Log on othello act II
Othello ACT II Log
1) What does Iago mean by : “Come on, come on! You are pictures out of door, bells in your parlors, wildcats in your kitchens, saints in your injuries, devils being offended, players in your housewifery, and housewives in your beds.”(Act II-scene 1 L.122-126)?
Here, Iago is belittling his wife Emilia and shows no shame in insulting women. I believe he is saying that when they are out of the household, they are attractive and charming, pretty like pictures, but when they are in their own houses, they are so chatty and noisy like ringing bells. Also, he compares them to wildcats in the kitchen to show that they are ferocious and undomesticated, like animals. It is as if they are animals, an inferior being and he has the power to humiliate them in front of many. Furthermore, I think he means that women make themselves out to be Saints when they are whining, but become like evil, even devilish when they are offended. He describes women as being emotionally unstable and too sensitive. Finally, he concludes with a rather sexist remark (in my opinion today) saying that women don’t do their housework correctly and are unsatisfying in bed. Iago is incredibly vulgar and this shows that he believes women’s sole purpose is to do their job around the house and serve as mere sexual objects. Why does Iago refer to Othello as “black Othello” (l.33) in Act II scene 3? When talking to Cassio, Iago, instead of calling Othello “The Moor” or by his name, he calls him “black Othello” which really striked me. To me, there are two possible answers to this question. Firstly, in Act II scene 1, as Desdemona, Emilia and Iago are talking about a Woman’s intelligence, Desdemona uses the term “black” as a substitute for ugly. As a side note, it says that black in that time meant dark in complexion and therefore, by the standards of Shakespeare’s day , unattractive. Consequently, this could mean that Iago was implicitly offending Othello and separating him from
1) What does Iago mean by : “Come on, come on! You are pictures out of door, bells in your parlors, wildcats in your kitchens, saints in your injuries, devils being offended, players in your housewifery, and housewives in your beds.”(Act II-scene 1 L.122-126)?
Here, Iago is belittling his wife Emilia and shows no shame in insulting women. I believe he is saying that when they are out of the household, they are attractive and charming, pretty like pictures, but when they are in their own houses, they are so chatty and noisy like ringing bells. Also, he compares them to wildcats in the kitchen to show that they are ferocious and undomesticated, like animals. It is as if they are animals, an inferior being and he has the power to humiliate them in front of many. Furthermore, I think he means that women make themselves out to be Saints when they are whining, but become like evil, even devilish when they are offended. He describes women as being emotionally unstable and too sensitive. Finally, he concludes with a rather sexist remark (in my opinion today) saying that women don’t do their housework correctly and are unsatisfying in bed. Iago is incredibly vulgar and this shows that he believes women’s sole purpose is to do their job around the house and serve as mere sexual objects. Why does Iago refer to Othello as “black Othello” (l.33) in Act II scene 3? When talking to Cassio, Iago, instead of calling Othello “The Moor” or by his name, he calls him “black Othello” which really striked me. To me, there are two possible answers to this question. Firstly, in Act II scene 1, as Desdemona, Emilia and Iago are talking about a Woman’s intelligence, Desdemona uses the term “black” as a substitute for ugly. As a side note, it says that black in that time meant dark in complexion and therefore, by the standards of Shakespeare’s day , unattractive. Consequently, this could mean that Iago was implicitly offending Othello and separating him from