Gender and Color in Shakespeare: A Study of absent women and Racism in The Tempest and Othello (original) (raw)
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LITINFINITE JOURNAL, 2021
Shakespeare could lay the human mind sole-naked without upholding any moralistic yardsticks. He described human nature as it is-it was and it will be not as others would like it to appear within their threshold of judgments. There is no trouble with the logical development of the characters in Shakespeare's plays; in his greatest tragedies, the reactions of the characters to every turn in the action are always intuitively right and their development as the play proceeds is felt to be inevitable. As we have seen in Othello and other plays, he stood up for the purity of morals
Patriarchal Ideologies and Traditional Gender Roles in William Shakespeare's Play The Tempest
Shanlax International Journal of English , 2024
The paper delves into William Shakespeare's portrayal of patriarchy, gender inequality, and the subjugation of women in his play The Tempest which promotes patriarchal ideologies to a great extent. It attempts to highlight the traditional patriarchal norms evident through Prospero's exertion of control over his daughter, Miranda. It also investigates why the best attributes of women of the Elizabethan period are their physical beauty, chastity and obedience. The study again examines the illustration of women as 'the other' and objects of male gaze and lustful desire as well as pawns for men in terms of attaining personal ambitions and objectives. It tries to explore the commodification of women, their lack of agency, their silence, vulnerability and their passive existence owing to male supremacy, societal expectations, and patriarchal views. Grounded in the theory of feminism, this qualitative research aims to achieve its intended objectives. The primary data for this study is sourced from William Shakespeare's play The Tempest and is further supplemented by additional information obtained from reliable secondary sources.
Shakespeare’s Othello: The Esteemed, Reviled, Shunned, and Integrated?
IJOHMN (International Journal online of Humanities)
In Shakespearean literature, one can find themes that challenge the Elizabethan conventional way of thinking and life, and the tragedy of Othello is no exception. In a dramatic presentation, Shakespeare challenges the way in which Black people are seen in Elizabethan society by placing a Moor in the context of Venice, Italy who is both hated and respected in his place in a racist society. There is no doubt that there is racism in Elizabethan society. According to Eldred Jones, during the era in which Othello is composed, Queen Elizabeth enacts legislation that calls for all Black people to leave the country (Jones, 1994). Racism is not the core theme of the dramatic piece; however, the existence of racism is illustrated and expressed via Shakespeare’s artistic medium. Just as feminism, greed, jealousy, hubris, and varying other matters dealing with the human spirit do not seepage Shakespeare’s consideration, nor do race matters. Furthermore, just as he dramatizes human issues, he dr...
Power, Patriarchy, and Punishment in Shakespeare's "Othello
1993
An informal survey revealed that graduate students presented with Shakespeare's works felt academically unfit and powerless. These student-teacher-text power relationships parallel the power relationships between the dominant patriarchy and the female characters in "Othello"-Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca. However, "Antony and Cleopatra" presents an alternative model of distributing power that teachers and students might find instructi,,e.
The Two Sides of the Feminist Evidence in Shakespeare’s Tragedies Othello and Macbeth
Born as an adjunct to the political movement, feminism in literature explores those elements that convey the idea of female alienation under the ties of a patriarchal society. As they explore the depths of human passions, William Shakespeare’s tragedies Othello (1603) and Macbeth (1606) can be considered manifestations of socially constructed genre. They reflect two different ways of addressing the feminist issue, but, as they both describe the women’s downfall, they portray the everlasting unsuccessful attempts of women to triumph over a predominantly male-controlled environment. This paper is aimed at unveiling the feminist evidence underlying in the depiction of female characters. In Othello, Desdemona, the female protagonist, undergoes a peculiar fall from grace based on male Machiavellian plotting. Whereas in the beginning she is praised by her obedient nature and devotion to her husband, in the end she is fiercely condemned by a sin which she has not committed. But, is she really portrayed as a victim? In Macbeth, the protagonists live on the terms of equals, but, when they are lured to commit a crime by demonic equivocation, Lady Macbeth assumes a male attitude and encourages her husband to take action. They become partners in crime, but it is Lady Macbeth who plays a determining role in their macabre quest for power. Becoming the queen, the decay comes from remorse which arouses during sleep time and leads her to madness. But, is she depicted as the authentic villain of the story? These two plays debate on the nature of virtue as an ethical concept. The female characters and elements in these plays reveal the tragic fate of two women who respectively represent the good and evil sides of human behaviour. By accepting her unfair death stoically, Desdemona keeps her honesty until the end, but, above all, she maintains her female honour and dignity. Lady Macbeth’s ambitions surpass the limits of human ethics. However, on the spur of her insanity, she confesses her crimes before committing suicide and reaching self-redemption. Both female characters conform to two stereotyped images of women. On the one hand, Desdemona portrays the loving wife who passively assumes the male superiority. On the other hand, Lady Macbeth represents the female associated to witchcraft and supernatural elements, who casts off her womanhood and plays a determining role in a patriarchal environment to achieve her purposes. However, they share the same tragic destiny. Although they represent two different poles of behaviour, still they portray the female alienation and the feminist struggle to reach equality in Ancient times, which is still valid nowadays. KEY WORDS: FEMINISM, PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY, FEMALE STEREOTYPES, ETHICS, EQUALITY.
