Examples Of Stereotypes In Othello

Embracing the Labels: Female Stereotypes in Othello
Women are to be pretty and looked at. Women are flirts. Women are never in charge. These are just a few, but common stereotypes that females encounter. As much as females try to stray away from this discrimination, some become embodied by them. Shakespeare creates three unique women in his play Othello. Their desire to avoid labels overtakes their rational thought of how a woman should act. By looking at the dialogue and behaviors of the women in Act four of Othello, one understands that they embraced their stereotypical roles; this is important because as much as they want to break away from the norm, they cannot.
One of the main stereotypes seen is submission. Women are still submissive to their husbands then and now. At the beginning, Desdemona appears to be a strong, free willed, independent woman. Iago calls Desdemona out on her unusual female behavior, and Othello starts to notice it as well .Desdemona’s un-lady like behavior affects her, her relationship with Othello, and Cassio. At first Othello admired the way Desdemona behaved. Othello was reading the letter from the duke telling him to return home. Lodovico ask Desdemona how Cassio has been doing. Desdemona explains how Othello and Cassio had an argument, and she hopes they can work things out because she
loves Cassio. Othello’s rage boils over, so he strikes her across the face (IV.I.2649-2685).
As the play progresses, Desdemona oddly enough, does not act out of place anymore.
She obeys her husband without a second thought when he ask her to get ready for bed. She is afraid of upsetting him again. Desdemona and Othello’s relationship now resembles an abusive relationship. Everything was going smoothly when they were perceived as equal. Once Desdemona steps out of line, all hell breaks loose. Now she willingly submits to his beck and call. Desdemona’s actions define the definition of submissive. As much as Desdemona wants to appear like a strong willed woman, she cannot escape the submissive stereotype that is buried deep down inside of
her. Desdemona’s maid Emilia even submits to her husband Iago. Iago disrespects and mocks his wife. Emilia still seems eager to please him. Iago wants Emilia to steal Desdemona’s handkerchief. Emilia does not steal it, but when Desdemona drops it, Emilia takes it to her husband instead of returning it. Emilia seems to stay with her low life of a husband all because she craves affection. However, her actions deceive her words during her dialogue with Desdemona about how “love gives women appetites too” (Ancona 10). Emilia and Desdemona’s submission towards their husbands is a common stereotype that women during that time executed like a job. The stereotype of women seen as temptresses is one that Desdemona uses to her advantage. Othello blames her beauty for part of the problem. Desdemona uses her loveliness to petition Cassio to get his job back to Othello. Othello thinks that Desdemona is being manipulative. This feeds his suspicions of her cheating. Desdemona also uses a persuasive, somewhat nagging tone to get what she wants. Ultimately, Othello’s trust for Desdemona is at stake here. He trusted his wife to “his care during the voyage to Cyprus,” which is a military base full of men (Taylor 3). Her temptress ways however, diminishes his trust when she continuously begs and pleads for Othello to give Cassio his job back. Some readers and critics believe that Desdemona was innocent, and she was just too young to understand. However, Desdemona has known all along that “her beauty has given her power” (Ancona 7). Thus Desdemona does what is expected of her and embraces, even worships, her feminine power and uses it for her own will.
In Venetian culture, women are property. Father’s sell their daughters on the market to the highest buyer. Desdemona “is breaking the marriage traditions” (Henningfield 2). She secretly marries Othello without her father’s permission. This troubles Brabantio because Othello is depriving him of the money he could receive from “a prospective husband in the marriage market” (Henningfield 2). Eventually he sees this as a form of payment for Othello. Bianca on the other hand truly defines the stereotype to the T. Bianca is a prostitute. She is always someone’s property, if they pay for her. Bianca falls in love with Cassio. Cassio laughs at the thought of him actually loving and marrying her. The realization of being another man’s possession is one stereotype that these women cannot run away from.
Desdemona’s youthfulness complicates some of these stereotypes. Shakespeare never mentions her having a mother, so she never learned how to act like a proper woman. She cannot help how she acts because she does not know any better. Looking at these women, they each represent a common female stereotype: Emilia with submission, Desdemona being a temptress, and Bianca being property. These women appear to stray away from the labels every once in a while, but they always return back to what is typical.
Stereotypes are seen all throughout the play, but especially for the women. These women embrace their stereotypical roles in society. Through their language, behaviors, and roles some may wonder if they actually wanted to break away from what is common. From reading the dialogue and analyzing these women behaviors, one can see how much they accepted their status as a woman in a man’s world.