkerchief leads to Othello falling for Iago’s lies more fully. While the two begin the play in perfect synchronization, as their relationship deteriorates, so does their Academia.edu is a platform for academics to share research papers. 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. Excerpt from Research Paper : Othello: The Tragedy of Internalized Racism William Shakespeare's tragedy of the Moor Othello is the only major drama of the great playwright in which race plays a major role. Women also have limits to their freedoms and opinions. This paper uses the combination of African American and Ethnic studies to analyze the play “Othello” by William Shakespeare. 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. 20 October 2017 The four plays studied by Shakespeare share many similar patterns. Power in Relation to Class, Gender and Race in Othello. In Othello and Fences both marriages of the main characters face a demise, but in both relationships the women were the back bone of the marriage not caring about their husband’s backgrounds, Muskan Kapoor 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 Shakespeare’s and Sears’ Othello…, Throughout history, women have been oppressed and silenced. Othello is a play that only contains three female characters. 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. 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. 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. Williams Shakespeare’s tragic play, Othello, reveals a detailed illustration of victimization of females in society. 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. [1] The least involved woman in Othello is Bianca[2]. She discovers Othello as Desdemona’s murderer and uncovers her husband’s plot which she exposes; “I will not charm my tongue. Since then, men have almost always landed at the top of that hierarchy. Later, when speaking to Desdemona, Othello whines: "But alas, to make me / The fixed figure for the time of scorn" (4. Their roles vary and it would be an exaggeration to categorize them all as victims. “Good women followed the instructions of their husband and father’s.” Men did not have to explain themselves and their actions to their possessions.One of the examples of women 's role is given by Shakespeare In act 3 of Othello, In both Shakespeare’s play Othello and Wilson’s Fences women can be seen as victims to men but have their strong moments, however men’s identities are sometimes dependent of their women. Iago is continually playing a game of deception, even with Roderigo and the audience. 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. Othello's need to establish and maintain hegemony over his wife makes his behaviour no different from that of other men operating in the framework of patriarchy. Severe underrepresentation already bodes ill for the argument, since lack of inclusion is a form of oppression within itself. 109) or gestures (beckoning Othello closer in Act IV, scene i) open up whole worlds of interpretation. Also, the men in the play are fortified by their fello… In royal families, dire times cause for the princess to marry against her will to form alliances. Sears explores Othello’s desire to protect himself in his romantic relationship through the voice of his first wife Billie. Women were escorted everywhere they went like Desdemona. 109) or gestures (beckoning Othello closer in Act IV, scene i) open up whole worlds of interpretation. 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? 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. William Shakespeare's "Othello” can be read from a feminist perspective. I am bound to speak” (Act 5 Scene 2, Line 191). This oppression of women exists all around the world today with societal gender expectations and Middle Eastern women not being able to show any skin in public, among many other things. He however disregarded the standards that were imposed on women of this time. ...February 27, 2013 Othello Act 5 Scene 2 William Shakespeare was an English Renaissance writer who lived between the years 1564-1616. Shakespeare created these daring, strong-willed, quick witted female characters that went against the norm of society. This extent of hostility and aggression coming from several other sources in the play was enough to ruin Othello. Both authors write about Patriarchal dominance. 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