In the historical time, women had few roles within the community, diminishing their effect towards the practices, laws, and structure of the society. Historical information characterizes women as housewives, whose main work was to take care of the family and its needs such as food, clothes and water among other things. However, there were women who made great progress in changing the stereotypes set by the community by exerting their knowledge towards the current affairs and way of life. Some of the men felt intrigued by their presence while others saw them as equals. Hence, it was a struggle for these kind of women to come out and express themselves. It was harder for them to seek an audience for themselves and raise their concerns. In Othello, Shakespeare expresses the role of women and their outstanding nature in the 16th century.
Shakespeare’s plays are full of themes which the current time and era of its writing. Othello features love, racism, betrayal, jealousy, repentance, and revenge. It is a tragic story of Othello, a Moorish general, his wife, Desdemona, his ensign, Lago, and lieutenant Cassio (Corbett 7). Desdemona is an extraordinary woman in the play though she has her flaw, which is common in the current society, though they cause havoc in her life. Since Desdemona is the wife to a high ranking officer, she has better roles than the common woman. However, she has similar characteristics as the rest despite the extra favor and power bestowed upon her by Othello. One common trait for the two kinds of women is the lack of freedom to do as they please (Corbett 9). There were strict rules set by the community which they must uphold in their day to day lives. The reason behind it is that they uphold their family’s honor; a woman who strays portrays a bad picture to her family.
Men ruled over all the institutions, making them the head of respective household. They would scrutinize how women wore, talked and carried themselves in the community. These features instilled fear on women, making them adhere to their laws without questioning them (Corbett 10). Women could not move about without an escort, either by another man or other women. Those found walking alone were referred to as prostitutes, even though that is not their true nature. The mode of dressing was casual; provocative clothes and makeup were forbidden as it misleads men into lust. Women could only utter a few words or phrases in a discussion, mostly when men spoke to them and they had to respond back to them. Virginity was a sacred item, which a lady has to keep till marriage. Breaking it before would render her as a prostitute (Corbett 11).
The power bestowed on men made them treat women as possessions, they were accessories to their lives, and their main purpose was to complement them. In the play, the Duke grants Othello permission to take Desdemona with him back to Cyprus. He assigns his ensign Iago Desdemona to guard during the transportation to Cyprus (Corbett 12). In the context, Desdemona has become a possession to Othello, despite being his wife. In current times, the wife accompanies the husband after they become one. To add insult to injury, the first Senator wishes Othello well and hopes that he make good use of Desdemona. The word ‘use’ brings out one stereotype of women; baby making. The senator might be implying that Othello should make good use of her in making an heir or more.
Another instance of possession is when Othello utters ‘loving’ words to his wife while leaving the marriage ceremony; ‘Come, my dear love /the purchase made’ (Mulpeter 4). The context portrays marriage as an institution of ‘buying’ women, with the hope of her returning the favor back. The woman should ensure her husband is well fed, kept and make him babies. Despite Desdemona being the wife of Othello, a Moorish General, there is little she can do to make her life better than others. Her life looks harsh than the common married woman as she has lesser rules and laws (Mulpeter 6). Lago treats his wife, Emilia, with little respect by insulting her in the open and mistreating her. However, Emilia slipped when she slept with Othello, enraging Lago. According to his wrath, Lago was mad because Othello used his ‘possession’, that is Emilia; ‘twixt my sheets/He’s done my office’. The act creates a drift between Othello and Lago.
In the play, the women are submissive to their men; a common trait required by the community. Submission exists in many ways in the play. Desdemona submits herself to Othello as an obedient woman, who adheres to his commands from the beginning till the time he develops jealous ravings (Corbett 15). Towards the end of the play, Othello orders Desdemona to go to her bedroom and she obliges despite the errors already known to her about her husband. Another instance is when she is breathing her last, and she asks Othello to commend her as he pleases. These instances show how submissive she was to her husband throughout their marriage.
Just like Desdemona, Emilia is submissive to her husband, though he fails him in the long run after discovering Lago’s plan to kill Othello. As she tells on her husband, she is quite aware of her actions and knows that it is wrong to betray the husband (Corbett 16). She takes it upon herself to explain her actions to the people and husband to seek forgiveness. Bianca, the wife of Cassio, has a similar instance of telling on his husband. She acknowledges the circumstances that will fall upon her since she has no choice. The society deals with the women accordingly, despite their good deeds of saving the Othello. According to the laws, the society ignores the actions of a woman if she did them without the consent of his husband. Apart from that, the woman should honor the husband, even when they are in the wrong.
Desdemona uses her position to exert power in public, despite her diminished role as a woman. A woman in her position would greatly benefit other women as she would be their voice in most gatherings. While speaking in front of his father and other Venetian senators. Desdemona explains that her duty is not in the possession of Othello but to his father (Corbett 28). At the time, Othello was unfaithful to her, and she felt less of a woman in front of him. She was better off submitting to his father as he shows respect and honor to her. Her request becomes a matter of discussion in the court as the senators question her motives in seeking the orders of her father and not husband. They deliberate on whether it is a justifiable fact given that the husband still lives since it would be a different scenario if that were the case.
Naturally, women are tempting to look at or think of despite the many laws set in place for women to cover themselves when speaking before men. While conversing with his wife, Othello has lingering thoughts of her flesh, thinking of what he will do to her once he reaches Cyprus (Mulpeter 12). He praises her in front of other officials in the camp and wishes that all the men would taste her body and know the true meaning of a good woman. However, he does not know of the infidelity Desdemona has done in the past. The obsession over Desdemona blinds Othello, and when he realizes the truth, he cannot believe his eyes. As he goes to murder his wife, he cannot stop thinking about her lustful ways, which led them to their current state. In the long run, he ends up weaker than before due to the tempting body of Desdemona.
In conclusion, Othello portrays some of the significant roles of women in the 16th century. They were weak by nature because of the laws bestowed upon them, but they became clever in having their way through the hard times. These roles changed with time and women have a voice now, and most of the roles portrayed in the play are inexistent.
Works Cited
Corbett, Lisa Ashley. "Male Dominance and Female Exploitation: A Study of Female Victimization in William Shakespeare's Othello, Much Ado about Nothing, and Hamlet." ETD Collection for AUC Robert W. Woodruff (2009): 7-30. Print.
Mulpeter, Kathleen. "Parallelism and Confused Gender Roles in the "Female Economy": Othello, Moor of Venice and Much Ado About Nothing." Valley Humanities Review (2010): 1-9. Online.
