the role of women in utopia and othello
When reviewing literature, a major question being posed lately is what exactly are women's roles in various books. The works, which I am particularly concerned with in this essay, are William Shakespeare's "Othello" and Thomas More's "Utopia". I will be examining various themes of "Othello", in order to figure out where exactly women fit in with the work. These include things like the symbols used, the expectations and virtual rules for a female at the time (especially one from a privileged background like Desdemona), her responsibility (or lack of, perhaps) for the events of the play and the female character's importance in the play in general. I will also be enquiring in the essay as to whether Desdemona was deserving of the treatment she got (or whether she got the respect she deserved) and the different roles she plays in the book (and her avoidance of stereotypification). Her elopement with Othello also raises many questions (in Shakespeare's time and even more recently). In "Utopia"(which I feel has less of an emphasis on the role of women since it appears to be more concerned with humans in general, but still raises important points on gender), I will be examining if there's a background behind More'
Of course, More's image of women would have been heavily influenced by his deep involvement in the monastic life. More's own experience with women could also have affected his opinions. His mother died when he was six. More's utopia is disturbed by adulterers and sexual coveting but he appears to not blame either gender for this, unlike many others in the 1500's who would consider women to be the temptresses leading good men astray. Other contemporary monks like Doni's version of Utopia would have had more restrictive ideas regarding a woman's place in a perfect world, they being quartered in a separate district. Desdemona, on the other hand, is only heard talking naturally with other people. Yet, she too is developed through both the content and form of her speech. Desdemona : "Heaven doth truly knows it".
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3077
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)
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