

Desdemona clarifies to her father that she still has the utmost respect for him but she now must take the place that her mother had taken and be Othello’s faithful wife.
#Characters in othello how to
My life and education both do learn me how to respect you. To you I am bound for life and education. Desdemona announces, “My noble father I do perceive here a divided duty. When Desdemona elopes with Othello she chooses her loyalty to be with Othello. Moreover, in many parts of the play Desdemona stands up for herself proving to possess the character traits of a bold and forthcoming woman. Shakespeare is well ahead of his time when he represents Emilia as someone deciding against society’s norms of women. Shakespeare depicts Emilia as a women who is not timid but bold and a women who will fight for the justice of others. Men cannot control their desires with women and because society at the time allowed men to treat women poorly, Emilia acknowledges that.
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Emilia also knows that men are “all but stomachs, and… they eat us hungerly and when they are full they belch us.” Emilia asserts that men are simplistic and only care of themselves and when they are done with women they will toss them aside as if women don’t matter. Emilia describes how men are regarded differently in society. Shakespeare proves to be well ahead of his time as he portrays how Emilia recognizes this and is defying what most women thought they should behave in this time. Emilia recognizes men are treated with a little less chaste and she objects this idea. Emilia realizes there is a double standard when it comes to men and women and the subject of infidelity. Is ‘t frailty that thus errors” ? Emilia questions why women are treated differently despite the fact that women have sexual desires just like men. And doth affection breed it? I think it doth. What is it they do when they change us for others? Is it sport? I think it is. They see, and smell, and have their palates both for sweet and sour, as husbands have. Emilia states, “Let husbands know their wives have sense like them. Shakespeare was ahead of his time in regard to stereotypes by portraying the women as inquisitive, strong, and opinionated.Įmilia displays traits that are different than the typical norm of women when she calls out society and the inequality between men and women. In the text Shakespeare portrays the women as breaking the standards of being timid, obedient and chaste. Othello kills himself due to his grief and Iago is taken into custody. Afterwards, Desdemona’s innocence is revealed and Iago’s treachery is exposed. He demands for Cassio to be killed and strangles Desdemona. Othello begins to go mad with rage believing Iago’s web of lies. He tries to plant suspicions into Othello’s mind that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio, his trusted friend and lieutenant. Meanwhile, Iago is upset that he did not get the job of lieutenant from Othello and plans a devious comeback. When Brabantio comes to know of their secret marriage he is furious and claims that Othello has done some witchcraft on Desdemona. Othello is an honorable black warrior in the Venetian army and has secretly eloped with Desdemona, the daughter of Brabantio. William Shakespeare’s Othello takes place during the 15th century in Venice and Cyprus. The idea is that what happened in the Cyprus never would happen in the civilized city of Venice.Get custom essays Women in Othello: essay In Othello, Venice represents civilization, while Cyprus symbolizes the wilderness. Shakespeare often uses different locations to represent mindsets. The animal imagery permeates the play, often referring to Othello's "otherness." According to Iago, there is something bestial and animalistic about Othello ("The old black ram") he's base and beastly, somehow beneath everyone else in Venice because of his North African heritage. The candle Othello blows out just before he murders Desdemona symbolizes him extinguishing her life.īeginning in Act 1, Scene 1, Iago introduces the animalistic imagery. It is the belief that Desdemona gave away his handkerchief, and the sexually implications of the gift, that drives him to kill her. Such red on white is private and dear to the heart of Othello, and he expects it to be similarly dear to his wife. The significance of red is love, red strawberries like red hearts on the love token handkerchief, and like the red stains from Othello and Desdemona's first night of love on the marriage sheets. Symbols are central to understanding Othello as a play and identifying Shakespeare's social and political commentary. Explore the different symbols within William Shakespeare's tragic play, Othello.
