Othello Gender Quotes

Iago's looking to stir up trouble for Othello when he awakens Brabantio with the news that Othello has eloped with Desdemona. But why does he say "thieves" are the problem? As Brabantio's unmarried daughter, Desdemona is basically considered her father's property. Since she's married Othello without dad's permission, Iago suggests that Othello has stolen her from Brabantio. Be sure to also check out Act One, Scene Two, where Brabantio shouts at Othello, "O thou foul thief, where hast thou stow'd my daughter (1.2.62). Check out our "Quotes" for "Marriage" if you want to think about this some more.

There's that reference to Brabantio being "robb'd" again. As we pointed out in the previous passage, Iago suggests that Desdemona's elopement is a kind of theft. What's interesting to us about this passage, however, is that Iago plays on fears of miscegenation (when interracial couples "intermix" via sex and/or marriage) when he says an "old black ram" (Othello) is "tupping" (sleeping with) Brabantio's "white ewe" (Desdemona). (By the way, a "ewe" is a lamb, so there's a suggestion that Desdemona's white skin makes her pure.) Iago's vivid and crude description of the lovemaking between a black man and a white woman is meant to scare Brabantio into thinking that Desdemona's lamb-like purity and whiteness are being contaminated and compromised by her sexual relationship with a black man. Not only that, Iago suggests that Othello is a "devil" that will make Brabantio the "grandsire" of black (like the devil) babies.

Here, Othello explains that Desdemona fell in love with him while listening to his life stories – romantic tales of travel, adventure, and danger. When Othello recalls that Desdemona said "she wish'd that heaven had made her such a man," we can interpret the line in a couple of ways. On the one hand, it seems pretty obvious that Desdemona wishes heaven "had made such a man" for her to marry, especially given the fact that she suggests that Othello's stories could "woo" her. At the same time, we can read the line to mean that Desdemona wishes heaven had literally made her a man (instead of a woman). Desdemona's the kind of girl who craves action and adventure and she's not content to sit at home. Think, for example, of the fact that she'd rather go to war (1.3.255) right alongside Othello, who lovingly calls Desdemona his "fair warrior" when she shows up in Cyprus (2.1.176.1). Bet you're wondering what the heck happens to this bold, adventurous girl between the time she married Othello and the time she rather passively allows her husband to strangle her. Check out our "Character Analysis" of Desdemona if you want to think about this some more.

Brabantio perpetuates a pretty unfair stereotype of young women in these lines – he suggests that since Desdemona has "deceived her father" by running off to elope with Othello, she'll probably "deceive" her new husband too. The idea is that an unruly daughter will make an unruly and promiscuous wife. Compare this to 3.3.17, below.

When Iago wants to make Othello suspect Desdemona's been unfaithful, he suggests a woman who disobeys and "deceive[s] her father is likely to screw around on her husband. Othello's response implies that he feels the same way. Instead of seeing Desdemona's decision to elope with Othello (despite her father's disapproval) as a sign of his wife's loyalty to him, Othello sees Desdemona's willingness to elope as a prelude to her infidelity. It seems that Othello's sexist assumptions leave him pretty vulnerable to Iago's plotting.

Iago claims that Venetian women can't be trusted because they all deceive their husbands with their secret "pranks." This seems to be the dominant attitude in the play, wouldn't you say? Just about every male character in the play assumes that women are promiscuous and disloyal. Perhaps this is the reason why Iago is able to manipulate Othello into believing that Desdemona is unfaithful.

