Men in Othello Essay

It has been observed that men in Othello are portrayed as being incapable of selfless love. Discuss the ways in which this could be regarded as a feminist play. â€Å"Othello† is a tragedy written in 1603 by William Shakespeare, whose writing reflected his concerns with the universal theme of love. It deals with the love between a father and a daughter, a husband and wife and in addition also the relationship between a man and a prostitute. The main focus for this theme is the portrayal of men and their inability to love selflessly. In response Shakespeare’s female characters represent a direct challenge to dominant patriarchal authority. Consequently â€Å"Othello† can be regarded from a modern critical perspective as a feminist play. In â€Å"Othello† Shakespeare presents women as the victims of patriarchal society. Brabantio, a Venetian Senator, promoting control and order, sees Desdemona as a passive goddess and his property, â€Å"Stol’n from me, and corrupted†. These words reveal his views on women and their status. Iago’s reference to Desdemona’s elopement â€Å"you’re robbed† highlights the similarities in the way that both characters treat women. Iago insinuates that Brabantio’s property has been taken away from him. When Brabantio admonishes Roderigo stating, â€Å"My daughter is not for thee† the audience begin to understand that Desdemona is not only his daughter but she is also his possession. Clearly Jacobean England would sympathise with Brabantio viewing the elopement as an act against patriarchy and denying a father the right to marry off his daughter as he sees fit. A modern audience however would find it difficult to identify with a character who is materialistic in his attitude towards his daughter. He describes Desdemona as a â€Å"jewel† which shows that he sees her as a passive goddess who has been apprehended by a â€Å"thief†. The Duke deals with the elopement with restraint representing a judicious state. He responds to Brabantio with rationality † This is no proof† and urges Brabantio to reconcile himself to the marriage. A less positive interpretation of the Duke however might argue that private affairs do not concern him; his priorities lie with stopping the Turks from invading Cyprus. Venetian patriarchal society can be seen as one that patronises women and defines them in terms of their physical beauty â€Å"the guttered rocks opon men will fall†, expressing the idea that beautiful women are possessed by the natural elements. This society closely resembles Jacobean England. Emilia is arguably the voice of feminism in the play. She deals with reality unlike Desdemona, and voices a practical view of men, â€Å"They are all but stomachs†¦.They eat us hungerly and when they are full They belch us†, presenting the idea that most men show their true colours after a few years of marriage. At the start of the play Emilia is ostensibly loyal and obedient, however, this changes and by the end of the play she becomes the voice of reason that stops Iago’s evil progress. Emilia believes that women are individuals who have desires just as men, showing her realistic approach to life. She is not afraid to voice her opinions and in turn dies for her faith in womanhood, â€Å"Let husbands know Their wives have sense like them†. Patriarchal tyranny is explored as Emilia accuses men of â€Å"Throwing restraint upon us†, showing that women are cut off from freedom. Emilia teaches Desdemona that letting men realise that a woman is in control could potentially end in devastation. Whilst talking to Desdemona, Emilia shifts from prose to blank verse to deliver a serious message, â€Å"It is their husbands’ fault if wives do fall†, highlights men’s negligence and revealing her realistic view of adultery. To a modern audience she would be perceived as a pragmatic role model for women, however in a Jacobean society, Emilia would be seen as trying to encourage women to go against their husbands. Shakespeare conveys a class difference between Emilia and Desdemona through their speech. When Emilia, Iago and Desdemona discuss Othello’s description of Desdemona, â€Å"that cunning whore†. Desdemona can barely utter the word â€Å"whore†, conveying her innocence. Emilia shows signs of authorative experience whilst comparatively Desdemona is presented as being naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve and sheltered; the product of a Venetian elite that protects its women, due to social class. It is Desdemona’s naivety that makes her vulnerable whereas Emilia is able to stand up to Iago at the end at a price. A feminist reader would be interested in Emilia’s fate. In Jacobean society women were seen as child bearers and objects of male desire. Shakespeare has incorporated this idea in the role of Bianca, a vulnerable woman who like Desdemona is abused by men. â€Å"I must be circumstanced†, this shows Bianca to be a woman who accepts the conditions placed upon her by men. Sandra Clark at a sovereign lecture argued, â€Å"Her treatment at the hands of a misogynistic society reflects more broadly how women are victimed by men’s sexual hypocrisy†. Clark tries to convey the idea that in Jacobean society women were judged on a reputation that could easily be distorted by men. She suffers at the hands of social hypocrisy, as it is the men who visit her that condemn her â€Å"She’ll rail in the streets else†. Bianca is accused of killing Cassio as her appearance â€Å"gastness of her eye† is used by society as an admission of her guilt, however, due to her status and lack of power she cannot claim her innocence. Cassio does not want