The article “Critical Analysis of the Plight of Women in Othello” by an unknown author is, as indicated by the title, about the terrible plight of women in William Shakespeare’s play Othello. It specifically focuses on the unfortunate plights of the two main women featured in the play, Desdemona and Emilia. The article discusses how these women were subjected to abuse by their husbands and how this exemplifies society’s poor treatment of women and the victimization of women at the hands of men.
The article starts out by summarizing the plot of Othello, describing it as one of the four great tragedies written by Shakespeare, along with Macbeth, Hamlet and King Lear. The article gives a quick overview of the plot, discussing how Othello was deceived by his friend Iago into believing his wife Desdemona was cheating on him and murders her as a result. Desdemona was the mistress of Iago’s wife, Emilia and Emilia is grief-stricken at her death. As a result, she tells everyone about Iago’s deception. Iago murders his wife in response and escapes, after which a guilt-ridden Othello kills himself.
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"Critical Analysis of the Plight of Women in Othello".
The article points out that Desdemona did nothing wrong and is in fact presented as nothing but good, chaste and dignified, yet she is still killed by her husband for imagined sins. Though the progression of actions seem logical- with Othello killing Desdemona out of hurt and jealousy- it seems odd that Othello could kill Desdemona for a betrayal she did not commit and everyone just stood by and watched. Yet the article points out this is how things were in the Elizabethan age- men acting violent toward the women they were married to was seen as normal.
The article goes onto state that the relationship between men and women and the disrespectful way men treat women in this play deserves analysis. It heavily cites Ruth Vanita’s study “”Proper” Men and “Fallen Women”: The Unprotectedness of Wives in Othello” in its analysis. Vanita noted that plays written during this era often present men committing domestic violence against women and commonly end in the death of women. The article notes that Desdemona was struck by Othello in public, but nobody moved to help her.
The article goes on to state that while Othello clearly loves Desdemona while Iago seems to hold little regard for Emilia, the outcome is ultimately the same for both women. It does not seem to matter whether a woman is loved by a man or not, she is destined to receive a violent end at his hands either way. Love seems to have no impact on the abusive actions of men.
The article notes that the only help and sympathy Desdemona receives is from Emilia, a woman in the same position as her. Emilia dies because she is the only one who understands Desdemona’s true nature and chooses to defy her husband to spread the truth. But Emilia is not in a position of great power any more than Desdemona is. Ultimately Desdemona and Emilia meet their fates because they have little in the way of allies and help. Yet the men around them are united in letting each other do whatever they want to the women in care. The true cause of Desdemona’s death is the onlooking men who stand by and do nothing.
The article concludes that the tacit support of domestic violence by all the male characters in the play is a product of the Elizabethan age’s idea that no one should interfere with how a man treats “his” woman, yet it also speaks to issues that still exist in current society. The article cites Vanita again, noting her opinion that the violence against women was present in Othello to serve as a warning to women of what could happen to them, but also that the audience might have taken some sadistic pleasure in it.
The ultimate conclusion made is that Othello demonstrates the problem of violence against women that existed in the Elizabethan age and the women in the play were treated like objects by their husbands. Unfortunately, the problem of violence and objectification of women persists today, but the author of the article hopes that it will one day be ancient history.