History Snack: In Elizabethan England, Venice was infamous for its courtesans (prostitutes). When Elizabethans thought about Venice, they often imagined it to be a city full of promiscuous women. Check out what Thomas Coryat has to say in his account of his travels to Venice:

[t]he name of a Courtezan of Venice is famoused over all Christendome […] The woman that professeth this trade is called in the Italian tongue Cotezana, which word is derived from the Italian word cortesia that signifieth courtesie. Because these kinds of women are said to receive courtesies of their favorites […] As for the number of these Venetian courtesans it is very great. For it is thought there are of them in the whole city and other adjacent places, as Murano, Malamocco, etc. at the least twenty thousand, whereof many are esteemed so loose that they are said to open their quivers to every arrow, a most ungodly thing without doubt that there should be tolleration of such licentious wantons in so glorious, so potent, so renowned a city." (Coryat's Crudities, 1611)

Here, Iago tells the audience that he'll trick Othello into believing that Cassio is bragging about an affair with Desdemona when, in reality, Cassio will be bragging about his relationship with Bianca, a courtesan.

Iago notes that Bianca's a "huswife" (or, hussy) who makes a living by forging relationships with men like Cassio. Iago makes some pretty obnoxious assumptions about Bianca. According to Iago, all "strumpets" deceive lots of men but usually end up being deceived (and heartbroken) by the one man they fall in love with. As evidence, Iago refers to the fact that Bianca is in love with Cassio, who doesn't love her back. Instead, Cassio finds her to be "laugh[able]" and makes fun of her when talking with his male friends. Our point? Although Iago accuses courtesans like Bianca of "beguile[ing]" men, this passage seems emblematic of the way the men in the play think nothing of using women. Also, Iago's the one doing all the "beguile[ing]" here, isn't he? It seems like Shakespeare's pretty sympathetic toward Bianca and the other women in the play.

When we think of Othello, our thoughts often turn to Othello's tragic downfall and/or the way he's victimized by Iago. But, here's a reminder that the real victim in the play is Desdemona. At the play's beginning, Desdemona is strong, confident, and defiant but she winds up becoming the victim of Othello's physical and emotional abuse. From this point on, she is passive and obedient and by the play's end, she blames herself for Othello's violent behavior. Later, when Emilia asks Desdemona who has harmed her, Desdemona replies "Nobody; I myself. Farewell" (5.2.125). We can't help but notice that Desdemona exhibits a classic symptom of "battered woman syndrome" – instead of telling Emilia the truth about Othello strangling her, she blames herself (and not her attacker) for the abuse she endures.

After Desdemona naively asks if there are any women who would actually cheat on their husbands, Emilia replies that, yes, there sure are and it's the fault of unkind husbands. According to Emilia, husbands cheat on their wives and often physically abuse them, prompting women to stray. What's more, women have sexual desires, just like men, and women are also "frail" and imperfect, just like some husbands. In other words, Emilia recognizes there's a double standard when it comes to gender and fidelity and she heartily objects.

OK, it's pretty clear Emilia is fed up with men, and who can blame her? She's married to Iago, the biggest jerk in the world. At the same time, however, we wonder why in the world Emilia would be so loyal to Iago if she knows what a creep he is. Why, for example, does she willingly agree to give Iago Desdemona's handkerchief? She has to know Iago is up to no good, doesn't she? Is Emilia a hypocrite? Or, is she the victim of abuse like Desdemona?

Because Othello (mistakenly) believes Desdemona has cheated on him, Othello feels like he can't be a soldier any more. All the manly, warlike things – military music, thrusting cannons, and big wars – are denied him; he is convinced that he has lost his masculine, soldier identity. What's up with that? Does he say this because he feels that he has been emasculated? Because he believes that his credibility as a military leader has been compromised? Or, is he suggesting that he is so distraught by Desdemona's supposed affair that he will never find pleasure in the things he once loved (being a military man)? Something else?

Othello is filled with rage at the idea that Desdemona has made him a "cuckold" (a man whose wife has cheated on him). To be a "cuckold" was a shameful thing in Elizabethan society and meant that a husband's masculinity had been destroyed.

Othello tells Desdemona that the worst thing about her cheating on him is that it makes him become a ridiculous figure – the cheated-on husband, one that people will just laugh at. (We know, of course, that Othello is wrong about Desdemona's supposed infidelity.) It seems like Othello isn't so much "heartbroken" by the idea that his wife has been unfaithful as he is embarrassed and ashamed.