society to associate him with Bianca as he says that he does not want Othello to see him â€Å"womaned†, implying her insignificance as a woman in Venetian society and revealing disparaging attitudes. In â€Å"Othello†, Bianca is the weakest woman so it is ironic that she is the sole woman survivor. It can be construed that she survives because she is marginalized to the point of being completely insignificant. Infact she does not pose a threat to anyone. Desdemona, however poses a threat to white patriarchal society, as through miscegenation all heirs would be polluted and therefore towards the end of the play she is killed. Emilia is a threat to Iago’s plan and challenges his anti feminist perspective. Shakespeare in his writing seems to be saying that those women who voice their opinions and do wrong by their husbands are annihilated. In a patriarchal society â€Å"women are regulated to the bottom of the social hierarchy as weak and faithless† (Felicity Currie). According to the Jacobean chain of being the devil worked its way up the social hierarchy, through women hence the intense fear of witches. Women who were rebellious in a patriarchal society were seen as being under the influence of the devil. On many occasions Othello calls Desdemona a â€Å"devil†. Her name has connotations of the word demon. Ironically neither one is a devil, the real devil is Iago. Desdemona is a complex character. Audiences across history have responded to her representation of womanhood very differently. Desdemona appears to be both submissive and independent. When confronting her father it could be argued that Desdemona is given a voice, â€Å"What would you, â€Å"Desdemona†. Brabantio portrays his daughter as being innocent and submissive, â€Å"Is there not charms By which the property of youth and maidhood May be abused†. However, we see a dramatic change as she openly declares that she is ready for sexual intercourse, â€Å"The rites for which I love him are bereft me†. Desdemona is assertive when verbally attacked by Othello. â€Å"I took you for that cunning whore of Venice†. In contrast Desdemona’s portrayal of herself â€Å"No, as I am a Christian†¦Ã¢â‚¬  expresses a conventional Christian perspective implying that adultery is wrong. Desdemona cannot understand why a woman would want to commit adultery. She is far from Iago’s sexual stereotype of Venetian women as â€Å"subtle whores†, rather, she plays an active feminine role as she is decribed as â€Å"half the wooer†. A modern day feminist might argue that this behaviour is too obedient. Desdemona appears to be naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve as she defends her husband when he strikes her. At first she says, â€Å"I have not deserved this†. Othello’s behaviour is out of character and as a result of Iago’s insinuating words. Desdemona thereafter accepts the physical abuse and defends her husband. Lodovico analyses the situation and states, â€Å"Truly, an obedient lady†. A modern audience would find this hard to comprehend. Shakespeare presents Desdemona as a woman who is thought of highly in the Venetian state. She is seen to be making her own choices but also appears to be a victim. Through the character of Cassio Shakespeare provides a critique of the discourse of courtly love. Cassio is a courteous and noble character who idealises Desdemona. In Act 2, Scene 1 Cassio speaks in blank verse. He calls Desdemona â€Å"th’ essential vesture of creation†, placing her on a pedestool and suggesting that her beauty is without equal and worthy of all praise. Desdemona is praised as being divinely blessed with â€Å"the grace of heaven†. He therefore can be described as the voice of patriarchal orthodoxy using materialistic imagery and hyperbolic language to describe Desdemona as â€Å"the riches of the ship†. This imagery objectifies and idealises Desdemona as a physical possession. Patriarchal orthodoxy does not allow women to be judged upon their achievements or their own subjectivity, instead her beauty gives her status. Cassio represents this reductiveness. In Cassio’s underlying lack of respect for Bianca, â€Å"Throw your vile guesses in the devil’s teeth†, Shakespeare uses a technique where the sub plot echoes the main plot and presents sexual hypocrisy through Cassio. His undoubtedly high opinion of Desdemona means that other women cannot be her equivalent. Women, according to Cassio are either angels worshipped from afar or whores marginalized by respectable society. He is ashamed to be seen publicly with Bianca, yet he still sleeps with her. He ridicules Iago’s suggestion of marrying Bianca, â€Å"Do not think it so wholesome† (saying that it would be morally tainting) because like Othello he expects his wife to be â€Å"angelic†. Iago is employed by Shakespeare to dramatise misogynistic attitudes towards women. This becomes evident through his use of chauvinistic language â€Å"guinea-hen†. His belief is that all women are prostitutes who will betray their husbands eventually. On many occasions Iago dehumanises Emilia referring to her as a â€Å"strumpet†. His sexual jealousy leads him to believe that Othello slept with his wife, â€Å"I hate the Moor, And it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets He’s done my office†. Iago speaks in prose to express his antifeminist view of women, which makes the tone of his opinions more down to earth. Upon reading the play the audience can see how cynical Iago is about women and how they employ their beauty to their advantage. He uses derogative terminology, â€Å"players in your housewifery† to imply that women are prostitutes and