Prejudice in Othello
Prejudice is an opinion that does not favor certain people and is formed based on myths and without any concrete information. Prejudice is a reigning topic in Othello as there are many forms of discrimination represented in the play. Sexual prejudice, Religious prejudice, and racial prejudice are all present in the play Othello. Othello starts the play as a great hero who is untouched by racial attitudes, but the prejudice catches up with him, and the great man falls. Gender prejudice is also mostly evident as women are command to respect men, and double standards play a great role in the Venetian society. Religious prejudice is also seen in the play. The task seeks to highlight these prejudice evidenced in the Shakespearean play ‘Othello.’
Women in The play are prejudiced in a way that reflects how society perceives women. In Shakespeare’s play ( Act 2 scene 1), Iago expresses his chauvinistic views on women from his talks with Desdemona. He says that all pretty women are not idiots as they can use their beauty to get the husband into respecting them. From the conversation, it is clear that women have nothing more, which men find attractive in them. Women actually are thought to have no brains and that their brains are is in the form of beauty. It also shows that men are insecure and that feminine wiles are there. Iago also expresses his patronizing and cynical opinion about Desdemona’s marriage in a chauvinistic way. He easily convinces Othello of Desdemona’s infidelity with the view that women are weak in macho soldiers’ eyes and hands (Shakespeare, Act 4, and Scene 1). He also refers to Desdemona as a foolish woman before his husband. The fact that Othello does not defend his wife means he also subscribes to the same thoughts as Iago. There is also a belief that Venetian women are unfaithful, and that is why Othello easily falls for Iago’s trick.
Sexual double standards are also applied to women in Venetian society. When it comes to infidelity, women are condemned to severe punishments while men can walk freely with it. Othello confesses that he would chop Desdemona into pieces when Iago tells him about her adultery act. Cheating is okay for men but a crime when it comes to men. Cassio’s ‘the nobble’ one plays with Bianca’s feelings, but no one condemns him, and he is not even sorry about his actions. Emilia clearly brings out the subject when he complains about women’s treatment (Shakespeare, Act 4, scene 3). Emilia talks of men who abscond their duties, beat their women, and cheat on them (pour treasures into foreign laps). In all these evil acts by men, no one punishes them as society is blind when it comes to men. Double standards always play a significant role as women are expected to be modest and submissive to their unfaithful and abusive husbands.
Marriage is supposed to favor both men and women, but that’s not the case in Venetian society. Although currently, the phrase obey has been removed from the wedding vows, a woman needed to swear obedience to her husband. Obedience was exchanged with honor from men, of which the two are not equivalent. In Shakespeare’s play (Act 5, scene 2), Iago commands Emilia to keep silent as he believes that women should always obey women. Emilia responds that it is in order for her to obey Iago, but it was not the right moment for obedience. Iago, on the other hand, has no respect for women as he had previously disrespected Emilia by calling her filth and a Villainous whore. In such a society full of gender prejudice, it is right to disrespect women and respect men.
Othello is a black man, is greatly affected by racial prejudice. The fact that he is black overshadows all the good traits about him, such as being the best soldier. In the play, he is both a representation of racial prejudice and a tragedy of racial conflict. The fact that he is married to a gorgeous and white woman makes others uncomfortable and views this as something unusual. Othello is usually made fun of by being called abusive names such as big lips. The comment is totally racist as society thinks of him as an evil man. Racism does not get any better for Othello throughout the play. Iago is very much irritated by Othello’s presence as he is a black Moor. Iago has this staunch belief that it is impossible for a black man like Othello to be successful and even marry a white woman (MacAdam, 2019. P 56). Iago is so furious when he learns that Othello married Desdemona. He gets so abusive and refers to Othello as a black ram. It portrays how much Iago hates black people. It is a portrayal of what happens in most racist societies as blacks suffer the most.
