Othello presents women as the victims of men Essay

To what extent do you agree that in Othello Shakespe ar innovates wo workforce as the sadal victims of men?Throughout Othello, Shakespe ar employments the manipulation of the protagonist, by the antagonist, Iago, to present a play controlled by men. In such a potent dominated inn, Shakespeargon presents the women in the play as sad victims at the workforce of their conserves, in particular Desdemona and Emilia. Throughout this essay I will mention to the Aristotelian and Senecan descriptions of tragedy to come to a conclusion of how in Othello Shakespe be presents women as tragical victims of men. Firstly, by means ofout Othello Shakespeare presents men as the dominant characters of the play, whereas the women are portrayed as characters to always be suspicious of. No pistillate character is given as many lines in the play as any male character, in particular Iago. This is reflective of Iagos dominance in Othello, consequently meeting one of the Senecan definitions o f tragedy presenting women as tragic victims of men. Furthermore Othellos suspicious nature towards his wife, Desdemona, is false, and though the women are constantly thought of cheating, they never do. In act 3 image 4 of the play Desdemona claims that Othello is true of mind.The dramatic irony of that arguing once again implies that Desdemona is a character who follows social hosts, yet her husbands false accusations relate to the Aristotelian definition of tragedy in the Desdemona is pitied by the auditory sense due to her pure feelings of love towards Othello. The use of the procedural true further shows Desdemona as a tragic victim of Othello as she is unaware of Othellos beliefs that she is cheating on him with Cassio, which is false. Though women may be portrayed as tragic victims in Othello, Emilia gives the au scare offnce cause to believe that women are far from tragic victims in the play. She ch completelyenges social convention in that women should be passive to the ir husbands. In defiance of Iagos Be wise, and get you home, Emilia here debates the model of a profound wife, who should be silent and marginalised. Though Emilia is undoubtedly ultimately a tragic victim of the play, she reveals how asymmetricaled a male dominated social club is when she clears Desdemonas reputation. Her death opposes an immoral conviction against her sex, exonerating her part in the tragedy.In act four scene three of the play, Emilia implies that she is able to men, which suggests to the readerfurther that she is a character who once again defies societys expectations of women. Emilia criticises the way men behave, in which she asks have we non affections/desires for sport-and frailty-as men have? claiming that womens needs are just the analogous as men, although it is acceptable for men to cheat on their wives. This is supported early in the play when Emilia likens mens behaviour to that of belching, which itself is a vulgar activity. they are all but s tomachs, and we all but regimen/they eat us hungerly, and when they are full/they belch us this corrupt truth is also reflective of how men treated women, and that it was ok for men to cheat on their wives, but had women done the same, it would have been considered a sin. On the other hand, Emilia could be interpreted as a tragic victim at the hands of men in Othello. As oppose to Desdemonas marriage to Othello, Emilias marriage to Iago has lost all signs of romance and affection, and her victimisation could be interpreted through her satirical pose towards men.Her death at the hands of Iago, her manipulator, shows that Iago was truly to blame for Othellos polish off of Desdemona, as it was him whom Emilia stole Desdemonas handkerchief for. Her death is therefore her punishment, furthermore making Emilia a tragic victim as she has died through no fault of her own. Like Emilia, Desdemona is also a tragic victim of the men in Othello. Her murder, like Emilias, is through no fault o f her own is a result of Othellos jealousy and Iagos interference. What makes Desdemona even more tragic to the audience is the fact that even in death she tries to protect her husband, telling Emilia that she has killed herself, nobody, I myself, this further depicts to the audience that Desdemona is a fountainhead and pure character. Her devotion to her husband makes her a tragic victim in the play as she can not be blamed for her death. Contextually it is important to understand how women are presented as tragic victims of men in Othello.Contemporary views of women were, according to Sir Thomas Elyot to be mild, timorous, tractable, benign, of sure remembrance, and shamefast. Conversely men were seen to be fierce, strong in opinion, covetous of glory, burning of knowledge, appetiting by generation to bring for his semblable. Elyots views of the contemporary man, though a good deal grander than those of women, could prove to be their downfall in Othello. Shakespeares protagoni sts downfall could be based on the fact that he is greedy of knowledge, and Iagos manipulation ofOthellos trustworthy nature suggests that not alone are women the tragic victims of men, but it is men who are also victims of men. The use of derogatory language and coarse sexual imagery is used by Shakespeare to show the male characters misogynistic attitudes towards women, and this is evident whenever Iago speaks of the opposite sex. His express feelings of Desdemona, a character who is pure and good passim the play, particularly portrays how women are presented as tragic victims of men. He tells Brabantio that a black ram is tupping your vacuous ewe, referencing Othello and Desdemonas romance.The contrast of black and white suggests that Iago views Desdemona and women in general as guilty beings, which further suggests to the audience that women are tragic victims of men in Othello as it is the men who are guilty, not the women. Desdemonas father, Brabantio, holds a exceedingl y misogynistic view towards his daughter upon hearing of her affection for Othello, when he answers the question is she utterly? with aye to me. Iago also views women as objects- look to your house, your daughter and your bags, his materialistic view of women, in which equating Desdemona to material good, suggests that Iago is a misogynist as he does not hold women in high regard at all. In conclusion, women are certainly presented by Shakespeare as tragic victims in Othello, however it is not completely at the hands of the male characters. Yes, both Emilia and Desdemona die at the hands of their husbands, but it is through societys expectations of women that they are murder, as well as Iagos evil manipulation of The Moor.Desdemona dies through no fault of her own, this making her a tragic victim at the hands of Othello, as she has not committed any sin, and she is only murdered through Iago suggesting to Othello that she had been cheating on Cassio. Desdemona is also a tragic vict im as not only has she done nothing wrong, but throughout the play she is portrayed by Shakespeare as a genuinely good and pure character. Emilia is a tragic victim as ultimately she dies from knowing that Desdemonas murder was due to the actions of her husband. Finally it was the women who were tragic victims at the hands of a society where the man is judge, jury and executioner, as well as manipulating them to satisfy their selfish needs.