Othello

The Women in Othello

The women in tragedies almost invariably are destroyed , or are absent from the new consolidated at the conclusion ' - Sprengnether

It has always been observed that women in tragic plays always end up as victims and William Shakespeare 's Othello is no different . Here , the readers are introduced to three female characters : Desdemona , Othello 's wife Emilia , Iago 's wife and Bianca , Cassio 's lover

Shakespeare chose to present the reader with only three female characters for strategic reasons . Emilia and Bianca were written specifically to present

striking contrast to , and to heighten Desdemona 's innocence and loyalty to her husband . In the play , Desdemona is the young , sweet , and unsuspecting daughter of a Venice nobleman named Brabantio . She is often referred to throughout the play as virtuous , innocent , and pure by several different characters . Only one of the women in this play survives in the end , but all of them have no separate identity within the play . As always , they are highly associated with the male characters

At the time the play was written , Venetian men held all the power while women were considered second-class citizens . Ironically , however , it is the women that spoke the most sense throughout the play . Each woman represented a different social level -- Desdemona being the highest and Bianca being of the lowest . Othello was a tragedy , in which out of the three women that are introduced , only one survived . Although the women were all rational in thought and trusting , their trust was often misplaced . The tragic part is that regardless of their intellect and contemplation of events around them , they could not rise up from their predicament because society would not allow it

Instead , in Othello , women were depicted as victims . Venice at the time was a bustling trade center , where women were also considered as a commodity . At that point , a woman was considered as a prize . Her husband , meanwhile , becomes her owner . This is demonstrated by Iago when he talked about Othello : `tonigh he heath boarded a land carrack If it prove a lawful prize , he 's made for ever ' This demonstrated Iago 's conception that Othello is a pirate turk , and that he has captured a treasure in the person of Desdemona . This suggests that love is considered secondary to the actual possession of a wife and the extra power it conveys on him . In fact , in the court of the Duke of Venice the male characters have an extensive colloquy that does to a great extent objectify the character of Desdemona . The male characters ' contempt for women , and treatment of Desdemona illustrated the marginalization of women

The victimization of woman is also very clearly seen through what Desdemona spoke in Scene 3 . When asked by her father where she owes her `obedience ' Desdemona says

`My noble father

I do perceive here a divided duty

To you I am bound for life and education

My life and education both do learn me

How to respect...