At some point, Othello loses confidence in him and gives in to what society thinks about him. He notices that no one in the society likes him and that they think he is a lesser being as he is a Moor. The treatment he gets pushes him to become a very bitter and hateful person. It is the insecurity surrounding his skin color and the fact that he is different than pushes him to change his personality. His act of killing Desdemona portrays the anger. He later feels like Cassio would have made a better spouse to Desdemona as he is white and good with women (Sofie, n.d P 25). He, in the end, gives in to the perception that he did not deserve to be loved by a white woman. Racial prejudice becomes the end of a loyal and great soldier. He was great until he learned that black men are unwanted and thought to be useless by society.
Religious prejudice in the form of islamophobia is presented in the play. Being an Arab and a Muslim, Othello is subjected to yet another discrimination. As a Muslim, He is not entitled to Desdemona’s love and thus has to convert to Christianity. It is his religious background that dictates his love life as well as social life. Society could not accept him for who he was and through his acts of valiance (Cooper, 2001. P, 23). Christian tradition at that era believed that African-American people could not resist sex and that included Othello. After Converting to Christianity, Othello plays a big role in religious prejudice. He shamelessly boasts of killing Muslims in Turk. In his statement, he refers to the Muslim as a circumcised dog who paid for his sins for murdering a Venetian citizen. Othello makes use of religious prejudice to declare his space among the Christians. The Venetian society is the one that supports the killing of Muslims and any other form of prejudice against them.
Othello’s confrontation with Brabanito reveals more on religious prejudice. Brabanito refers to Othello as unchristian and also a pagan who practices inhibited arts practices. It is believed that Muslims and blacks practice witchcraft and other ungodly things. Brabanito is very confident in his sentiments as he knows that the Council and the Duke support similar opinions (HEIDARI, Nastaran, and Öz ÖKTEM, 2019. P 28). It shows how religious prejudice is deeply rooted in a society that anyone can freely practice it even in the face of the law. Othello later falls for all the prejudices and acts exactly the same way the society thinks about him. He turns out to be so inhumane and even kills his own wife. It is like he proved that Muslims are actually terrorists and can murder in cold blood. It could be for the same reason that He is made a commander and a leader of Venetian troupes. The Duke believed that being a Muslim, Othello would kill their rivals mercilessly.
Being a Muslim, Othello practices religious prejudice by blaming his actions on the Quran. When Desdemona is accused of adultery, he sentences her to death. As much as it is a sexual prejudice, religion plays a significant role in his actions. Othello makes it his duty to fulfill what the Quran says about an infidel woman. He says that she has to die lest he betrays more men. However, The Quran does not give death punishment to fornication or infidelity but rather, flogging the woman with 100 strokes of the cane. Also, four witnesses are needed to prove that the woman committed the act (Cooper, 2001. P, 23). In Othello’s case, no witness was present, and it later turns out that it was just a lie. From this act, Othello takes part in wielding the myths and misconceptions surrounding the Islamic religion.
In conclusion, prejudice is an evil act that can lead to severe consequences. Racial discrimination led to a great man bowing to its pressures and abandoning his course. However strong one is, prejudice will catch up with them at some point. Women in an unfair society are also subjected to prejudice. Women are thought to be lesser beings than men, which is why they get punished for their wrongs as men get away with similar acts.
Works Cited
Cooper, Edward A. “â?? Ocular Proofâ??: Race, Religion, and Gender in The Merchant of Venice and Othello.” (2019).
HEIDARI, Nastaran Fadaei, and Öz ÖKTEM. “The Other in Othello: Backsliding and Re-turning Turk of the Moor.” International Journal of Media Culture and Literature 6.1: 11-38.
MacAdam, Donal Polk. Towards an Account of Epistemic Injustice in Othello: The Moor of Venice. Diss. Azusa Pacific University, 2019.
Shakespeare, William. Othello. Vol. 6. Classic Books Company, 2001.
Sofie, Michael. “Race and Gender Issues in Othello.”