A Feminist Look into Othello by William Shakespeare.
Feminism is an ideology that has been given many definitions by different sociologists. The fundamental idea is that feminism is the call for equality of the sexes. The play, “Othello” by William Shakespeare gives insight into the life of a Venetian woman during the Elizabethan era. Women in the Elizabethan era did not have as many rights as men. Their purpose and education were designed to be subordinate and supportive of the men in their lives. Desdemona and Emilia are female characters who are seen to function at the behest of their husbands. Their subordinate roles make them an extension of their husbands’ image rather than an independent individual. Bianca is seen as a temptress intent on acquiring a husband. A feminist look at the role and impact of these female characters reveals the oppressive nature of the patriarchal Venetian society during the Elizabethan era.
The feminist approach to literary criticism pinpoints and analyses the presence of misogyny in literary works. Literature often reflects the stand and nature of the period and society of the writer. Therefore identifying the stereotypes, bias, and misogynistic tendencies found in literary works exposes the masculine bias of the society and the often negative effects it has on women (Lenz et al. 26).
In the Venetian society, women had very few rights and freedoms as compared to women in modern societies. Arguably, this fashions the characterization of Shakespeare’s female characters in Othello. The women in the play have strong personalities that are limited and suppressed by a patriarchal culture and dominance. An example of such a character is Desdemona. She is a strong woman who dears to defy the expectations imposed on her by eloping with a black man against her father’s wishes. Despite her bold nature, she must give her husband the same regard she gave her father before her marriage. In the first Act, Desdemona says, “My noble father. I do perceive here a divided duty. To you, I am bound for life and education. My life and education both do teach me. How to respect you. You are the lord of duty. I am hitherto your daughter. But here’s my husband. And so much duty as my mother showed To you. Preferring you before her father. So much I challenge that I may profess Due to the Moor my lord” (Shakespeare 1.3.10)
In the third scene of the first act, the Duke gives Othello permission to decide if Desdemona is to go to Cyprus, “Be it as you shall privately determine. Either for her to stay or go. on’ affair cries haste and speed must answer it” (Shakespeare 1. 3. 11) Desdemona had already expressed her desire to travel with her husband rather than remain in her father’s care. Despite her statements, the final decision is made by the men; she did not have the right to decide where she would stay. During the same conversation, Othello tells the Duke that, “To his conveyance, I assign my wife” (Shakespeare 1.3.11); he is referring to Iago. Also, the Senator hopes that Othello will “use Desdemona well” (Shakespeare 1.3.12). The Senator and Othello refer to Desdemona as a possession belonging to Othello rather than a person with autonomy.
At the beginning of the play, Othello denies Iago the position of lieutenant and instead gives it to Casio. This denial ignites Iago’s thirst for revenge against Othello and Casio. “Despise me. If I do not. Three great ones of the city (In personal suit to make me his lieutenant). Off-capped to him. And by the faith of man, I know my price. I am worth no worse a place. But he (as loving his pride and purpose) evades them with a bombast circumstance stuffed epithets of war. And in conclusion, Nonsuits my mediators. For ‘Certes,’ said he. ‘I have already chosen my officer…” (Shakespeare 1.1.1). Throughout the play, Iago continuously uses the women in his plots. His perception of women as possessions makes them the perfect tools for his schemes.
Iago also suspects Othello has slept with his wife. “…I hate the Moor. And it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets He has done my office…” (Shakespeare 1.3.15). This is another example of women being seen as possessions owned by their husbands. The rumor that Othello has used his possession enraged Iago. He wishes to retaliate by ensuring Othello suffers the same pain he has caused. Iago does not consider the feelings of the woman he plans to use in his plot.
