‘In Othello, the female characters are innocent victims of male power.’ To what extent do
you agree with this view?
In Shakespeare’s Othello, the play presents three distinct female characters to the
audience; Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca, who all suffer physical and emotional abuse
at the hands of the male characters over the course of the play. Men’s ready impulse to
stereotype women is a key catalyst for the grave misunderstandings and tragedy within
the play. With Iago’s machinations weaponising predisposed patriarchal views against
the women in the play, merely using them as tools in his revenge plan against ‘the
Moor’, the ‘tragic loading’ of the bed scene in Act 5, Scene 2 undeniably demonstrates
the innocence of the women as tragic victims of the cruelty of the men around them.
Within the play, the characterisation of women is often coloured or distorted by the
men’s narratives, and as a result, the women are cruelly victimised for not upholding
these imposed, false assumptions about them. The female character who best
illustrates this idea is Desdemona, the wife of the tragic hero Othello. The monologue
Desdemona delivers in Act 1, Scene 3, in defiance of her father’s disapproval of her
elopement with the ‘lascivious Moor’ is resolute and self-assured - however, the way in
which her voice and representation are framed around Othello’s self-defence and his
narrative of Desdemona and her ‘world of sighs’ demonstrates the way that
Desdemona’s views only matter when they are supported by a male character.
Desdemona herself appears to recognise the frailty of her autonomy by stating that if
she is ‘left behind’ by Othello in Venice, she will become a ‘moth of peace’, suggesting
that she believes she is only of value when in association with Othello, a man. Initially,
in the play, it is her father Brabantio and his upper class status that provides her with
more agency than the average Venetian woman; once Brabantio disowns her,
ownership of Desdemona and her freedoms are physically and symbolically transferred
to another man onstage; Othello. Thus, Desdemona is a tragic, innocent victim of male
power as she is passed between the male characters like an object onstage, and her
agency is contingent upon her ‘obedience’ to men. Iago is able to effectively exploit
Desdemona’s ‘goodness’ to ‘make the net that shall enmesh them all’ in Cyprus, a
setting where the Venetian social hierarchy collapses and the lack of civility allows for
the tarnishing of Desdemona’s reputation. As Iago ‘pours pestilence’ into Othello’s ‘ear’,
he weaponises Othello’s susceptibility to stereotypes of Venetian women, stating that he
‘knows our country’s disposition well’, implying that women are inherently sexually
deviant beings who are overrun by their desires. This manipulation of Othello drastically
alters his perception of Desdemona, from perceiving her to be ‘honest’ earlier in the play
to besmirching her, lamenting that her ‘name that was fresh as Dian’s visage is now
begrimed and black.’ The importance placed on Desdemona’s beauty and purity
highlights the impossible standards she is held to by Othello; he elevates her status to
© Humanities Unlocked. | AQA A-Level English Literature 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is
prohibited.
you agree with this view?
In Shakespeare’s Othello, the play presents three distinct female characters to the
audience; Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca, who all suffer physical and emotional abuse
at the hands of the male characters over the course of the play. Men’s ready impulse to
stereotype women is a key catalyst for the grave misunderstandings and tragedy within
the play. With Iago’s machinations weaponising predisposed patriarchal views against
the women in the play, merely using them as tools in his revenge plan against ‘the
Moor’, the ‘tragic loading’ of the bed scene in Act 5, Scene 2 undeniably demonstrates
the innocence of the women as tragic victims of the cruelty of the men around them.
Within the play, the characterisation of women is often coloured or distorted by the
men’s narratives, and as a result, the women are cruelly victimised for not upholding
these imposed, false assumptions about them. The female character who best
illustrates this idea is Desdemona, the wife of the tragic hero Othello. The monologue
Desdemona delivers in Act 1, Scene 3, in defiance of her father’s disapproval of her
elopement with the ‘lascivious Moor’ is resolute and self-assured - however, the way in
which her voice and representation are framed around Othello’s self-defence and his
narrative of Desdemona and her ‘world of sighs’ demonstrates the way that
Desdemona’s views only matter when they are supported by a male character.
Desdemona herself appears to recognise the frailty of her autonomy by stating that if
she is ‘left behind’ by Othello in Venice, she will become a ‘moth of peace’, suggesting
that she believes she is only of value when in association with Othello, a man. Initially,
in the play, it is her father Brabantio and his upper class status that provides her with
more agency than the average Venetian woman; once Brabantio disowns her,
ownership of Desdemona and her freedoms are physically and symbolically transferred
to another man onstage; Othello. Thus, Desdemona is a tragic, innocent victim of male
power as she is passed between the male characters like an object onstage, and her
agency is contingent upon her ‘obedience’ to men. Iago is able to effectively exploit
Desdemona’s ‘goodness’ to ‘make the net that shall enmesh them all’ in Cyprus, a
setting where the Venetian social hierarchy collapses and the lack of civility allows for
the tarnishing of Desdemona’s reputation. As Iago ‘pours pestilence’ into Othello’s ‘ear’,
he weaponises Othello’s susceptibility to stereotypes of Venetian women, stating that he
‘knows our country’s disposition well’, implying that women are inherently sexually
deviant beings who are overrun by their desires. This manipulation of Othello drastically
alters his perception of Desdemona, from perceiving her to be ‘honest’ earlier in the play
to besmirching her, lamenting that her ‘name that was fresh as Dian’s visage is now
begrimed and black.’ The importance placed on Desdemona’s beauty and purity
highlights the impossible standards she is held to by Othello; he elevates her status to
© Humanities Unlocked. | AQA A-Level English Literature 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is
prohibited.
