Alison Douglass
Scholarly Essay
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A Society That Kills: Patriarchal Violence in Othello
New Historical scholars believe literature reflects societal values and beliefs of
the time in which it is written. That being said, the society in which William Shakespeare
lived when he wrote Othello was not a favorable time for women. Imagine having to live
up to specific expectations and codes of honor that, today, seem impossible or better yet,
ridiculous. Women in early modern England were expected to be chaste, silent and
obedient, not to mention submissive. There were legal documents and codes of conduct
that women were conditioned to follow. The female characters in Othello are under
constant scrutiny and are continually being compared to society’s standards for the ideal
Renaissance woman. It is debatable whether or not they exemplify the ideal of the perfect
early modern woman; however, the play seems to suggest that the values society holds
women up to are actually killing them.
When analyzing Othello, it is essential to familiarize oneself with early modern
codes of honor women were expected to live up to every day. According to Curtis Brown
Watson, a woman’s honor rested in her chastity: “A woman’s “honor” and “honesty,” in
the 16th century, consisted almost exclusively in the preservation of her virginity as long
as she was unmarried and in her faithfulness to her husband after marriage” (159). A
young maiden who was not a virgin disgraced and shamed her father. A woman
unfaithful to her husband was dishonest to him; both types of women were unacceptable.
Another idea these women had to embrace is the notion that women were inferior to men.
The culture believed that “[…] woman is, by nature, an inferior creature, whose primary
duty is to obey the superior in her family, whether it be her father or her husband”
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(Watson 443). Concerning marriage, upper class women were expected to leave the
arrangements to the parents, including the identity of the groom. The Church of England
opposed and condemned secret marriages and those marriages without parental consent
(Ranald 130-131). Guillaume de la Perriere summarizes that, according to courtesy
books, a wife should behave in eight basic ways:
(1) she should take care of all domestic business, and look after the household; (2) she
should not allow any person to come into the house without the express consent of her
husband; (3) she should oversee all household expenses; (4) she should not dress too
richly, for that is the forerunner of adultery; (5) she should take no interest in foreign
affairs; (6) she should wholly obey her husband, even in those things that concern
business and outdoors; (7) she should account the conditions of her husband to be the
laws of her life, and if bad, she must patiently bear them; (8) she should love, esteem, and
honor him in adversity, as well as in prosperity. (Ranald 131)
Women are to be silent and submissive. Both Desdemona and Emilia possess qualities
that agree with the codes and ideals that women of the early modern society are molded
to fit. There are times when each women acts in a way contrary to these ideals.
Regardless of their success or failure of being the perfect Renaissance woman, these
codes and the pressures from society to conform destroy them.
When reflecting on the play, the first thoughts regarding Emilia are usually that
she is an outspoken woman who disobeys her husband. The silent, obedient Emilia, who
knows her place in society, is forgotten when she transforms into the disobedient and
outspoken woman we see in the final scenes of the play. Emilia initially behaves as
though she recognizes that she is inferior to men in all aspects. She appears to accept that
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she is nowhere near equivalent to men; instead, she knows she is of lower status than
men. She is also well aware that her husband is of higher social status than she and has
come to understand and accept this fact. She describes to Desdemona what the
importance of a woman is when she says, “They are all but stomachs, and we all but
food;/ They eat us hungerly, and when they are full/ They belch us” (Othello, 3.4. 106108). She is clearly trying to show Desdemona that a woman’s place in life is to yield to
the pleasures of a man. Man is greater and he has the right to exploit his power. At the
beginning of the play, Emilia knows she is inferior, she knows her place in society.
Emilia is obedient and submissive, just as it is to be expected of the good little
wife. Part of the role of early modern women was to be obedient and submit to their
husbands’ desires. Whatever they are asked to do, it must be done. Emilia proves herself
to be a submissive wife. She gives into being deceitful just as her husband has asked her
to be. Their conversation even shows how insignificant she is to Iago. He uses harsh
words that are degrading even after she informs him that she has completed her task of
fetching Desdemona’s handkerchief (3.3). Emilia shows she is an obedient wife who only
wants to make her husband happy: “I nothing but to please his fantasy” (3.3. 315). She
does, indeed, succeed in pleasing Iago when she betrays her lady Desdemona. Jared R.
