This is another scene where the men hold the power above the women. As if she could ever deserve being struck by him. After being struck, Desdemona claims that she did not deserve that. In Act 4 scene 1 Othello strikes Desdemona after she innocently calls her “My Lord” and “Sweet Othello”. This furthers the idea that women are meek, and the only strength they have is to lie and to run away. As seen in act 1, Brabantio tells Othello to keep an eye on Desdemona so she doesn’t run away on Othello like she did to him. The women are seen as meek and unable to tell the truth. This furthers the ideas in the story that men are to be trusted above women, and the fact that there are male and female gender roles allows this to happen. He is lead to believe this, not because of the actions of his wife which he “loves”, but because of what one of his trusted male lieutenants tells him. Towards the middle of the story, Othello is thrown into a jealous rage due to the fact that he believes Cassio is trespassing on his property, in other words, sleeping with his wife. They may have well been a piece of paper to write upon, and once someone else has written on it, it is no longer useful. They had become used goods to both Iago and Othello, so they discarded them as if they were trash.
Both of these women had become trespassed on. These ideas further the ideology that men are the ones in power, purchasing their things – women, to use and discard if found to be “tainted” or trespassed on. Othello ends up also murdering his wife out of rage, claiming that he loved “not wisely but too well.” (V.2.344). Iago ends up murdering his wife, to try to quiet her to save his own life. There is no love within the relationship between Iago and his wife Emilia, there is only possession and dominance by the male and submission by the female. The fact that he refers to her as his “seat” paired with the fact that he publicly humiliates her because he feel she is “used” property shows how he truly feels about their relationship. Othello has trespassed on his property, referring to the situation as Othello “leaping into his seat” (II.1.286). Iago is then led to believe that Othello has slept with his wife. In act two Othello addresses his marriage to Desdemona as a purchase (II.3.8). Meaning she could run away and not be a possession of his anymore just like she ran away from her father’s possession (I.3.293). He tells Othello to keep an eye on her, for she could “betray” him like he has done to her. She is simply a piece of property to be looked after. This idea is furthered when Othello “assigns” his wife to be looked after by Iago as he would a box of potatoes or swords and shields for fighting (I.3.283).
#Othello rules free#
This breaks down the idea that Desdemona is a human being that has free will and has any right to make choices.
He sees Othello as a thief of his property. She is something to own that can be stolen. Either way he is addressing Desdemona as property. Brabantio could be addressing Othello stealing away her virginity, or simply stealing away Desdemona. Her father, Brabantio, is outraged after finding out Desdemona has run away and married Othello.
Othello gives a good example of this male female ideology being accepted and spread throughout society in the Elizabethan age.įirst, it is clear that the men in the play see Desdemona as a piece of property to be owned. They are created through the male/female ideology being spread throughout society and accepted as a natural occurrence. Wittig would argue that these gender roles are created artificially and are not a natural occurrence. They can be political, religious, or entertaining, but they still perpetuate the idea of male/female binary opposition. These ideas are perpetuated through any sort of media via any means. Women and men do not just come into being naturally they are created through ideas spread about to bring about the oppression of women and the advancement of men. According to Wittig quoting Simone de Beauvoir “One is not born, but becomes a woman.” With this quote, she is commenting on the social consequences of being a “woman” in society. This ideology was perpetuated by both men and women of the time by playing into the roles of male and female. Women were often seen as lesser people who need to be taken care of by men. Women in an Elizabethan society, such as Shakespeare’s, were usually not seen as equal.