Othello
A Feminist Reading
Critical Analysis Review
• Remember to do a critical analysis, you must ask
between 2 and 3 questions of the work you are
trying to analyze.
• Those answers to those questions will tell you
how the work is viewed from that perspective.
• Remember, some questions relate best to some
types of works and some questions are ‘easier’ to
answer than others.
The Women
• Choose 3 questions from the previous slide to ask of
each female in the play to complete the PowerPoint.
• You will, together in groups of 2 or 3, create 2
PowerPoint slides
Group 1: Create 2 slides answering 2 questions about the
representation of: Desdemona and Emilia
Group 2: Create 2 slides answering 2 questions about the
representation of Bianca and Othello/Iago’s relationship)
• Then we will integrate them into this PowerPoint for
study purposes. You have 45 minutes!!!
How are male and female roles defined?
•
Female:
- Being controlled by male.
- Must be respectful to the man
- Try to fight against, but too weak to do that. - Emilia
•
Male:
- Controller.
- Have power to control.
- Egotism – can do whatever they want.
“Do it not with poison, strangle her in her bed, even the bad she hath contaminated. ” (Act 5 Scene 1, 197 198)
“You did wish that I would make her turn. Sir, she can turn, and turn, and yet go on, and turn again; and she
can weep, sir, weep. ” (Act 4 Scene 1, 240 - 242)
How do characters embody these traits?
•
Desdemona: - obedience
“I will not stay to offend you.” (Act 4 Scene 1, 235)
“His unkindness may defeat my life, but never taint my love.” (Act 4 Scene 2, 160 - 161)
Desdemona is so loyal to her husband that she will not fight against him. It showed the weakness
character of female, and her obedience as well.
•
Emilia: - independent
“I durst, my lord, to wager she is honest. Remove your thought; it doth abuse your bosom.” (Act 4
Scene 2, 12 - 13)
“But I do think it is their husband’s faults if wives do fall.” (Act 4 Scene 3, 83 - 84)
Emilia tries to maintain women’s rights by narrating the truths.
What are the power relationships
between men and women?
• Men are the leader of the society. Women are
the base level of the society.
• Women are following the orders which are
given by men.
• Women are not respected.
How do characters embody these traits?
• Othello trust Iago’s every word. He is easy to be controlled.
• Othello is fractious. When he thinks about that his wife is a
whore, he is out of control.
• Othello is jealousy. He wants to kill Cassio when he hears
something happened between Cassio and Desdemona.
• Othello loves his wife so much. She is Genral’s Genral.
• Bianca is independent. She does not want a handkerchief
from a another women even though it is pretty.
• Bianca seeks love bravely. She went to see Cassio in public
place just because she loves him.
Feminist Questions Review
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What does the work reveal about the operations (economically, politically, socially,
or psychologically) of patriarchy?
What does the work imply about the possibilities of sisterhood as a mode of
resisting patriarchy?
What does the work say about women's creativity?
What does the history of the work's reception by the public and by the critics tell
us about the operation of patriarchy?
What role the work play in terms of women's literary history and literary tradition?
The
are some suggested questions you might choose to ask
of characters in Othello
Act 4 Scene 3
Here Emilia and Desdemona discuss the role of
women in society and what a woman’s duty is.
Emilia specifically discusses the liberation and
freedom of women. This was a very philosophical
discussion that was had at the time.
It is important to understand that Desdemona is an
upper class woman while Emilia is a middle class
woman (Bianca is notable by her absence, what
does that mean? And What does it say about her?)
Lets take apart A4S3 L90 - 115
Othello
• How and when does Othello take on the
‘traditional roles of a woman’.
• Iago begins to manipulate Othello and he
grows week to his manipulations and tricks.
Othello gives up his role as the dominant
general that he was in the beginning of the
play and Iago ascents to his master. A4S1 L1 58