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"Weakness" and "frailness" evident in Desdemona's character

However, Desdemona is portrayed as a paragon of virtue, so the latter half of the list does not seem to reflect Shakespeare's attitude.

Indeed, the villain Iago seems to have such an attitude towards his wife Amelia.

It seems that Shakespeare views women as weak and needing the guidance of a man, but still inherently virtuous.

Both of these attitudes appear prevalent in Shakespearean England.

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The sexist view of women as "ornaments" under the "authority of man" is clear in Shakespeare's implication that Desdemona's subbmissiveness towards her father and husband is evidence of her virtue.

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#9: Othello as a character in the setting of Italy (Will)

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#9: Othello as a character in the setting of Italy (Will)

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The implications of Othello being a Moor are key to understanding Shakespeare's intentions regarding the audience's image of Othello.

The full title of the play—"Othello, the Moor of Venice"—captures quite nicely the friction described in quote 9 between Othello, a Moor and thus, according to contemporary views, belonging to a barbaric culture of heathens, and the Italian city of Venice, which despite being somewhat "Southern" and newly powerful, was still a part of Christian Europe.

Although this is not a central focus of the play, understanding the significance of Othello's achievement of rising to such an important and respected position in Venice despite being a Moor is key to appreciating Shakespeare's intentions in creating Othello as a tragic protagonist.

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Elyot argues that there are inherent differences between men and women. He characterises men to be 'fierce, strong in opinion' whereas women are characterised as 'mild, timorous'. Further, he says that these characteristics come naturally to men, but for women it is their 'ideal' state, demonstrating the expectations for women at the time. Elyot's view is fitting of the view at the time towards the traditional gender roles which Shakespeare's protagonists seem to follow to a certain extent. Through this lens, Desdemona would be characterized as a radical woman as she is rebellious and opinionated.

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Burton makes a distinction between people through their geographical locations. He generalizes that Southern men (those from Africa, Spain, Italy, Turkey...) are 'hot, lascivious, and jealous' which he attributes to the hot climate. It is obvious that this is the typical view at the time as he supports his arguments by citing other sources.

Considering that Shakespeare was English (someone from the North), it is highly likely that his characterizations of his Italian (Southern) characters are based upon the view demonstrated above. As emotions such as jealousy and betrayal are the driving forces among his characters, it sheds a light on as to why he may have chosen Italy as his setting.

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Briggs points out that the subject of discussion concerning women in the Renaissance was not their intellectual equality but rather their 'moral equality'. The view of women being immoral were countered with the Bible and works of literature. Ironically, women were not given a voice in this discussion and both sides were represented by men.

The debate about moral equality may be seen in Desdemona being accused of adultery with little proof. Othello is easily manipulated by Iago in turning against someone he loves, even though she swears that she did not commit such acts. This may be seen as a representation of the amount of trust women held as a gender in the eyes of men.

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Davies argues shortly that women in Italy were quite promiscuous.
At this point in time, the liberal attitudes that we have have today are hard to find in 1614, and clearly a much shared attitude between people identified that liberal decisions that one may have in matters of sex, is often frowned upon as a sinful promiscuity.

Looking at othello through the eyes of William Davies, it can be argued that othello and Desdemonas relationship would most certainly be upsetting to the crowd as not only is the relationship between a former slave and a nobel, but it is also a relationship of a sexual nature which, due to it being outside of marriage, is heavily shocking for the audience

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Philip Brockbank states that Venice had a thriving economy at the time. This In part makes sense as thriving economies are often more civilised, which leads me to understand how Othello broke away from slavery.

This also confirms that the racial disparities with people were accounted for, however they were not as strong as in poorer less civilised countries

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The Ottoman Empire (16th century Turkey) had a thriving economy with one of its main supporters being slavery and the slave trade.

In relation to this, Shakespeare gained knowledge of the wars between the Ottoman Empire and Venice, with Cyprus being a Venetian outpost. This follows a certain logic and creates the understanding among the audience that othello is fighting against the slavery and slave trade being perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire.

