Typically, texts about husbands and wives present marriage from a male point of view.
In light of this view, discuss how Shakespeare presents ideas about marriage in this extract and
elsewhere in the play.
As the plot revolves around the fundamentals of marriage, and the levels of equality and trust that
exist within them, it could be argued that Shakespeare presents contrasting attitudes of marriage in
order to represent the struggle between good and evil onstage, perhaps challenging traditional
Jacobean values with the performance of a radical balance between husband and wife.
It can certainly be argued that the male view of marriage dominates ‘Othello’, especially when
considering the masculine majority of the cast – as only three women appear in the entire play, it is
perhaps only natural that their views are drowned within a sea of male voices that clamour to prevail
as the most dominant. The extract portrays the prevailing patriarchal ideas of marriage through the
villainous character Iago, whose male voice has the ability to preside over the protests of Desdemona
(‘O heavy ignorance’ and ‘O lame and most impotent conclusion!’). Praising the ‘worst best’, Iago
vocalises his preference towards an imbalance of power between genders, favouring the husband
dominant, and depicts his vision of an ideal wife. The repetition of ‘never’ throughout his speech
connotes the restrictions placed upon his wife, whose only purpose is to serve and submit to his
desires. The stereotypical ideals in a wife of submission, passivity, respectability, and subservience
are all desired by Iago, who hopes for humility in a beautiful, yet inanimate and unaware woman who
should possess qualities of intelligence, but will never seize the opportunities to ‘disclose her mind’.
Iago’s expectation of a silent wife indicates his belief that whilst she should willingly and
unquestioningly dedicate her existence to him, he will take no interest or care in her emotions and
thoughts. Additionally, this ‘ideal wife’ is subject wholly to her biological abilities to procreate, and
through a crude joke, Iago implies that a woman’s only worth is the preservation of her virginity.
These ideas are originally presented in the line ‘housewives’ in your beds’, which describes a wife’s
role as more objective than a faithful and loving partner. Whilst Othello seeks order, advice and
comfort in Desdemona, Iago focuses on her talents in the bedroom. Whilst his complaints are
hyperbolic in the efforts to amuse (e.g. ‘or else I am a Turk’), they could be taken literally, given their
speaker. For example, ‘Bells in your parlours’ depicts wives as an empty vessel which produces
repetitive, irritating sounds. He places them firmly in household positions- ‘your parlours’, ‘your
kitchens’, ‘your housewifery’, ‘your beds’, presenting a particularly patriarchal argument for where a
woman should belong. The repetition of the pronoun ‘your’ is particularly striking in his idealism of
marriage- intended as a union of two partners, for him is a physical separation between the genders.
In light of this view, discuss how Shakespeare presents ideas about marriage in this extract and
elsewhere in the play.
As the plot revolves around the fundamentals of marriage, and the levels of equality and trust that
exist within them, it could be argued that Shakespeare presents contrasting attitudes of marriage in
order to represent the struggle between good and evil onstage, perhaps challenging traditional
Jacobean values with the performance of a radical balance between husband and wife.
It can certainly be argued that the male view of marriage dominates ‘Othello’, especially when
considering the masculine majority of the cast – as only three women appear in the entire play, it is
perhaps only natural that their views are drowned within a sea of male voices that clamour to prevail
as the most dominant. The extract portrays the prevailing patriarchal ideas of marriage through the
villainous character Iago, whose male voice has the ability to preside over the protests of Desdemona
(‘O heavy ignorance’ and ‘O lame and most impotent conclusion!’). Praising the ‘worst best’, Iago
vocalises his preference towards an imbalance of power between genders, favouring the husband
dominant, and depicts his vision of an ideal wife. The repetition of ‘never’ throughout his speech
connotes the restrictions placed upon his wife, whose only purpose is to serve and submit to his
desires. The stereotypical ideals in a wife of submission, passivity, respectability, and subservience
are all desired by Iago, who hopes for humility in a beautiful, yet inanimate and unaware woman who
should possess qualities of intelligence, but will never seize the opportunities to ‘disclose her mind’.
Iago’s expectation of a silent wife indicates his belief that whilst she should willingly and
unquestioningly dedicate her existence to him, he will take no interest or care in her emotions and
thoughts. Additionally, this ‘ideal wife’ is subject wholly to her biological abilities to procreate, and
through a crude joke, Iago implies that a woman’s only worth is the preservation of her virginity.
These ideas are originally presented in the line ‘housewives’ in your beds’, which describes a wife’s
role as more objective than a faithful and loving partner. Whilst Othello seeks order, advice and
comfort in Desdemona, Iago focuses on her talents in the bedroom. Whilst his complaints are
hyperbolic in the efforts to amuse (e.g. ‘or else I am a Turk’), they could be taken literally, given their
speaker. For example, ‘Bells in your parlours’ depicts wives as an empty vessel which produces
repetitive, irritating sounds. He places them firmly in household positions- ‘your parlours’, ‘your
kitchens’, ‘your housewifery’, ‘your beds’, presenting a particularly patriarchal argument for where a
woman should belong. The repetition of the pronoun ‘your’ is particularly striking in his idealism of
marriage- intended as a union of two partners, for him is a physical separation between the genders.
