THEME: Women

Question 1

“An old black ram/ Is tupping your white ewe”

Answer 1

• IAGO 1:1:89-90
• Firstly, at the time, the Great Chain of Being was an established view among Christians, and humans were always above animals. Therefore, the use of animal imagery towards both Desdemona and Othello is derogatory.
• The use of white ewe is a large contrast to the “black ram”. “Ewe” may link to this idea of perhaps the Parable of Sheep and Goats, and Desdemona being a believer and innocent. But also, it goes back to the idea of sheep being followers and foolish. This comparison to animals also shows the view that women were inferior.
• Ewes were commonly used for religious sacrifice, so later, when Othello is killing Desdemona, this can be interpreted not only as an honour killing, but a religious sacrifice (heightening the tragedy as Desdemona associates her purity with her faith).
• The use of “white” has strong connotations of purity, and also, it is the colour worn at weddings, perhaps emphasising Othello’s action of marrying her.
• Also, the use of “your”, a possessive adjective, reinforcing the idea that women are owned by their fathers or husbands, and they are inferior to men, as this was a time of powerful patriarchy. Once again, this is shown by “tupping” as it suggests Desdemona had no say and is being controlled by Othello.
• “Tupping” - creates a crude sexual image. Iago weaponises the need for purity and chastity of women in the Jacobean era. He uses this idea of loss of chastity for his manipulations, even further emphasising how men use women for their own means.

Question 2

“You’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse”

Answer 2

• IAGO 1:1:113
• Back to the Great Chain of Being.
• Again, a use of a crude sexual image for Iago’s manipulations.
• Barbary also may refer to the Barbary slave trade, once again emphasising the focus on Othello’s race, and coupling it with animalistic tendencies.
• Barbary was seen as a primitive, animalistic place.
• ‘Covered’: sexually crude, but can also imply that Desdemona’s eyes have been covered, which may suggest the use of magic and charms in order to bewitch her. This feeds into the stereotype of the Moor, and implies that Desdemona had no choice in the matter.

Question 3

“Thieves, thieves!/ Look to your house, your daughter and your bags! Thieves, thieves!”

Answer 3

• IAGO 1:1:80-83
• “Your” - the repeated use/repetition of the possessive pronoun emphasises men’s ownership and the patriarchal tendencies of the time.
• “Thieves” - emphasised by repetition. Thieves (rather than kidnappers) is typically used when an object is stolen, objectifying Desdemona, and it also implies possession, suggesting that Brabantio owns his daughter. At the time, this was the case.
• The use of tricolon, and almost sandwiching Desdemona between “house” and “bag” further objectifies her, as it creates a comparison, where in Desdemona is no more important than Brabantio’s other possessions.

Question 4

“Send for the lady to the Sagittary/ And let her speak of me before her father.”

Answer 4

• OTHELLO 1:3:115-116
• Othello gives Desdemona a voice. This is a massive juxtaposition to expectations of the Jacobean era, where in women were expected to be silent and obedient.
• This portrays Othello and even Desdemona as forward-thinking, modern characters.
• It also reveals the trust between Othello and Desdemona.
• Still, a man has to give her a voice. She can’t speak without that permission.

Question 5

“Fathers, from hence trust not your daughters’ minds/ By what you seem them act.”

Answer 5

• BRABANTIO 1:1:170-171
• “Act” - clear connotations of pretending and deception.
• “Daughters’ minds” - becomes a criticism on not only daughters but also women’s minds as a whole. Women were seen as flighty and fickle as well as hysterical and hormonal. The focus on “minds” goes into this psychological element of the criticism of women in a patriarchal society. The mind is supposedly the most important part of one’s body, and they can’t even control that.

Question 6

“Till I have evened with him, wife for wife”

Answer 6

• IAGO 2:1:290
• In the Bible, the quote is “an eye for an eye”, meaning retribution for a crime. In referring to their wives in the same league as a body part, they are seen as appendages; a part of a man, rather than a whole herself.
• “Motive-hunting of motiveless malignity”-Coleridge. It is unclear what Iago’s motivations are, except for his own prejudices.
  Women as commodities/ objects.

Question 7

“They are all but stomachs, and we all but food; They eat us hungerly, and when they are full, they belch us.”

Answer 7

• EMILIA 3:4:102-104
• Gustatory imagery (which is often associated with Iago- is this showing her loyalty to him, or using his own tricks against him?).
• Metaphor: unfaithfulness is an accepted trait in men, but not women. Women are the food in this metaphor; something for men to consume, rather than their equals.
• Suggests that it is the woman’s fault if their husbands get tired of them. Here, Shakespeare may be alluding to “A Godly Form of Household Government”, in which it says that “She ought never to rest until she have pacified him” and if he should “blame her without cause […] she must bear it patiently.” This text was widespread at Shakespeare’s time of writing, and so this line may be a criticism of the lopsided and unfair expectations of women at the time.
• Polysemic: Is this resigned acceptance on Emilia’s part, or is it a criticism of men?

Question 8

“I marry her? What! A customer!”

Answer 8

• CASSIO 4:1:119
• “Customer” - a term for whore. Also, the use of customer almost presents Bianca as a user of a service that Cassio is providing, rather than presenting any real connection. This is an antithesis to how Cassio treated Bianca before.
• The use of a question and exclamations emphasises the shock even more, suggesting what a normalised view this is in Jacobean society.