The Marriages in Othello PDF

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Thesis: Shakespeare uses these marriages to push the narrative that love is not enough to withstand jealously and life....

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LIMA 1 Samantha Lima Professor Wayne Moreland ENG 241 March 10, 2021 The Marriages in Othello A question that comes to mind when reading Othello is, what does Shakespeare’s depiction of the two couples in Othello say about marriage? The marriages between Othello and Desdemona, and Iago and Emilia are opposites. They give two examples of marriage, a gleeful one filled with puppy love and affection and a spiteful one filled with bitterness and resentment. Shakespeare uses these marriages to push the narrative that love is not enough to withstand jealously and life. In regards to the marriages as a whole, while Othello and Desdemona had a relationship filled with love (granted, a rather hollow one), Iago and Emilia’s relationship was anything but loving. Othello and Desdemona are newlyweds. Naturally, they would be in the honeymoon stage of marriage. They want to be near each other as often as they can as evidenced by Desdemona’s plea to the Duke to accompany Othello on his deployment. Othello makes a point of saying that his only reason for wanting her there was to “be free and bounteous to her mind” (I, iii). They want to get to know more about each other. Desdemona’s view of love and marriage is hopeful and submissive. She sees Othello through rose colored glasses and even goes as far to claim to Emilia that “his unkindness may defeat my life but never taint my love” (IV, ii). She is determined to make her marriage succeed. On the opposite side of them we have the more seasoned marriage of Iago and Emilia. It’s not clearly stated how long they have been married but it can be assumed that they’ve been together for over two years as Emilia states, “tis

LIMA 2 not a year or two shows us a man” (III, iv). As she has suffered firsthand from her husband’s slick and sharp tongue, Emilia has a bitter view towards men and marriage. She tells Desdemona, “they are all but stomach’s and we all but food; they eat us hungrily, and when they are full they belch us” (III, iv). Othello is a doting husband. He treats Desdemona with great care and affection before the trickery of Iago influences his judgement. He is very happy to be with Desdemona as she is young, beautiful, and fair. He tells Iago, “tis not to make me jealous to say my wife is fair, feeds well, loves company, is free of speech, sings, plays, and dances. Where virtue is, these are more virtuous” (III, iii). Not only does he tell others about his love for her but he makes sure to tell Desdemona as well. When he sees her after surviving the tempest, he says “it gives me wonder great as my content to see you here before me. Oh, my soul’s joy!” (II, i). He showers her with terms of endearment like “love”, “sweeting”, and “my Desdemona” throughout the play. Though he goes on about her beauty as often as the topic comes up, Othello makes a note that he loves her mind. He claims to the Duke: “vouch with me, heaven, I therefore beg it not To please the palate of my appetite, Nor to comply with heat the young affects In my defunct and proper satisfaction, But to be free and bounteous to her mind,” (I, iii). He wants to make her happy and values her opinion. Even though he does not care much for his wife’s adamant defense of Cassio, he is willing to hear her out to please her (before his doubts conflict and anger him). He even makes her to be his equal as her called her “Oh my fair warrior!” (II, i). He equates her to himself and his respected men who bond over battle and strife.

LIMA 3 Othello seems like the perfect husband on paper but it is important to note that his love for her was great when there was no conflict in their marriage. As he falls prey to Iago’s game, his love falls flat. She is no longer trusted and he does not go to her for her side of the story. According to Hazlitt, “the revenge of Othello, after it has once taken through possession of his mind, never quits it, but grows stronger and stronger at every moment of its delay” (235) Othello’s love for Desdemona is strong on the surface but hollow on the inside. On the other hand, we have Iago who puts up no front about his feelings for Emilia. He is a critical husband who does not care much for his wife at all. This is shown by his constant and consistent verbal abuse towards her. He does not hide his distain in front of others. In the presence of Desdemona, he tells Cassio “sir, would she give you so much of her lips as of her tongue she oft bestows on me, you’ll have enough” (II, i). In his defense, his is not bias towards her specifically but women in general. He explains to Desdemona and Emilia: “Come on, come on. You are pictures out of door, bells in your parlors, wild-cats in your kitchens, saints in your injuries, devils being offended, players in your housewifery, and housewives in your beds” (II, i). He views all women as two faced. This is most likely the reason he thinks his wife has at least once cheated on him with Othello. He believes rumors and suspicion that “’twixt my sheets he’s done my office” (I, iii). He not only think’s his wife is not to be trusted but also foolish. He tells her that on a number of occasions no matter what it is she is doing. As Emilia attempts to give him the handkerchief that he asked for, he say to her it is a common thing, “to have a foolish wife” (III, iii). As she speaks her opinions of the villain who might be spreading lies about her