The handkerchief Othello gives to Desdemona at the beginning of their courtship can be seen as a metaphor for men’s perception of women as objects. Othello compares the handkerchief he gave to his wife to her reputation. Iago suggests that if he were to give his wife a handkerchief, it becomes hers, and therefore she can gift it to any man she chooses. Othello replies, “She is a protectress of her honor too. May she give that?” (Shakespeare 4.1.1). Othello’s question suggests that, just like her honor, a woman cannot give away a handkerchief gifted to her by her husband. Although the handkerchief might be in her possession, it does not belong to her; hence she does not have the right to give it to another man. The metaphor of the handkerchief is explored by appropriations such as Paula Vogel’s Desdemona: a play about a Handkerchief (Veldhuijzen 4)
Desdemona’s unwavering obedience to her husband is an ugly quality of the oppressed woman (Vanita 341). Her obedience is a sign of the submissive nature of an otherwise bold and progressive woman. The submission portrayed by Desdemona is paradoxical since she, a bold woman, continues to obey her husband even when her instincts tell her otherwise. In the third act, Desdemona declares that “Shall I deny you? No. farewell. My lord” (Shakespeare 3. 3.4). The same obedience is seen throughout the play. Even after Othello’s violent behavior made Desdemona apprehensive. Furthermore, blind obedience seems to be a trait taught to Venetian women and passed down from one generation to the next. In the first act, Desdemona, tells her father that she owes Othello the same kind of obedience and loyalty her mother gave her father.
The women in the play are resigned to their subordinate roles. Desdemona tries to vindicate her killer with her dying breath. Despite the unjust accusations leveled against her by Othello, and the undeserved punishment (death by suffocation), Desdemona fulfills her duty to support and defend her husband. “Nobody. Farewell. Commend me to my kind lord. Oh, farewell!” (Shakespeare 5.2.7).
Blind loyalty is not in every woman. Emilia reveals her husband’s plotting ways despite his commands to stay silent and go home. “Twill out. Twill out. – I peace? No. I will speak as liberal as the north. Let heaven and men and devils. Let them all. All. All cry shame against me, yet I’ll speak” (Shakespeare 5. 2.12). Although Emilia dared to defy and abandon Iago’s side in the drama, she too acknowledges that her position should be obedience to her husband. “Good, gentlemen. Let me leave to speak. ‘Tis proper I obey him. But not now. Perchance Iago. I will ne’er go home” ((Shakespeare 5. 2.11). Emilia begins by apologizing for her disobedience because she is aware that disregarding a directive from her husband is not acceptable behavior for a woman in her society.
Society’s expectations of women are often too high. Women are expected to meet impossible standards set by a patriarchal system that is designed by men, to favor men, and is viewed through male eyes (Massie 30). Brabantio’s describes Desdemona as perfection and refuses to believe that she is capable of an act as ugly as defiance. “A maiden never bold. Of spirit so still and quiet that her motion. Blushed at herself. And she, in spite of nature, of years, of country, credit, everything. To fall in love with what she feared to look on? It is a judgment maimed and so imperfect. That will confess perfection so err….I, therefore, vouch again That with some mixtures powerful o’er the blood or some dram, conjured to this effect…” (Shakespeare 1. 3.5). Brabantio’s opinion of his perfect daughter is a reflection of the Venetian ideology of the perfect woman. Brabantio’s version of Desdemona turns out to be a man’s fictitious view of the daughter he thought was perfect.
Furthermore, the fictitious characteristics of the perfect woman are presented as the law of nature instead of a human-made model of women (Massie 31). Brabantio describes Desdemona’s decision to marry the Moor without his blessing as an error. “Against all rules of nature (Shakespeare 1. 3). During the Venetian period, the act of a woman following her father’s directive is natural. If she goes against his wishes to follow her own decisions, it is unnatural. The author Nacht indicates that the patriarchal definition of the natural was a common feature of the Elizabethan and pre-Elizabethan era. Simone de Beauvoir correctly stated that “One is not born, but becomes a woman. No biological, psychological, or economic fate determines the figure that the female human presents in society. In essence, it is civilization as a whole that produces this creature, intermediate between male and eunuch, which is described as feminine” (Callaghan 4). Simone states that the state of womanhood is not something a person is born with, but rather something that the society designs, then bestows upon a person.
