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Othello- Misogyny essay
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Essay study book Othello of Mary,Ellen Snodgrass, William Shakespeare - ISBN: 9781853260186, Edition: Annotated edition, Year of publication: - (Misogyny essay)
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Rukhsar Yazmin 12HHNMs Patel
English Literature
[ 25 Marks]
Examine the view that, in this passage and elsewhere in the play ‘The most shocking
aspect of the play is not Othello’s downfall but the persistent and overwhelming
misogyny’
The view that the most shocking aspect of the play is not Othello’s downfall but instead the
persistent and overwhelming misogyny can be argued to be true, as seen in Othello’s
degrading language towards Desdemona. At the start of the play, Othello is seen to worship
and idolise Desdemona, he places her on a pedestal and sees her through this rose- tinted
view of perfection, using terms of endearment such as ‘fair warrior’, ‘sweet one’ and’ sweet
powers’. However, this admiring language is seen before Iago tells Othello of Desdemona’s
‘infidelity’ and as soon as Othello hears that Desdemona has committed adultery, he no
longer views her as this goddess but immediately belittles her to a ‘strumpet’ and a ‘cunning
whore of Venice’. The extract conveys Othello’s misogyny and degrading Desdemona
through the line ‘Heaven stops it’s nose at it and the moon winks’ The use of the
personification of heaven and the moon conveys that Othello believes that Desdemona is
such a disgusting and sinful woman that ‘heaven’ blocks it’s nose from the smell of
Desdemona’s treachery and that the ‘moon winks’ as it can’t bear to even look at her. This
use of natural imagery of ‘heaven’ and the’ moon’ presents the idea of unnaturalness and
that nature, which is seen as perfect and beautiful, is hiding itself from Desdemona’s
hideousness, as she no longer is this perfect and natural woman. This hyperbolic language
that Othello uses emphasises the change in his character, and portrays that Othello’s real
nature is misogynistic, as the second that Desdemona was not ‘idealised’ or ‘perfect’, he
degrades her by calling her derogatory words like ‘whore’ and ‘strumpet’. This change in
demeanour to misogyny would be seen as normal and typical for contemporary audiences,
as women were commodified by society and made to be ‘lesser’ to men, and the women
who showed sexual desires were labelled as ‘whores’ and ‘unnatural’, therefore
contemporary readers wouldn’t view Othello’s language as misogyny but rather the anger of
a cuckhold.
The misogyny in the play Othello is presented numerous times through several male
characters, and can be argued to be more shocking than Othello’s downfall, particularly to
modern day audiences. Throughout the play, there is an abundance of misogynistic
language, degrading not only Desdemona but women in general, and it seen just as
frequently as the fall of Othello’s character. Iago is a primary example of misogyny and
female commodification as throughout the play he has made derogatory remarks about
women, their sexual desires and their sensuality. Iago continually refers to the promiscuous
and lustful nature that beautiful women have and that they often will use their beauty and
appeal to get what they desire. Iago’s views are indirectly heard in A2, S1 ‘If she be fair and
wise, fairness and wit, the one’s for us, the other useth it’ Iago claims that if a woman is
beautiful and smart, she will use her beauty to her advantage and that her intelligence isn’t
required if she has the assets of being ‘fair’. The misogynistic view connotes the idea of
women, like Desdemona, being commodities, only to be appreciated visually but to be silent
with their intelligence. Furthermore, Iago’s misogyny and derogatory nature can be seen in
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