LIMA 4 friend, Iago does not miss an opportunity to say, “you are a fool; go to” (IV, ii). Iago takes any chance he gets to berate his wife. In this aspect of his life, he truly is honest Iago. Desdemona is a good wife. She is respectful, loving, and kind. She takes a stand for her marriage when it is contested by her father. She shows respect for her father by stating, “My life and education both do learn me how to respect you. You are the lord of duty. I am hitherto your daughter” (I, iii). She accredits him as a great father who she loves and owes everything. She does not want to offend her father but is firm in her stance that: “But here’s my husband. And so much duty as my mother showed To you, preferring you before her father, So much I challenge that I may profess Due to the Moor my lord” (I, iii). According to Boose, “Desdemona answers with what is essentially the recitation of her wedding vow to obey and serve Othello, forsaking all others, including her father" (332). She makes a point to treat her husband with the same respect her mother gave her father. Her full speech “is rhetorically arranged to reflect the "divided duty" of the bride poised at the alter" (Boose, 332). Though her father did not take the news well, this young woman showed her husband and the gentleman around her that she was ready for marriage. In fact, her love for Othello was born out of her respect and admiration for him. As Othello would attest to, “she loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them” (I, iii). She respected him as a warrior and admired his ability to persevere. She treats him with kindness and cares for his heart. Hazlitt makes a point to say that, “her whole character consists in having no will of her own, no

LIMA 5 prompter but her obedience” (255). This was the attribute that may in those times believed to be the characteristic of a good wife. Emilia tries to be a good wife. It is easy to see that Iago irritates her with his constant scolding and insults against her. That being said, she does often aim to please him. His causes become her causes. As Desdemona works to fix the relationship between Othello and Cassio, Emilia tells her “good madam, do. I warrant it grieves my husband as if the cause were his” (III, iii). She wants a happy husband and she tries her best to make him so. She even goes as far as to betray Desdemona, her friend. To herself she admits, “What he will do with it Heaven knows, not I. I nothing but to please his fantasy” (III, iii). She, like any other good wife, makes strides to please her husband. She even admits to Desdemona how far she would go to make Iago happy. She says, “why, who would not make her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch? I should venture purgatory for ’t” (IV, iii). She studies her husband and knows what he wants. She knows that more than anything he seeks power and would ironically use the one thing that seems to fuel Iago’s hatred of women in order to help him achieve it. Emilia clearly has a bitter outlook on marriage and men but still attempts to make a happy marriage for herself and he husband. Although the two marriages in Othello are very different, they do have a striking similarity. Both marriages resulted in the murder of the wife by the husband. One thing of note would be the different emotions behind the murder. Iago’s deceit lead’s Othello into a jealous rage but he was not portrayed as the type of man to get jealous. When Emilia inquires Desdemona about the subject of his jealousy, she responds “who, he? I think the sun where he was born drew all such humors from him” (III, iv). Emilia, who has been scorned by her own jealous husband retorts, “they are not ever jealous for the cause, but jealous for they’re jealous.

LIMA 6 It is a monster begot upon itself, born on itself” (III, iv). Othello is going to be jealous regardless of what Desdemona does or does not do. He loved his wife and she was faithful but he would succumb to the patterns of men and marriage. In line with his treatment and high regard of Desdemona, he does not simply stab or strangle her. He smothers her with a pillow. While deciding how he would commit the murder he states, “Yet I’ll not shed her blood, not scar that white skin of hers than snow, and smooth as monumental alabaster” (V, iii). In that moment, he hated her. He hated her enough to want to end her life, yet he wanted to preserve her. He wanted her to remain as beautiful as she was. Granted, this is clearly a vanity thing, it was something that he loved about her and still wanted to hold onto. In contrast, Iago’s killing of Emilia was done swiftly. He unceremoniously stabs her when she crosses him. He keeps her around for appearances sake but when she gets in the way of his ambition, she loses. With no soliloquy (or even a monologue) he murders her and is done. The only emotion in him is anger and once its over, its over. Her death, much like his marriage, meant nothing to him. The marriages of Othello each ended in failure. Shakespeare’s portrayal of the two marriages, one seemingly perfect and one seasoned with time, creates a bleak look at marriage. He shows the audience that no matter what the two couples did, their marriages were doomed. No amount of love or devotion would save them from jealousy and greed.

LIMA 7 Works Cited Boose, Lynda E. “The Father and the Bride in Shakespeare.” PMLA, vol. 97, no. 3, 1982, pp. 325–347. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/462226. Accessed 15 Mar. 2021. Hazlitt, William. “Iago, Heroic Tragedy, and Othello.” Examiner. (1778-1830) Shakespeare, W. (2017). Othello (E. Pecher, Ed.). Norton Critical Editions. New York: Norton. (Original work published 1603)...