believes women’s humanity consists of lechery and faithlessness. Iago does not share the impractical antithetical view of Desdemona voiced by Cassio. He believes, â€Å"The wine she drinks is made of grapes† suggesting that she is human and like all other women. He views her as flawed as a result of her love for the Moor and he cannot comprehend why a wealthy aristocratic white woman would choose to marry a black man. There is a clear contrast between Cassio’s language of courtly love, â€Å"a most exquisite lady† and Iago’s colloquial language, â€Å"whore†. The power of Desdemona and Othello’s relationship lies in the couple’s love for one another, yet Desdemona’s influence over Othello is not acceptable to the misogynistic Iago. He cannot comprehend why Othello has given in to the feminine emotion of love, which he views as a sign of weakness. His perception of love is purely anatomical â€Å"carnal stings†¦a lust of the blood†, therefore he is dismissive of the emotional bonds between women and men. It can be argued that Iago represents the underlying misogyny and racism within liberal Venice. â€Å"Textwise† by Felicity Currie explores this idea and suggests that Iago’s, â€Å"discourse is â€Å"honest† in that it is an expression of dominant ideology, which ensures that the status quo is maintained†. Brabantio and Othello are both easily convinced of Desdemona’s unfaithfulness, therefore Iago appears to voice beliefs held by male society about women. Othello and Desdemona’s relationship does not conform to the expectations of a patriarchal orthodoxy; consequently perhaps Shakespeare holds it up as an ideal against which other relationships should be judged. At the start of this play, the relationship is distinguished as an ideal. It promotes equality and is built on loyalty. This mutual affection is apparent as Othello describes Desdemona as being â€Å"half the wooer†. The reunion of Othello and Desdemona highlights their love, â€Å"o my fair warrior!† and she responds â€Å"My dear Othello†. The equality and balance of power in their relationship appears to be a faà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ade, as when Othello kills Desdemona, he does not permit her to voice a defence. He loses all self-dignity as he pompously suggests that he is killing her for â€Å"all men that were abused†. A positive aspect of the relationship is that both talk movingly about their love for one another in front of a possibly censorious senate, â€Å"How I did thrive in this fair lady’s love†. When Othello asks the senate if Desdemona can come with him to Cyprus, their superficial need for one another can be seen. Othello is perhaps too ready to find Desdemona guilty, Shakespeare suggests, however, that his position as an outsider makes him particularly susceptible to jealousy. Othello was aware of his looks, â€Å"thick lips†, â€Å"the devil†, â€Å"old black ram†, separating him from the white Venetian public. His treatment of Desdemona can be perceived as that of a man who â€Å"loved too well†. In turn Othello becomes insecure causing him to doubt Desdemona to a greater extent. The relationship moves from optimism to pessimism. Desdemona becomes a threat as she is suspected of adultery is just a small step from the sexual independence that she demonstrated in choosing Othello. In a patriarchal society this would be unheard of, therefore Desdemona is seen as a woman who appears to be out of control as suggested by Felicity Currie. Their love was not based on trust, showing that the relationship was probably not as idealistic as the audience would have liked to think. Shakespeare presents Othello as a man who too readily accepted Iago’s antifeminist perspective and then egotistically murdered Desdemona arguing that he was upholding justice, ensuring that she does not abuse other men. Othello’s passionate words change to derogatory language, â€Å"subtle whore†. As Iago makes Othello aware of Desdemona’s power over him, it becomes understandable why he has the need to re-establish power-hence Desdemona’s death. Othello is now in a position where he controls the situation. He reinstates his power as a man by leaving Desdemona feeling vulnerable and frightened. Shakespeare’s female characters do not conform to stereotype. All three women have contrasting attitudes to men. In turn all three are treated differently in society. Desdemona is described as being a â€Å"fair wife†, by Emilia the voice of truth, â€Å"So come my soul to bliss as I speak the truth† and Bianca is the representation of a powerless woman. She is the only female who is denied a voice showing that her silence determines her existence in society and that women are at the disposal of men. The male characters in Othello are incapable of selfless love. Iago is unable to love, stereotyping all women as whores. Conversely, Cassio idealises women as goddesses, however, hypocritically uses prostitutes. Othello’s relationship with Desdemona seems to be based on mutual respect and love, however, we could argue that even he is incapable of putting his own pride before Desdemona. Shakespeare suggests that in Jacobean England women’s position in society was dictated by men and female identity was constructed according to reductive stereotypes. Bibliography * Othello: The New Cambridge Shakespeare: Edited by Norman Sanders * Othello: New Swan Shakespeare: Edited by Gamini Salgado * Introduction to Arden Shakespeare * Othello: â€Å"Textwise† By Felicity Currie * Sovereign education lecture notes: By Sandra Clark * Othello: York Notes Advanced * www.sparknotes.com * www.learn.co.uk * www.teachit.co.uk