Women in Othello/ Elizabethan Times
“The value of identity of course is that so often with it comes purpose” (Stevenson, Robert).In play Othello identity is a topic that appears throughout the play. In Shakespeare Othello all the women, Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca have no separate identity all three are defined by who they are or not married to or the male characters they are connected with. “According to the Elizabethan times that the play was written in and the general hierarchies within Venetian society men hold all the power and women are considered to be of low intellect” (Berggren 55). Yet it is the women that speak the in the scenes throughout the play. Othello by William Shakespeare is a story in which the women characters are treated in the unfair way that women of the time of the Elizabethan times were treated. As seen in the play, women of this time were treated as objects and were not believed to have their own opinion or wishes.
The women in Othello are typically Elizabethan. Men in this time believed that women should stay home while it is acceptable for them to go out with their friends and have affairs with other women. In the Elizabethan times this was understand that this would happen and the women were suppose to accept it and love their husbands. It is also shown in Othello that men are supposed to run everything even who their daughter marries. This is shown when Brabantio gets upset because his daughter has chosen to marry without his permission. He is so upset that he wants to take the case to court and see Othello imprisoned for stealing his daughter. When Desdemona tells him that she now owes her loyalty to her husband he is clearly upset and gives Othello Desdemona’s hand even though Brabantio claims he has already taken it. Even though Desdemona has made her own decision, Brabantio still feels that he needs to give his daughter away. It is also showed that men had owned women when Desdemona said “she once owed her loyalty to her father but now owes it to her husband”
The women in Othello are typically Elizabethan. Men in this time believed that women should stay home while it is acceptable for them to go out with their friends and have affairs with other women. In the Elizabethan times this was understand that this would happen and the women were suppose to accept it and love their husbands. It is also shown in Othello that men are supposed to run everything even who their daughter marries. This is shown when Brabantio gets upset because his daughter has chosen to marry without his permission. He is so upset that he wants to take the case to court and see Othello imprisoned for stealing his daughter. When Desdemona tells him that she now owes her loyalty to her husband he is clearly upset and gives Othello Desdemona’s hand even though Brabantio claims he has already taken it. Even though Desdemona has made her own decision, Brabantio still feels that he needs to give his daughter away. It is also showed that men had owned women when Desdemona said “she once owed her loyalty to her father but now owes it to her husband”
Cited: Cassal, Steve. "Shakespeare 's OTHELLO." Explicator 61 (2003): 4-131. Academic Search Thomas, Heather. "Elizabethan Women." The Life and Times of Queen Elizabeth I. 1998. 27 Feb New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002. 801-812.