“Shakespeare represents in Othello the reality of women – their wholeness – in high contrast to the fragmented notions of them held by men”. What different views of women are we presented with in the play?
Throughout the play of Othello there runs a common theme being men’s misunderstanding and inaccurate perception of women. It seems that many of the male characters generalise the nature of women, not allowing for their full complexity. As a result, one of the trends appears to be men using binary/polarising terms to describe women. For the most part, men believe women to be unfaithful and untrustworthy as Iago first suggests when stating “players in your housewifery and housewives in your bed” (Act 2, scene 1). He reiterates the belief that women are deceitful/cheating when telling Othello “In Venice they do let God see the pranks they dare not show their husbands. Their best conscience is not to leave’t undone but keep’t unknown” (Act 3, scene 3). On the other end of the spectrum, lies Desdemona who is the epitome of a virtuous woman (no middle ground expressed). From the beginning of the play she is described as ‘angelic’, and even Iago who is mistrusting acknowledges her greatness as a woman when plotting to “turn her virtue into pitch” (Act 2, scene 3). Of course, when Othello begins to believe his wife is cheating on him, his perception of her flips entirely to view her as completely sinful like a “white devil” which alludes to her supposed deceitful nature. Men’s binary understanding of women is also demonstrated through through describing women such as Bianca using the derogatory terms ‘strumpet’ and ‘whore’ in contrast with ‘sweet’ and ‘pure’ for someone like Desdemona.
In the Jacobean era, the predominant role of women was to be subservient to their husbands, hence were often treated as inferiors. In act 3 scene 3 when Emilia finds Desdemona’s handkerchief she instinctively picks it up to hand it to her husband explaining that “I nothing but to please his fancy”. Even though she is in a toxic marriage with Iago, she recognises that her place is to serve her husband and is eager to receive even a morsel of respect from Iago by doing him a deed. Similarly, Bianca’s primary role is to please Cassio as his mistress, and is accordingly instructed to copy the handkerchief’s stitching when Cassio finds it. (Side note: handkerchief passes through the hands of all 3 women in the play, demonstrating how they are united through commonality of mistreatment by men). For this reason, it would be considered very rare for Othello to treat Desdemona as an equal in the way he does at the beginning: “O, my fair warrior!” (Act 2, scene 1). This goes to show how highly valued a woman Desdemona was, and how idealised his view of women and love is. However, this makes the change from such a quintessentially loving relationship to a murderous one all the more tragic on behalf of mistreated women.
Another view held by the male characters about woman is that they are, and should be treated like objects. Even in act 1 scene 3, Brabantio and Othello speak of Desdemona as if she were some sort of prize. Brabantio exclaims Desdemona was “stol’n from me”, to which Othello responds with “I won his daughter”, also referring to her as a ‘jewel’. This paints Desdemona out to be a mere possession, even if intentions weren’t necessarily harmful. Later on, Emilia lectures Desdemona about the same way men exploit women like objects, opining that “They are all but stomachs, and we all but food; they eat us hungerly and when they are full, they belch us” (Act 3, scene 4). The objectification of women as food continues the idea that for men of this time, women only serve to satiate men’s desires, and for it to be a never ending cycle. This acknowledged, Emilia doesn’t leave it there but in act 4 scene 3 tells Desdemona “Then let [men] use us well; else let them know the ills we do, their ills instruct us so”. In essence, Emilia speaks on behalf of many downtrodden woman, claiming that disloyalty towards men is a form of punishment and retaliation for the maltreatment that women receive, but also the way in which men fail to see women for who they really are (theme of misjudgement/understanding in the play).
Original Notes: Link
Excellent response, Tilly; you’ve picked up on a range of the ways in which men view women in the play here, and this is a well-written response. (The one thing you could have added is that we see this mistreatment recognised by the female characters themselves in the play, although their agency is limited and they become literal victims of men at the end).