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Burton makes a commentary on the promiscuous nature of women, in a derogatory manner. Burton classifies women under two titles, either 'fair' or 'honest, whilst rejecting the view that a woman could conform to both. The implication being made is that the justification for a woman's fidelity is not their own loyalty, but rather that they are undesirable to males.

In 'Othello', this can be seen in Iago's ease in manipulating Othello into believing Desdemona is having an affair. Despite Othello's strong proclamation of love in the early Acts, his vulnerability to Iago's manipulation could be highlight the distrust of women.

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Thomas Croyat's writings both seem to criticise and offer a snide review of Venice's 'courtesans', noting that these women are people who receive courtesies, and therefore the name became assigned. He also comments on that women who were assaulted at the time were likely to have husbands who felt a fool 'so consequently they should be capriconified'. These underhanded comments show that women were seen as objects, and more for entertainment and to serve a husband (explaining why an assaulted woman's husband would feel like a fool instead of feeling upset for his wife)

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The setting of the war between Venice and the Turks and the tension that came with it is a reflection of the tension between all the characters.

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Queen Elizabeth's first proclamation of 1601 (Tina)

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Queen Elizabeth's first proclamation of 1601 (Tina)

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Context of race (and the cultural setting) for the time “Othello” was written in: Shakespeare conscious choice to place Othello in a position of power (setting up for a fall from grace? A rarity? Foreshadowing to potential downfall?)Dividing up or groups by race and usual ingrained social standing The idea of jobs being “stolen”Representative of Iago (believes he deserves what Othello has more than him, based on his pride and colour of skin) Demonstrates audience the play was catered to (provides further foreshadowing for a possible and accepted ending) Othello being unable to remain in his position of power that he worked up to.

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Julia Briggs, This Stage-Play World (1983, 1997) (Tina & Defne)  

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Julia Briggs, This Stage-Play World (1983, 1997) (Tina & Defne)  

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This highlights the idea of Women's moral equality (having moral obligations) as being something extremely important, particularly during the time and setting of the play. The idea of having a moral obligation towards their husband and other prominent male figures in their lives, as they are ‘owned’ by them and thus have an obligation to the loyal to them.

With Desdemona, she was both morally equal and morally corrupt in different contexts. She would have been considered, particularly at the time, to have an obligation to her father (to obey him and to care for his opinions) however by going against him, so strongly that he “dies of a broken heart”, to the audience would have put her on a moral lower standing. However, she has always been faithful and loyal to Othello, and never lied to her husband (even if Othello wasn’t aware of this), which would have made her his moral equal and very virtuous for the audience.

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Briggs makes a commentary on the racial inequality of the sixteenth century. Despite the awareness for other races, they were still viewed as foreign constructs or 'wonders'. The text makes reference to the marriage of Anne of Denmark, at which four young black boys lost their life. The use of a contextual example reinforces the dehumanisation of black people as being fit for nothing more than the entertainment or servitude of white people.

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"The good nature of a woman is to be mild, timorous, tractable, benign, of sure remembrance and shamefast."

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Experience hath declared them (women) to be unconstant, variable, cruel and lacking the spirit of counsel and regiment.

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Women are the most capable of sin.

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Women are perceived as "lewd and wicked ... pay[ing] monthly unto the Pope for the sinful use of their wicked bodies."

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Wives are slippery, often unfaithful to their husbands to their husbands but to old men most treacherous.

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"...the authority of man extends not only to inanimate things and brute beasts, but also to reasonable creatures, that is, women and wives."

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Women's equality was a subject of debate not only in the twentieth century, but also in the Renaissance - regarding their equality from both moral intellectual aspects

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The invasion of Cyprus by the Ottomans, which led to a war between Venice and the Ottomans. Cyprus was significant for trade since controlling it meant controlling the trade through its waters.

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"Setting a play in Venice Shakespeare's time was like setting one on Wall Street now."
"Venice is also a byword for exotic vices and unbridled passion, a part of the Italian vogue..."
Venice was "a racial and religious melting pot".

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Cyprus was a Venetian outpost attacked and conquered by Turks (1570-71).
sparknotes

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The British wanted to see plays about foreign lands because they could not travel. These plays presented the audience the opportunity to feel like they've traveled to a foreign country.