Reputation as extremely important thing for some of Shakespeare’s characters. What Shakespeare might have been communicating to his audience about it?
Reputation is something which always have place in our world as it reflects the person`s alignment to the specific social group, its physical activities, educational background and origin as well as the position in the social hierarchy. It was present many thousand years ago as well as will be present in the far future. A lot of writers choose this topic for their masterpieces as one of the most important problems during people’s life because reputation has a big impact on person`s life and developing of its character and personality. And such writers don’t play a wrong card as the works of art related to such topics very often become popular and famous.. We may consider this problem as “eternal” one, every person ran into it at least once in life.
Each of us has some kind of reputation. Whether it is bad, good or neutral it is still a reputation which can tell us a lot of information about the character. We do not mean that if a person has a bad reputation that he is definitely bad. Most of the reputations are quite subjective but they reflect the true attitude and behavior of person to his environment as well as his ability to be friendly.
Shakespeare lived during Elizabethan era, and person’s reputation and status of that time played extremely important role in life of society. There were privileged and non-privileged people. Most of the reputation the person acquires when it is born. We can even say that reputation is inherited from your parents and their title and material state. Speaking about women, they had fewer rights than men; some men even treated them as their property but we can`t judged them and we can`t justified them. They were taught to behave in that way.
If we want to characterize Shakespeare’s attitude towards reputation it is very important to mention circumstances of the time he lived. Shakespeare also had strict position towards women’s discrimination. Shakespeare is famous for emphasizing the woman`s role in the man`s life. He believes that women are as intelligent and strong creatures as men but they just need enough rights to rise among men. Very often he underlined it in his works showing women as clever and wise people, who just suffer because of unfair attitude towards them. So probably we can call Shakespeare one of the supporters of feministic stream even though he do not even know about it.
We may speak of reputation taking into considerations two Shakespeare’s masterpieces Othello and Much Ado About Nothing. These two works are different with similar problems. Such problems as treatment towards women and main characters’ sufferings about their lost reputation are of the biggest value here. Now, when we know about that time’s circumstances, we may pay attention that Shakespeare works are closely connected with that historical period and that now there are four centuries far from that time.
According to McDonald in Othello Shakespeare portrait a character who suffered from his own choice – choice to have impeccable reputation in spite of its value (17). Othello is the main character, who made himself stainless reputation, which include his position in the society and family – beautiful wife Desdemona, who adores him as much as he do. But it is obvious that there should be someone who pokes his nose into Othello’s affairs. In this case it is Iago, who decides to ruin Othello’s reputation. He knows that between all Othello’s steps to the success the most important is his love with Desdemona, because it is marriage which made Othello feel entirely happy.
That family became the last important factor in the way to the full life. Shakespeare shows real differences which become important factors in the portraying of the protagonist. Othello runs military, but at home shows commitment to a peaceful existence and common life. It is very important for Othello to see at home a lovely wife who always tries to support her husband. Maybe the fact of such devoted love explains the Othello’s aggression towards, as he believes, his wife’s betrayal.
Such Iago’s big hate towards Othello may be explained by his understanding that they belong to different shades of life, Iago hates every human feature in Othello. He cannot treat Othello as hero, he cannot let Othello be happy. In other words, Iago wants to ruin Othello’s impeccable reputation by hurting his heart.
Each Iago`s action cause inadequate troubles. He has a reputation of honest and noble person as all the characters called him “honest Iago” but he achieved all things he desire with the help of lie and mischief. Iago consider everyone as a fool, lower than him.
Republic here plays very important role. Working for it Othello feels himself being useful for the environment. People here appreciate his input into the republic’s history and future. But such people must show such attitude because they just need Othello. They even excuse him his race, what wasn’t widely used during that time. Othello is employed for the Venice’s victory. So, the victory is obtained, Othello got his money and is waiting for the new orders. Othello doesn’t live like an individual personality; he lives like the type of people who just wait a chance to prove the expectations of another people.
The attitude of Venice toward Othello creates this conditional, rough and distortion barrier which stands between two shapes of Othello - there are genuine Othello and Othello which is received by Venice, and that adapted Othello is spoofed miserable and truncated creature. Othello for the Venetian Senate exists only in incomplete his form in the rough profile of a mercenary. Othello vaguely knows his position, his spiritual disorder in Venice, it is heard from some of his comments and a little ironic - not only on stage but also by Othello it is felt, that his relationship with a republic is only commercially careful affair.
