Cole Elliott

ERH-321

18 October 2017

Help Received: None

Othello Response Paper

 

Part 1

Marriage and the patriarchy in early modern England reserved a great deal of power to the men. The women were not permitted to lead regular lives that would cause them to live freely. Hall writes, “Defined primarily in relation to marriage, early modern women were seen as highly visible social subjects, always the objects of surveillance, correction, and comment” (Hall 262). With this, Hall is merely asserting that the reactionary response by Othello to Iago’s warnings are a common case of surveillance and correction—albeit uninformed. Hall later continues to talk of Desdemona’s predicament as a woman in early modern England. She asserts that Desdemona is already expected of much as a transitioning married woman, and she is married to a Moor to further advance her predicament. Hall asserts, “Othello presents Desdemona at that moment of transition: because it is transgressive, her move from daughter to wife without her father’s permission casts a broad net of suspicion that ultimately traps her within beliefs about women’s unfaithfulness” (Hall 262).

The example of Desdemona is an interesting case. She is marrying away from her father’s wishes, Othello. But she is marrying within the realm of possibility—Othello is a respected military leader and through some convincing, Brabantio accepts the idea of their elopement. But it is the combination of these two that result in the tragedy of her death in Othello. Later in the chapter, Hall comments on Desdemona’s eventual fate in the play and what it means as a lesson for the reader. Hall comments, “Critics struggle to read Desdemona against the ideal of womanhood revealed in writings on marriage, either finding in her a paragon of obedience and passivity or seeing her death as punishment for her violation of the structures of patriarchal life” (Hall 268). As Hall comments, Desdemona is virtually doomed from the beginning in her unfortunate predicament. Because early modern English values on women did not permit them to have much choice, and because of the close “surveillance, correction, and comment” they are always being watched over for their actions.

Part 2

Jealousy, dishonesty, and hatred take on new meanings through the plot of Othello. When Iago asserts in a soliloquy, “I hate the Moor” (I, iii, 352), his intentions of doing anything to disrupt and ruin Othello’s life are clearly stated in one sentence. Othello faces staunch discrimination and criticism—although not always stated in the text—that proves the undeniable unacceptance of Moors in the Venetian—and early modern English—cultures. This hatred leads to his dishonest, cruel actions to railroad the lives of Othello and Desdemona. But perhaps the biggest strain is placed on Desdemona herself and being a woman in the Venetian culture that does not accept gender equality. Hall writes that, “idealize[d] marriage [is] between social equals” (Hall 271)—citing the importance of the early modern English perspective of class and the notion that marrying within such classes was essential to societal function. She later states that, “men did on occasion marry their social superiors, women who by rank, experience, or wealth brought their own power to the household. Such misalliances were often seen as sources of potential conflict and provocative of larger social disruption” (Hall 272). Speaking to the “misalliance” that can occur with this type of marriage, Othello and Desdemona’s elopement plays exactly into what can result from it. Moor’s were not accepted—regardless of their expertise, such as Othello possesses—to equal into the Venetian’s upper class. And while the love that Othello and Desdemona have is clearly represented in the play, their ability to see past the differing classes to which they belong is not strongly represented—making it easy for a villainous figure like Iago to act upon wrecking their marriage. Juan Luis Vives writes in Instruction of a Christian Woman—a virtual hand guide on what the woman should aspire to be and how to go about executing her significantly reduced role in society—, “it is not comely for a maid to desire marriage, and much less to show herself to long” and “Wherefore fathers and mothers procure unto their daughters, either perpetual felicity, if they marry them to good men, or perpetual misery, marry them into ill” (Vives 273). What Vives suggests is an incredible responsibility on the parents of the woman to not “marry them into ill”—essentially confirming—in his theory—that Desdemona’s choice of Othello as a husband is a mistake and will set her down a path of misfortune. This continues the concept of women as a reduced role and incapable of making decisions for themselves.

 

 

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. Othello: Texts and Contexts. Ed. Kim F. Hall. Boston: Bedford/St.   Martin’s, 2007.