Othello- gender Shakespeare’s and Significance Women Exam Questions with Complete Solutions

Patriarchal order - ANSWER- Shakespeare explores romantic relationships from a fundamentally patriarchal society, thus, it is indisputable that women appear as subservient e.g. Desdemona is killed by her own husband However, play portrays women holding emotional power over men Critical theory - ANSWER- Lisa Jardine- Desdemona's death is punishment for disobeying the partriachy Karen Newman- Othello internalizes the masculine fear of femininity which leads to his jealousy and their downfall Ania Loomba- Desdemona ostracized by her supposed infidelity, only comes about by Othello's and Iago's dominance over the course of argument Example of male-female relationships - ANSWER- Juliet must decide about her own suicide- result of Romeo's weakness, who ultimately kills himself first at hands of love Cleopatra undermined by Anthony's weakness as a soldier- her empire is destroyed by his defeat to Caesar and she is left isolated by his suicide- fate is controlled by the man she holds love for, however, could be argued it is she that takes the stronger role as has to make such decision Lady Macbeth is aggressively strong female character- emasculates Macbeth to get what she wants, holds emotional control over him, however, is later seen as weak when she sleepwalks/commits suicide whilst Macbeth is left standing Potential arguments about gender roles in Othello - ANSWER- Downfall of Desdemona and Emilia comes about not due to their own fallibility but due to the weaknesses of men who seek to control them in order to hide their own insecurities Men's moral and spiritual weakness means that they resort to physical violence- female characters' principal weakness is only physical, can control men both spiritually and psychologically Through accepting a subservient role, female characters expose male weakness and weakness of their control- Emilia notably recognizes this Desdemona and Othello's relationship - ANSWER- Initially presented as a marriage of mutual respect and lack of control by both parties Slowly deteriorates when Othello is infiltrated by Iago's contemporary views of women, more suited to the Elizabethan era Iago's view that Venetian women, especially those who are infertile, are more 'susceptible' to adultery and promiscuity