Love of Desdemona to Othello - for the first time for him wasn’t allowed only out of duty or not out of necessity. This love is a compensation for losses for all non-recognitions, from which he suffered in the public world. Desdemona’s love Othello holds as for his fate, which he finally found in the world. Here are completed the most serious of his quest, far from women and from women’s love.
Desdemona to Othello is given much more than ordinary given one love – she is the hence the strength of its response and the passion and the force of his anger when he feels cheated. Reconciliation with the people and the state, with the civilization and with himself - all this Othello can accept only because of Desdemona. Othello is at the heart of the tragedy. It does not follow, that he has an initiative action. Rather, it is the subject of dispute between Iago and Desdemona. Iago takes care of Othello to separate him from of Desdemona, to deprive him of the faith in himself, which gives him Desdemona’s love.
Unbridled dislike of Iago to Othello is understood only by the fact that they both, Iago and Othello, belong to different areas of life. Iago hates in Othello his human type, a law by which Othello is arranged. Yago cannot take Othello as a hero, high soul, cannot tolerate happiness and luck for Othello.
He realizes that Desdemona’s love to Othello makes Othello feel sure of him. With all its features and requests that it has been so far - it is necessary to destroy this love. By destroying this love, everything will be also destroyed, and first of all – Othello’s reputation. Iago floated lies and slander among all the habitants because of his envy and jealousy nature.
All of this was part of love, kept by her and broke up by her. Othello, Iago succumbed, preparing himself for the parting with Desdemona, saying goodbye in his thoughts with the troops with military trumpets, with the banner. Communicate feelings are justified, Iago has two single strokes: Othello - husband of Desdemona and Othello - a statesman and military leader.
Much Ado About Nothing is an another Shakespeare’s work. It seems to have something in common with comedy rather than with drama. This comedy includes two storylines – comedian and romantic. These two storylines play very important role here. The title is also very interesting – Much Ado About Nothing. It means that a great mess is always made in a result of small action. All big things are made of the small steps and are never done instantly but piece after piece and chaotically.
In Much Ado About Nothing we may notice that reputation is something which is difficult to made, but very easy to lost. The biggest conflict here happens to Hero, who was suffering because her reputation of chaste and loyal woman leaved her. She claimed that it was unfair and decided to get again her reputation. A lot of actions happen here around reputation. This comedy is full of gossip, which are also closely connected with the main heroes’ reputation. Reputation also shows here how characters view themselves; how people try to change their reputation; how reputation influences people’s attitude towards each other.
Speaking of Much Ado About Nothing we should mention the development of reputation of Beatrice and Benedick that takes place in the subplot of the story. Beatrice is very smart, keen, but hurt. Everybody knows the fate of Beatrice and it develops through the stage even more dramatically than the fate of main characters. Her devotion and ability to put everything at stake may shock and fascinate the reader in the 4th act when she is destroying the wedding.
In Hamlet Shakespeare choose quite dramatic manner of motivation of his characters. He tells that “reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving” (Shakespeare).
So, having worked with this topic, we may notice that William Shakespeare shows reputation as very dangerous fact for the human being. Shakespeare wrote his works more than four centuries ago, but we may see that their actuality is present even now. The purpose for our happy being is life without material staff.
Even though the reputation indicates some aspects of the person, but sometimes it does not even partially reflects the objective truth of a human nature. All our sins, crimes and actions may concealed behind that good reputation. Anyway there are examples when good traits and moral values are concealed behind the reputation of the bad person.
Of course, nowadays we cannot avoid all material things in the world, but we may, at least, treat them of less importance. Unfortunately not many people live according such principles and material goods are the thing that matter in our society as well as it matter in the time of Shakespeare.
Such works of art, which include many important remarks, will always be immortal as well as such human’s problems, which are denounced by these remarks.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William, and Stephen Greenblatt. The Norton Shakespeare. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997. Print.
McDonald, Russ. The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare: An Introduction with Documents. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 1996. Print.