Feminism can also be studied through sexuality as a theme in literary works (DiGangi 280). In “Othello,” Shakespeare focuses on female sexuality for the larger part of the play. Desdemona’s sexuality is used to agitate Brabantio into acting against Othello. Iago says to Brabantio, “I am one, sir. That comes to tell you that your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs” (Shakespeare 1.1. 5). Iago taunts Brabantio with the image of his daughter having sex with the black Moor and the possibility of having black grandchildren. The sexual nature (purity) of a young girl was seen as a reflection of her family. If she were of good and pure sexual conduct, she would bring honor to her family. Desdemona’s sexual actions with a black older man her father did not approve of brought dishonor to Brabantio.
Iago uses Desdemona’s sexuality against Roderigo, Casio, and Othello. Roderigo, Desdemona’s unsuccessful suitor, asks his friend for assistance in wooing her. Iago promises to deliver jewels from Roderigo to Desdemona to persuade her to sleep with him. “With naught but truth. I have wasted myself out of my means. The jewels you have had from me to deliver to Desdemona would half have corrupted a votaress. You have told me she hath received them and returned me expectations and comforts of sudden respect and acquaintance, but I find none” (Shakespeare 4.2.10).
Casio is unwittingly accused of sleeping with Desdemona. Iago creates doubt about Casio and Desdemona’s adultery in Othello’s mind. As proof of this betrayal, Iago plants Desdemona’s handkerchief in Casio’s chamber as proof of his betrayal. Without Desdemona or Casio’s knowledge, Iago fabricates a sexual relationship between the two to torment Othello and prompt him to kill Casio as revenge. Desdemona’s sexuality is used as a weapon against her husband.
Bianca’s sexuality is also woven into the story. Bianca is portrayed as a promiscuous temptress. A prostitute who uses her charms to entice the man she desires into marriage. Casio continues to take advantage of Bianca despite knowing he would never marry her. Iago takes advantage of the situation between Casio and Bianca. He lures Casio into discussing the sexual nature of his relations with Bianca and tricks Othello into believing that Casio is describing his encounters (fabricated) with Desdemona.
The focus of the feminist critique of “Othello” by William Shakespeare is mainly the oppressive nature of patriarchy. This is because of the women in the play area in a society where they are second to men. They are forced to live according to the rules made by men. Despite the overwhelming dominance of men in their lives, there are instances when women act out of character. Emilia questions the gender dichotomy by reducing men and women to bodies with the same experiences and senses (Gay 5). Desdemona defies her father and takes back her right to choose her husband. Bianca goes against the norm and pursues the man she desires. These acts show that women can bring back the power that is rightfully theirs and redesign their own lives.
Works cited
Callaghan, Dympna, ed. A feminist companion to Shakespeare. John Wiley & Sons, 2016.
DiGangi, Mario. “Rethinking Feminism in Early Modern Studies: Gender, Race, and Sexuality.” Shakespeare Studies 45 (2017): 280.
Gay, Penny. “Emilia Speaks her Mind: Othello, IV. iii, 82-99.” Sydney Studies in English 24 (2008): 1-8. Web. 11 June 2016.
https://www.sparknotes.com/nofear/shakespeare/othello/page_2/
Lenz, Carolyn Ruth Swift, Gayle Greene, and Carol Thomas Neely, eds. The woman’s part: feminist criticism of Shakespeare. University of Illinois Press, 1980.
Massie, Elizabeth. “A Feminist Critique of Othello.” Pentangle’s History (2017): 29.
Nacht, Mohsin. “Shakespeare’s Othello and the Challenges of Multiculturalism.” SSRN Electronic Journal, doi:10.2139/ ssrn.2872975.
Vanita, Ruth. “‘Proper’ Men and ‘Fallen’ Women: The Unprotectedness of Wives in Othello.” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, vol. 34, no. 2, 1994, p. 341.JSTOR, doi:10.2307/450905.
Veldhuijzen, D. G. J. Feminism, and Feminisms: An Analysis of Paula Vogel and Toni Morrison’s Feminist Play Appropriations of Othello. BS thesis. 2016.