Masculinity In Othello

A fully developed professional theatre that emerged in England in the 1580s had a “profound effect on the ways the gendered body was staged” (Billing, 16). Early modern constructions of the gendered body were “viewed as along a continuum” moving in one direction or the other (Fisher, 6). This early modern thought implies that gender as a performance rather than its ontological core on the stage. Shakespeare’s comedies may suggest that masculinity on the stage is like “a suit of clothes” that could be put on or taken off at will (Smith, 3). While the controversy surrounding women allowed dramatists of this period to portray them in ways that defined and questioned the validity of the old stereotypes (Marriot, 21). For the purpose of this essay,
Shakespeare introduces Othello in the first half of the play as “valiant” and “noble” (qtd), where the adjectives of courage and moral principles deter the Elizabethan notion that black people are treacherous and villainous (qtd). To add to that, the Duke of Venice “straight employ[s] [Othello] against the general enemy Ottoman” (1.3.49-50). Here The preposition “against” directs Othello’s martial body as the hero in Venetian society rather than the enemy for now.
The respect for Othello as a black general continues. When Othello’s army sink the Turkish ships “bring Cyprus comfort”. Montano, the governor of Cyprus, states that while serving him under his army, “[Othello] commands like a full solider” (2.1.35-36). Montano’s simile here suggests that he stereotyped Othello as a barbarous general rather than “[commanding] like a full solider” with disciple and self-respect. Therein, examples then present Othello’s martial body as breaking the racial stereotype rooted in his gendered
Instead, rather than pride, Othello’s pre-suicide soliloquy accepts his emasculated body. He wants the characters to “speak of [him] as [he] [is]” (5.2.340) as either a savage beast, and emasculated man or both . In addition, Iago mocks Othello’s emasculated body with “Are you a man? Have you a soul, or sense?” (3.3.378, pg 233). where his “soul [and] sense” are his martial body qualities, his soulless murder of Desdemona and illogical suicide render him an emasculated body. These examples confirm Othello’s emasculated body works against the masculine stereotypes. The discussion will turn to how Desdemona’s body works against feminine