Curtis portrays Emilia as dutiful and obedient, but also as “wayward and unruly” (171).
Emilia does display both sides to her character; however she undergoes a transformation.
Throughout the play this silent, obedient woman slowly converts to being disobedient
and outspoken. We first see a change in Emilia in act four, scene two, when she is
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vilifying the man who devised the plot to implant into Othello’s mind the thoughts of
Desdemona’s being a whore (137-140). She becomes more vocal with her opinions when
she and Desdemona are talking about women who cheat on their husbands. Emilia boldly
blames men for the downfall of women in her speech at the end of act four, scene three:
“[…] But I do think it is their husbands’ faults/ If wives do fall [...]” (87-106). These
words are shocking coming from a woman who just one act earlier only wanted to please
her husband.
The point of no return for Emilia comes when she confronts Iago after
Desdemona is dead and Emilia refuses to be quiet. She decides to stand up for herself and
reveal Iago for the villain no one recognized. She realizes that the proper wife would
refrain from speaking anymore after her husband has ordered her to leave: “’Tis proper I
obey him, but not now” (5.2. 203). Emilia is slain by Iago because she refuses to be quiet
and go home. She unravels his whole plot to everyone. Iago’s rage and wrath swell
within him as she continues to speak her mind. He sees no other alternative and stabs her
to silence her (5.2). This scene shows how little tolerance a man can have for a
disobedient and outspoken wife.
Iago’s lack of tolerance for Emilia’s disobedient behavior is a direct result of
society’s view of women. According to Frances E. Dolan, men had a legal right to
discipline their wives in early modern England (Shakespeare, “Taming” 218). When
describing society during the Renaissance, Margaret Hunt states, “Not only was this a
society suffused with personal relationships of dominance and submission, but it was one
that saw violence as a necessary, if not always optimal, way of maintaining order in any
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hierarchical relationship” (qtd. in Shakespeare, “Taming” 219). Emilia’s failure to
comply with her husband’s demands leaves her susceptible to Iago’s brutality. Her voice
is silenced because Iago was conditioned by society to believe it was his right, his duty to
reprimand his wife. In this society, the disobedient and unruly wife is destined for ruin.
Similar to Emilia, Desdemona seems destined for ruin, though there is much
controversy on the part of critics whether or not she was living up to the Renaissance
standards of the perfect woman and wife. Allardyce Nicoll shows Desdemona in a
positive light when saying she is “pure and innocent” and that in terms of chastity she is a
“perfect creature” (457). However, he also portrays her as being deceitful, which
corresponds with arguments made by Margaret Loftus Ranald that say Desdemona is not
as innocent as she seems because her conduct is neither innocent, nor is it proper (127132). Both arguments can be supported throughout the play. At the beginning of the play,
we see her as a sweet, silent virgin when we hear Brabantio refer to her as “A maiden
never bold;/ Of spirit so still and quiet that her motion/ Blushed at herself;” (1.3.96-98).
She seems to embody the qualities of the perfect early modern maiden until we learn that
she has married Othello without her father’s permission, violating her filial obligation.
Her deception of her father does not comply with the actions of the ideal Renaissance
woman. However, Desdemona defends herself by speaking of her “divided duty” and her
obligation to her husband, the same obligation she states her mother showed to him,
Brabantio (1.3.183-191). Though it appears she is being a disrespectful daughter, she
learned from her mother’s actions how to be a dutiful wife.
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Another part of Desdemona’s deceitfulness, as pointed out by Nicoll, is that she
deludes herself: “Where is Desdemona if not in a world of romance, of idealism? There
she dwells, deceiving herself even when she encounters the fierce torrent of Othello’s
jealousy” (458). She somehow maintains the view that their love is pure and resilient to
his jealousy and rage. When Desdemona is struck with reality she is “bewildered, and at a
loss” (Nicoll 458). She doesn’t know what to do with Othello’s jealousy and mistrust
because she’s been residing in her own little world.
