Masculinity and Femininity in Othello

Masculinity and Femininity in Othello

1. Masculinity

   • Maintenance of public role
     • Othello is addressed by his title (as a general). The Duke treats him with respect, giving him status and power. The Duke presents Othello's public role as more important than his private life, dismissing the social outrage of Brabantio.
       • The other soldiers initially give Othello respect, siding with him over Brabantio, who tries to single out Othello. Through the stage directions, the Venetian soldiers follow Othello, who is given command over them. Othello is not hesitant in his actions and appears comfortably in charge.
         • In Khan's 2015 production, the military connection of Othello is focused on, making the relationship between Othello and Iago more intense and close. There is an added scene where Othello walks past torture without reacting, showing how he is desensitised to it.
     • Cassio gets a promotion by the Duke at the end of the play to restore the balance of power.
   • Private role
     • Perhaps the events of the tragedy may have been avoided if Othello kept his private and public roles hermetically sealed, although the plot detail of Desdemona being disowned by her father means that she has to come near him.
       • Othello: I will chop her into messes! Cuckold me! Othello feels as if he has failed in his private life due to the rumours of Desdemona cheating. He juxtaposes violence synonymous with his military job as a punishment for her supposed infidelity.
     • Othello comes to value his public relationship with Iago more than his private relationship with Desdemona.
       • Othello: “Not I, I must be found / My parts, my title and my perfect soul / Shall manifest me rightly.” Othello shows the purity of his private life is intertwined with his public role. It is perhaps because of his esteemed non-vocational qualities that he is so well-respected as a soldier: he isn't keen to resort to violence, unlike Iago, whose language is dysphemistic from the beginning.
         • Even Iago is able to recognise Othello's personal qualities. Iago: “The Moor is of a constant, loving, noble nature / And I dare think he’ll prove to Desdemona / A most dear husband
     • Cassio loses his self-respect through losing his reputation.
     • AC Bradley calls Othello the “most romantic figure among Shakespeare’s heroes”. He gives Desdemona a voice when his public role is challenged and he kills her in the most romantic way. It is this romance that is his downfall.
     • Othello: “She’d come again, and with a greedy ear / Devour up my discourse.” Othello uses romantic, yet physical, language to describe their relationship and how he is eloquent - this attracted Desdemona.
   • Loss of public role
     • His job security is not absolute, as Othello is merely the second-choice into protecting Cyprus.
       • His first act as being in charge of the army is to mix public and private roles, as he uses his power to defend Desdemona and place her under the care of Iago.
       • Othello loses his sense of self through the corruption of Iago, who has a motive of jealousy and fun to destroy Othello's role through gossip. In 3.3, Othello says to Iago "farewell, Othello's occupation gone": the marriage-like pact he makes with Iago comes at the expense of his public role.
         • The strangling of Desdemona is a close and intimate death; read as a final act of intimacy between them. To strangle someone, you need to have physical strength. We believe that he can kill like this from Khan's addition of him ignoring torture, adding credibility to the violence at the end. Othello does this to avoid tarnishing her physical appearance, as opposed to stabbing her,
           • Desdemona's death is on-stage, unlike Lady Macbeth's suicide, which is merely reported.
             • Iago: “Reputation is an idle and most / false imposition, oft got without merit and lost / without deserving. You have lost no reputation at all.” The loss of Desdemona means that Othello has less power over her, which coincides with his loss of public role.
       • Othello: “Fear not my government.” In explaining his reaction to knowing Desdemona could be cheating on him, Othello makes reference to the state and his public role. This shows how the worlds have become closer, but also how he cannot separate the two sides of his personality. It could also be a reference, as he is in conversation with Iago, about his picks for lieutenant,
     • We never see Othello in battle, as the drama of the storm dissipates the Turkish threat, leading to peace. This causes Othello to lose his public status. Therefore, the only information we are given about his military role is from his own words, in trying to gain Brabantio's trust, which can later be doubted, thanks to Iago.

2. Femininity

   • Purity and chastity
     • A tragedy needs something to be corrupted in the public sphere (having an impact on the state), before it can be solved. Othello views Desdemona as corrupted and uses imagery of justice in 5.2 when he kills Desdemona: he is convinced it is for the greater good, fitting with his public role.
     • There is an absence of femininity in Cyprus: Bianca's role as a prostitute is accepted due to the male-dominated population. However, Desdemona's version of femininity is not present, so it disbelieved.
     • The connection between masculinity and femininity is seen as intimate, before it is corrupted by power and control. The toxicity of the male relationship corrupts Othello and Desdemona's relationship, whereas Emilia and Desdemona's relationship becomes more intimate.
     • The two "sides" defend each other - Emilia stands up for Desdemona's chastity by saying "if any wretch have put this in your head / Let heaven requite it with the serpent’s curse ". She uses dysphemistic language usually reserved to Iago. This seems backwards: she is progressively allowed a voice to defend Desdemona's chastity, which is an old-fashioned viewpoint of a woman's worth.
   • Subservience
     • The stereotypes of both genders are polarised by their mixing in the military world: Desdemona is shown to be subservient to the extreme.
       • The corruption that needs correcting is the balance of power that favours men on the island of Cyprus. Despite Emilia's transgressions, no female character ends the tragedy favourably. Desdemona and Emilia both die. Bianca has been arrested for stealing the handkerchief ,
         • The patriarchy and class order makes the women turn on each other. Emilia says "Fie, fie upon thee, strumpet! " to Bianca, believing the gossip that Bianca (where prostitution is seen as a source of corruption) caused drama.
           • After a 1610 production at Oxford, Henry Jackson recalled that Desdemona ‘entreated the pity of the spectators by her very countenance’. This shows that Shakespearean audiences felt sympathetic towards Desdemona. She is seen as someone to be pitied: a feminine emotion.
       • Emilia's death goes against the gendered deaths common in plays - she is stabbed, which is noble. Emilia: [He threatens her.] - I care not for thy sword, I’ll make thee known [...] I will not charm my tongue, I am bound to speak (5.2).
         • Taming of the Shrew suggests that the role of women is to “serve, love and obey”.
         • Emilia: Ay, ay: O, lay me by my mistress’ side (5.2): Her power is eventually defeated.
     • The equality of masculinity and femininity is important: each "side" is shown to be able to learn something from each other. Othello could learn from feminine reservation and thought; Desdemona could learn from "manly" traits of being assertive. The external corruption destroys this, through a trust in the wrong relationship.
   • Innocent victims
     • Desdemona is described through heavenly imagery. Her status as a wife shows that her husband has a duty to protect her, but Othello hits her in public. Emilia is humiliated and mocked in public without recourse.
       • Desdemona is a victim of the plot. She cannot stand up for herself: if she did stand up for herself, she would undermine the role that she is playing. She is reliant on the "truth" to set her free, although it is never revealed.
         • Emilia: But I do think it is their husbands’ faults / If wives do fall [...] Let husbands know / Their wives have sense like them (4.3), bringing masculinity and femininity closer together: minimiser feminism. BUT: Says this only in private, not in public.
         • Desdemona: It is my wretched fortune. Desdemona accepts her fate, which ultimately causes Othello's death. Her willingness to die to be exonerated shows Othello that he made the wrong decision, which he cannot cope with, causing him to kill himself.
     • Roderigo is used by Iago for his money - his flaw could be his stupidity and inability to see Iago's tricks (although Othello cannot, either). He is problematic as he wishes to take advantage of Desdemona: he feels entitled to. He is seen as less manly for this.