The Individuality of Women in Othello: Desdemona and Emilia

William Shakespeare’s play, Othello, takes place during the Renaissance period in Venice, Italy. The tragedy is about a man who uses his skill of manipulation to get revenge and causes chaos along with death. Iago manages to trick Othello into thinking that his wife, Desdemona, is being unfaithful and dishonest. Although Desdemona has already declared her love for Othello, Othello morphs into an angry and upset man that eventually ends up killing his beloved wife. Not only is Desdemona killed by her husband, but Emilia is as well. Emilia tries to do what’s right at the end of the play by telling the truth about Iago’s deceitful plan but is killed by Iago. During the 1600s, women would be punished if they were dishonest and would be labeled as a “whore” if they were suspected of cheating. Some husbands, like Othello, went to the extent of killing their wives if they found out their wives were unfaithful. Renaissance women were advised to stay home and obey their husbands at any costs. Both Desdemona and Emilia tried to do their best to stay by their husbands’ side but were killed because they had no power over their husbands. Women were seen as objects and trophies during the 1600s and couldn’t go against their husbands without being hurt. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello, Shakespeare illustrates female characters as women who do not fit the stereotypical Renaissance woman and sees them as dynamic. Shakespeare uses his characterization of women to teach society about their individuality and complexity.

During the 1600s, the Renaissance period, society seen women as people who were destined to become housewives and obey their husbands or dominant male figures. However, Shakespeare used the art of writing to portray women who step out of the norm and became their own person. Ever since the beginning of time, women were seen as inferior to man. They were seen as people who couldn’t become equal to men because they were weak or too delicate. Men took the dominant role and left women with very little power. Shakespeare portrayed his female characters as objects of their husbands or male figures. In act I, scene I, Iago cries out “Awake! What ho, Brabantio! Thieves, thieves!/Look to your house, your daughter, and your bags!/Thieves, thieves!”. As Iago’s first move in his plan, he begins to stir up trouble for Othello by going to Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, who learns about the marriage and becomes furious. However, the use of the word “thieves” proves to the audience that Desdemona is considered Brabantio’s property that was stolen by Othello. Brabantio never recognized Desdemona’s wishes of loving someone so she decided to go behind his back and elope. The audience sees that Brabantio has control over Desdemona’s life and come to the realization that men were superior to women during the Renaissance. Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper, a Shakespearean expert, argues that “Society was patriarchal; in other words, men ran all of the institutions and were considered the heads of the households”. In Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper’s article, Women in Othello, Cooper speaks upon the rules that women have to follow in order to “honor” the family name and Desdemona is no exception. Brabantio believed that his daughter will respect their name due to the fact that he is a senator. Shakespeare portrayed Desdemona as a woman who didn’t change her individuality because of one person and stayed pure. Desdemona followed her heart in which not many women did at this time because they were told that they should never disobey their dominant figure.

The female characters of Shakespeare’s Othello, were women that didn’t fit into the mold of a Renaissance woman. For example, Shakespeare’s characterization of Emilia shows society that women are able to speak out but are too afraid because they have no way of protecting or defending themselves and will end up hurt. During the 17th-century, women were punished if they didn’t obey their husbands or were killed if they were suspected of cheating. However, Emilia did go against her husband's order and asserts, “I will not charm my tongue; I am bound to speak”. Throughout the play, Shakespeare decides to put small details of feminism into Emilia’s character and at the end of the play, decides that she is done with the mistreatment towards women. Emilia speaks up, disobeying her husband, but is killed due to the fact that she told the truth about Iago’s deceiving plan. Women during the 17th-century had the mindset of obeying their husbands. However, Shakespeare portrayed Emilia as a woman that seen others abused and mistreated by men. Unlike Emilia, Renaissance women did not care about the struggles they faced with their husbands and stayed by their side. Although much of the problems between husband and wife were made public, no one decided to interfere. In the act IV scene ii, Emilia was in the presence of three other men who decided to not protect her once Iago drew his sword. Ruth Vanita, a professor at the University of Montana with a focus on historical literature with gender studies, asserts “What we see on stage at this point is a lone unarmed woman surrounded by armed men who deliberately fail to protect her--a visual representation of the defenselessness of a wife” (Vanita 32). Literary critic, Ruth Vanita, speaks about the powerless and innocent wives that were collateral damage in Iago’s plan. Both Desdemona and Emilia were not able to defend themselves because they had no power over their husbands. Women in the 17-century were fixated on trying to please their husbands because it was their “duty” which led to the very little power that they had.

The majority will argue that women fall short of their complexity and uniqueness because they were not able to go against their husbands and had to follow a set of rules. Nevertheless, some may say that Renaissance women lacked individuality, not because they were inferior to men or were powerless, but because they chose to show their love and affection by obeying their husbands. However, the wives in Othello were seen as objects or trophies to their husbands. For example, Othello states, “O curse of marriage!/That we can call these delicate creatures ours,/And not their appetites!” . The audience sees that Othello is claiming Desdemona as if she was an object in his daily life. The audience also sees that husbands see themselves as superior to their wives because they are the dominant gender. Women in the 1600s were given the advice to become obedient to their husbands whenever they were faced with problems with their husbands. They were told to not go against them or to provoke them for it will cause them to no longer be loved. The strategy of being obedient does not work in Othello because Desdemona is killed. Desdemona tried to stay by her husband’s side even in the worst scenario but it did her no good.

All in all, Shakespeare characterizes his female characters as dynamic and complex to persuade society into allowing women to become their own person. Both Desdemona and Emilia were collateral damage in Iago’s plan due to the fact that they were not able to defend themselves after being abused, both physically and mentally, by their husbands. However, there were many opportunities where people could have interfered and saved both female characters. During the Renaissance period, women were advised to never go against their husbands and to obey them because that was what made them happy. Women had the mindset of having to obey their husbands in order to please them and receive love in return. Nevertheless, many women did obey their dominant male figures but those who did not, were punished and hurt. The life of a woman during the Renaissance was one where they could not express their uniqueness and who they truly were. Shakespeare attempted to show society that they should allow women to become their own person. The tragedy, Othello, included a set of female characters that were out of the norm but were abused because of it. Women were scared to express who they truly were due to the fact that they could have been hurt or killed. Shakespeare used his writing to teach society and women about their complexity, as well as their power to not be afraid to be their own person.