In spite of her exit from reality, Desdemona does seem to be aware of her
inferiority to her husband. While she believes she is Othello’s war companion, she still
refers to herself as inferior when she tells Emilia, “[A]nd in such cases/ Men’s natures
wrangle with inferior things,/ Though great ones are their object” (3.4.145-147). She says
this after Othello has asked Desdemona repeatedly for the handkerchief and storms out.
She attributes his behavior to his having too much on his mind to deal with such a thing
as a lowly woman after a bad day at work. She assumes that his thoughts are of his job
and that he has no time or energy to spend associating with her. She knows her place and
leaves Othello alone. Even after she learns why Othello is so angry, she is still unable to
defend herself. She never speaks out to prove her innocence: “[…] never does she stand
forward as a creature of independent spirit and determination. [She is] completely under
the domination of her lord […]” (Nicoll 457). He sees that she is truly showing herself to
be of lesser value. She has no choice but to accept his behavior and false accusations, for
she is a woman.
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Desdemona is expected to be submissive, and there is little tolerance for female
disobedience in the world of the play. She has been conditioned by society to obey and to
believe she lives only to serve men. In her eyes, she never once disobeys Othello. She is
“[…] powerless to challenge him because conditioned to obey” (Greene 588). She
understands the concept that women are to be ruled and dominated by men. A woman can
be severely punished if she refuses to obey her husband. As part of his superiority, he has
the right to inflict pain upon his wife if he so chooses. In act four, scene one, Othello hits
Desdemona in public and she must accept it because she is a woman and it is his right to
beat his wife. Though other men in the play do not agree with Othello’s actions and
believe he is being to tough on Desdemona, they do not interfere. Frances E. Dolan
states, “Male heads of household (husbands, fathers, and masters) had the legal right to
discipline or “correct” their subordinates” (qtd. in Shakespeare, “Taming” 218). Dolan
continues to show that it was acceptable for a man to abuse his wife:
The right to use force to secure obedience and to maintain order was
widely assumed, even by those who did not exercise it. As long as a
husband did no kill, maim, or seriously endanger his subordinates or
disturb his neighbors, he was not accountable for how he treated those in
his care. (qtd. in Shakespeare, “Taming” 218)
While the bystanders may disagree with Othello’s behavior toward Desdemona, they
know hitting her is within his legal right as a way to reprimand her.
Not only does Desdemona accept his brutality, as she is supposed to, she also
internalizes it and blames herself. Later on in the play, after Desdemona realizes Othello
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is unhappy with her, she innocently asks what she has done wrong to merit his scorn
(4.2.72). Desdemona continues to say things that reflect her own self-blame and
acceptance of her husband’s treatment: “My love doth so approve him” (4.3.20); “Let
nobody blame him; his scorn I approve” (4.3.54). Desdemona knows he has some reason
for his actions and she has done something to offend him. Her final words are further
evidence of her acceptance of her fate. Emilia asks who did this to her and she replies,
“Nobody; I myself” (5.2.128). She refuses to name Othello and even accepts the blame
herself.
Critics argue Desdemona’s obedience actually leads her to her deathbed. Othello
bids Desdemona to go to bed and send Emilia away before he returns to her himself
(4.3.8-10). Being the obedient wife she is, she complies with his request, which “[…]
leads her without retort to a bed, laid with her wedding sheets, that she knows in her soul
will be her deathbed” (Stauffer 172). She has some sense that she will die tonight;
otherwise she wouldn’t have asked Emilia to lay the bed with her wedding sheets: “If I do
die before thee, prithee shroud me/ In one of these same sheets” (4.3.26-27). She
willingly goes to her room and waits for Othello to return, expecting she will die. If that’s
not the Renaissance ideal of obedience, I don’t know what is!
