The two plays, namely Henrik Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’ and William Shakespeare’s Othello treat women as victims during their contemporary era due to the dominance of men . The plays give an account of how women disobeyed male superiority due to the circumstances they faced in their life. In ‘A doll’s House’, Nora enjoys a successful marriage as Torvald, her husband is economically good and does not wish Nora to work. However, Nora becomes disappointed by the behavior of her husband and his superiority. She feels bad about her husband speaking in a superior voice and imagines herself as a doll. Finally, Nora decides to be separate from her husband and live an independent life due to which she borrows money from Krogstad . When Krogstad blackmails her, she exceeds the limits set up by the society and refrains from her responsibilities. Similarly, in the play Othello, women are victims of male superiority who faced punishments and even death for not obeying men. Under such circumstances, Desdemona decides to marry Othello against her father’s will in a society that never accepted women to select their partners . Iago, the antagonist attempts to break the marriage between Othello and Desdemona. Therefore, the paper analyzes the characters of Krogstad and Iago, and describes how they were responsible for the destruction of marriages in the two plays.
The two characters, Iago and Krogstad possess the motivation of manipulating and utilizing others for the destruction of others and obtain personal gains. Since Iago is jealous, displaced and shows betrayal towards his boss for not offering the position of lieutenant to him, he transforms Roderigo for money, thereby convincing him to harm Cassio and deceive Othello that his wife has an affair. On the other hand, in A Doll’s House, the sinister Krogstad also possesses the same goal of obtaining control by intimidating and manipulating others in order to gain power . Suspecting Emilia for having an affair with Othello, Iago decides to trouble Othello by lusting for Desdemona. Conversely, although Krogstad is a sinister, he shows sympathy for Nora and advises her not to commit suicide. It is important to understand that both Iago and Krogstad were victims of adverse circumstances and hence displayed their cruel motivations in order to gain control of power.
The actions of Iago have resulted in a tragedy in Othello, while the actions of Krogstad ended in delight as Nora decides to lead an independent life away from Torvald. Although it is true that the marriages of the two plays ended in destruction, it is also true that the antagonists Iago and Krogstad were responsible for the destructions. The two characters misjudge people, inaccurately assess their situations and finally end up in making bad decisions. Revenge and jealousy of Krogstad and Iago have resulted in major changes in the lives of the protagonists of the play and their families. Both Krogstad and Iago were successful in plotting against Torvald and Othello respectively, which led to the downfall of their bosses. Although the ways employed by the characters were different, their outcome was similar and successful. It is essential to identify that Tarvold and Othello; both get manipulated by the antagonists due to their fragile nature.
The motivations of Krogstad and Iago disclose the weaknesses of Tarvold and Othello respectively. Iago possesses the motivation of taking revenge on everyone, including Othello, Cassio, Desdemona, Roderigo and his wife Emilia. From his cold actions, Iago enjoys the damage and pain he causes to these characters. When Iago murders his wife, Emilia, it is evident that he has an attitude of hatred towards women. He also finds pleasure in forbidding Othello from enjoying marital happiness. Krogstad intends to keep his job in bank and save his children from hardships which he had to face in life . His motives were in favor of his family, he ultimately became responsible for the destruction of marriage in the play, A Doll’s House. Although the unfair treatment of the society does not acknowledge the actions of Krogstad, his perception about Nora makes the audience feel that he is not as bad as Iago. Furthermore, Krogstad claims that the negative role played by him was a result of the abandonment he faced by Mrs. Linde as a person with money. In spite of Krogstad’s deficiencies in moral character he possesses feelings and sympathy in various situations.
Works Cited
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. Longman, 2008.
Shakespeare, William and Gayle Holste. Othello. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's Educational Series, 2002.