In Shakespearean literature, one can find themes that challenge the Elizabethan conventional way of thinking and life, and the tragedy of Othello is no exception. In a dramatic presentation, Shakespeare challenges the way in which Black people are seen in Elizabethan society by placing a Moor in the context of Venice, Italy who is both hated and respected in his place in a racist society. There is no doubt that there is racism in Elizabethan society. According to Eldred Jones, during the era in which Othello is composed, Queen Elizabeth enacts legislation that calls for all Black people to leave the country (Jones, 1994). Racism is not the core theme of the dramatic piece; however, the existence of racism is illustrated and expressed via Shakespeare's artistic medium. Just as feminism, greed, jealousy, hubris, and varying other matters dealing with the human spirit do not seepage Shakespeare's consideration, nor do race matters. Furthermore, just as he dramatizes human issues, he dramatizes race matters. There are fictional elements in 2
Racism, Ethnic Discrimination, and Otherness in Shakespeare’s Othello and The Merchant of Venice
International Journal of English and Comparative Literary Studies, 2021
This study aims to present a comparative examination of the traces of racism and discrimination in two plays of Shakespeare, Othello and The Merchant of Venice, written in 1603 and around 1598, respectively in the Elizabethan Period. The attempt in this paper is to explore the construction of racism and the evidences of discrimination as depicted in Othello and the Merchant of Venice by use of the deconstruction of marriage. For this purpose, it deconstructs the marriage by focusing on Othello in Othello, and The Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice; and, depicts racism and discrimination by comparing the characterizations of Othello in Othello and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Both sections critique the cruel issues these people experienced as other. The notion of ‘otherness’ and its application in the characterizations of Othello and Shylock, Othello vs. Shylock, the application of deconstruction of marriage to Othello and The Prince of Morocco, and racism in Othello a...
LOVE, BETRAYAL AND VIOLENCE: A FEMALE SUBJUGATION IN SHAKESPEARE’S PLAY OTHELLO
Abstract: Women across historical, social and religious boundaries have been pitted against the asphyxiating patriarchal norms and rigid cultural constructs which bestow power, dominance and freedom on man, and push her into the margins of both, society and domestic space. The current paper attempts to explore the mechanics of domestic violence, and its treatment in William Shakespeare’s Othello. The aim is to ascertain how the playwright addresses the issue of crime against women within the familial and social world of his times. Based on the theme of power politics within domestic hierarchy, the play not only lays bare a grim picture of domestic abuse and violence against women in matrimony, but also offers an insight into the psyche of abusers. The dialectics of power struggle in the play written in the 16th century is a reflection of the playwright’s sensitivity towards the existential reality of women of his times and his negation of male hegemony and criminal violence in conjugal relations. . Vishal Bhardwaj adopted Othello to make the film Omkara in 2006. Bringing the 17th century Elizabethan society in the 21st century Indian setting, Bhardwaj deftly pointed out the present scenario. There are numerous cases of a father’s restriction on daughter’s freedom of choice, brother’s threat to the sister for not to disgrace their family apart from ‘honour killing’. This continues even in the household of her ‘soul mate’ for whom she dares to defy every challenge. The predicament of modern Desdemona’s in the hand of Othello bears the testimony of Shakespeare’s immortal creation and its never ending relevance. The universality of Shakespeare is still rejoiced due to his experiment on the core region of the human psyche which fails to alter even with high-tech service or ‘progressive’ education. Key Word: power politics,violence matrimony, domestic heirarchy, male hegemony