Desdemona also seems to embody many of the character traits that the ideal
Renaissance woman possesses. The only problem is that these characteristics also lead to
her downfall. She is beautiful, sweet, generous, pure and innocent, as is required of the
ideal wife. Various critics like Gayle Greene point out that some of these traits actually
are disadvantageous to her. Her generosity gets her into trouble in her dealings with
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Cassio. Her actions can be seen as both ideal of the perfect wife and dishonest. She takes
an interest in Cassio’s cause, which is the sympathetic, kindhearted womanly thing to do.
However, the problem is that she is taking an interest in affairs outside the household,
outside her realm. She also converses and visits with Cassio without Othello’s knowledge
or consent, which is not acceptable behavior for the ideal wife (Ranald 134). Stauffer
argues that her purity and innocence blind her to the world around her: “Desdemona’s
purity is her own peril. She is blind to the possibilities of suspicion and jealousy in
human nature” (179). Stauffer continues by mentioning that Desdemona cannot say the
word “whore” nor can she conceive of the possibility of a wife’s being unfaithful (179).
This notion that she cannot imagine a wife’s cheating on her husband is seen through a
conversation she has with Emilia in act four, scene three: “Dost thou in conscience
think—tell me, Emilia--/ That there be women do abuse their husbands/ In such gross
kind?” (63-65). Desdemona is too pure to even consider the thought that there are women
out there who do cheat on and dishonor their husbands. Making the same point, Gayle
Greene shows Desdemona’s virtue as part of her downfall. Greene argues that
Desdemona is “vulnerable because she is virtuous, unable to understand his accusations
because incapable of imagining the evil of which she is accused […]” (588).
In addition to possessing accepted character traits, women must know various
roles; obedience and submissiveness are two that were mentioned earlier. Another role
women must accept is their fate as being a possession. Women are seen as the
possessions of men, and men feel they should treat women accordingly. They stake their
claim, so to speak, and refer to them as their own. When a man speaks of the woman he is
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married to, he uses the phrase “my wife” to show she belongs to him. As a result, women
are often likened to material possessions, as Iago does with Desdemona when he reveals
to Brabantio that Desdemona has run off with Othello: “Look to your house, your
daughter, and your bags!” (1.1. 82). Iago groups Desdemona with material items,
implying that she is considered to be on the same level as a house and some money. A
Renaissance woman is solely a man’s belonging. He does what he wants and treats her
how he wants. She is his property. She is at his disposal. Desdemona realizes she is
Othello’s possession. She accepts this and the fact that he can dispose of her at any time,
which Othello finally does when he kills her in act five, scene two. It is as if he is
throwing her out just as he would do with an old, worn out sock. He has no use for her
anymore, so he just disposes of her. Desdemona accepts this when she chooses to wait for
Othello to join her in her room when she knows she is waiting to die.
As you can see, deciding whether or not Desdemona is William Shakespeare’s
image of the perfect Renaissance woman and wife is no simple task. I’ve already offered
a wide range of complex and confusing analytical evidence into Desdemona’s character.
Regardless of whether Desdemona is or is not the ideal Renaissance woman, her husband
abruptly ends her life. He kills both the disrespecting and deceitful daughter and the
obedient and submissive wife. But her innocence or her guilt is just the beginning of the
depth into her character. Emily C. Bartels offers a much more complicated insight into
Desdemona’s character and her actions.
Bartels expresses that women of the Renaissance had specific roles and
expectations and they were aware of them (par. 1). She explains that women play
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different roles, those expressing what they want and those that follow the traditional
expectations of the Renaissance woman (par. 46). Desdemona has two main personalities
that she displays as Peter Stallybrass points out. One speaks freely about her desires and
the other is passive and obedient: “[…] [T]his first self notices, while undressing, that
‘Lodovico is a proper man’ (IV.iii.35). The second, that ‘perfect wife’ and ‘bodiless
obedient silence’ […] stands passively by as her husband destroys her reputation and her
life. She then takes responsibility for the deed and clears his name” (Bartels par. 17).
