Female Empowerment in 'Othello'

Shakespeare gives daunting power to female characters in the classic story of "Othello". In a time where society viewed women as property whose purpose was primarily to serve and obey men, Shakespeare shows the rebellious strength in women throughout the scenes of "Othello". In the Elizabethan era the expectations of men and women were clear. Generally, men were to be the bread winner for his family and the women were meant to be mothers and housewives."Women were expected to be silent, chaste, and obedient to their husbands, fathers, brothers, and all men in general. Patriarchal rule justified women's subordination as the natural order because women were thought to be physiologically and physiologically inferior to men"(Roles of Women, literary-articles) Elizabethan women of all classes were raised to believe that they were subordinate to men. Even the protestant church valued this notion, and in order to insure further obedience the protestant leader, John Knox quoted the bible and wrote: "Women in her greatest perfection was made to serve and obey man." With such strong societal views on women in the time, the most scandalous thing Shakespeare could have written about was a young Venetian women defying her father and marrying into a interracial union. As well as a brave women who defy's her husband and tells people of his evil ways. With these strong female characters varying in social status the reader can see the contrast between the way they were expected to behave and how Shakespeare portrayed them to act. Throughout this essay, the expectations of Elizabethan women in the time of "Othello", will be compared to the actual behaviors of the female characters in the story.

In the Elizabethan era there was clear expectations for women of all social status. Women of a higher class, like Desdemona were only sometimes given the chance to have an education. Girls from noble families were taught by tutors from ages five or younger. The curriculum they were taught