Women in Othello

Women in Othello

1. Desdemona

   • Pure
     • Find quote
   • Innocent
     • find quote
   • Naive
     • "O good Iago" D (IIII.ii)
       • Premodifier "good" shows this as Iago is trying to manipulate her marrage and cause distruction
         • Whereas Emilia suggests that Iago has poisoned Othello's mind
           • "Some base notorious knave, scurvy fellow." (IIII.ii)
             • Premodifier "scurvy" implies Emilia is stronger than Desdemona as she is not emotionally attached to her husband and dosen't think highly of him.
     • "What is he angry?" D IIII.i
   • At the mercy of her husband
     • unable to persuade him of her honesty
       • unable to control her fate
         • "She shall not live"
           • The dietic "she" tells us Othello is not using Desdemona's name, degrading her as a wife. The declarative mood can show us that Desdemona is going to die and she can't do anything about it.

2. Emilia

   • Strong
     • Because she is not emotionally attached to Iago
   • Feminist
     • speech

3. Bianca

   • Independent woman
     • working class
   • strong
   • How does she change?
     • Weaker when falls in love with Cassio?

4. Other male character's attitudes to women

   • Women are not to be trusted
     • Quote from Othello when jealousy kicks in

5. Context

   • Audiences today will see the inequality of women

6. General comments

   • Far fewer women than men in the play
     • Women less important?
   • Woman are not equal, their fate is in men's hand
   • Husbands wives were their property
     • "T'ward make her amiable and subdue my father" Othello III.iiii