Desdemona uses these roles and the knowledge of what is expected of her to
“manipulat[e] the system from within” to get what she desires (Bartels par. 19). She
recognizes her duty to her father, but at the same time defends her duty to her husband.
She even persuades the Duke to allow her to travel to Cyprus to satisfy her desire to be
with her husband (Bartels par. 19-21). By acting on those desires she “[…] not only gets
what she wants; she also challenges the very system that makes what she wants taboo”
(Bartels par. 21). It is clear that this “system” Bartels is referring to does not condone the
act of women speaking out their desires, especially sexual ones.
The outspoken personality of Desdemona can be seen early in the play in her
dealings with Cassio. She plans to “play the shrew” and talk to Othello to convince him
to meet with Cassio (Bartels par. 28). Her role as the obedient and dutiful wife emerges
towards the end of the play: “Yet by and large, in the last acts of the play, Desdemona’s
interactions with her husband show her to be increasingly silent and submissive and her
desires increasingly at bay” (Bartels par. 35). It’s arguable that Desdemona takes up this
role because she knows she is in ill favor with her husband and nothing will help her
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restore her honor as a woman. Bartels makes quite a unique observation: “While she
seems, to feminists’ dismay, to defend Othello to the end (and even after) at her own
expense, she actually exonerates herself and implicates him. She presents herself as a
loyal wife, willing to sacrifice herself for love” (par. 39). She does this in act four, scene
two by telling Emilia and Iago that Othello’s harshness will destroy her but it will not
stain her love and in the following scene with Barbary’s tale of “a woman wronged in
love” (Bartels par. 39). She relieves Othello of fault and accepts the blame herself for her
fate when she dies.
So are the women in Othello the epitome of the ideal Renaissance woman and
wife? Both Emilia and Desdemona display characteristics that suggest they are ideal
Renaissance women, such as being obedient and submissive to their husbands. They
seem to know their place in society and respect their boundaries. But these women also
give evidence of being disrespectful and disobedient. Whether or not these women reflect
the ideals of the perfect Elizabethan woman and wife is debatable. There is evidence that
would suggest either conclusion. However, these women are analyzed in comparison to
early modern England’s standards of how proper Renaissance women were supposed to
behave. These ideals seem impossible for anyone to live up to and no one seems to
realize that. Societal ideals and values of women actually contribute largely to their
downfall. The men in Othello were raised to believe these ideals about women and that
society allows them to control and reprimand them as they see fit. This mental set leads
to the defeat of the women in the play.
Works Cited
Bartels, Emily C. “Strategies of Submission: Desdemona, the Duchess and the Assertion
of Desire.” SEL, 1500-1900 36.2 (1996): 46 par. Online. Infortrac Web: Expanded
Academic ASAP. 2 April 2001.
Curtis, Jared R. “As Liberal as the North: Emilia’s Unruliness-A Study in context.”
Shakespeare Quarterly 17.2 (1966): 168-171. Online. JSTOR. 19 March 2001.
Greene, Gayle. “‘This That You Call Love’: Sexual and Social Tragedy in ‘Othello’.”
Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Mark W. Scott. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 1987. 587591. 56 vols.
Nicoll, Allardyce. “‘The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice’.” Shakespearean
Criticism. Ed. Mark W. Scott. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 1987. 457-462. 56 vols.
Ranald, Margaret Loftus. “The Indiscretions of Desdemona.” Shakespeare Quarterly
14.2 (1963): 127-139. Online. JSTOR. 19 March 2001.
Shakespeare, William. Othello. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Bantam, 1980.
---. The Taming of the Shrew. Ed. Frances E. Dolan. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s,
1996.
Stauffer, Donald A. Shakespeare’s World of Images: The Development of his Moral
Ideas. New York: Norton, 1949.
Watson, Curtis Brown. Shakespeare and the Renaissance Concept of Honor. Princeton:
Princeton UP, 1960.