Gender Criticism on Shakespearean Plays Antony and Cleopatra and Othello - Case Study Example

Gender criticism on Shakespearean plays Antony and Cleopatra and Othello For many of the modern critics, William Shakespeare is one of the prominent and noblest feminists of his time, and the representation of gender in Shakespeare’s plays has become topic of several significant studies in the recent times. Whereas it is not historically accurate to observe Shakespeare as a feminist, it is essential to realize that he exhibited incredible genius in the portrayal of human behavior and he was effective in depicting the condition of women within a patriarchal system. Significantly, Shakespeare has been able to create, in his famous plays, women characters that transcend the limitations of their time, thanks to their rich and vibrant depiction. As Ekici maintains, the dramatic run of events in Shakespeare’s plays is greatly influenced by the female characters. “The construction of female characters in Shakespeare’s plays reflects the Elizabethan image of women in general. For all that, Shakespeare supports the English Renaissance stereotypes of genders, their roles and responsibilities in society; he also puts their representations into question, challenges, and also revises them.” (Ekici, 3) Therefore, it is fundamental to comprehend that Shakespeare’s plays reflect the gender relations that existed in the Elizabethan society of his time and the celebrated plays Antony and Cleopatra and Othello are two of the most splendid examples of Shakespeare’s bold treatment of gender relations. This paper makes a reflective exploration of the plays Antony and Cleopatra and Othello in order to realize the representation of women in Shakespeare’s works. In Shakespeare’s works, the female characters live in a world where the expected traditional role is to be subservient to males. This reality often comes into conflict with those female characters that exhibit the slightest ambition or independence to live as they see fit. More specifically, Shakespeare’s Othello and Antony and Cleopatra reveal the consequences of the major female characters when they transgress against the traditional roles for women who live in patriarchal societies. One of the most fundamental realities concerning the representation of women in Shakespeare’s works is that the female characters live in a world where the expected traditional role is to be subservient to males. In other words, Shakespeare has been careful and effective in representing the socio-cultural realities of his period exactly on the stage, especially concerning women, through the depiction of female characters in his celebrated plays. The modern strand of Shakespearean criticism focuses on the constructions placed on the female characters by the patriarchal structures and the critics of this group stress the role of women in the male-dominated society as represented within the plays and by the male-authored text in which they exist. Significantly, these critics emphasize the fact that the female characters in Shakespeare’s works are inexorably defined in relation to the patriarchal system of men. Carol Thomas Neely makes this point clear in the following: “Such critics show that Shakespeare’s female characters inevitably are defined and define themselves in relation to men. They demonstrate that even strong, central women life Lady Macbeth and Cleopatra are socially and sexually contained by the structures of patriarchy, that the assertive comic heroines are restricted by the marriages which conclude their stories… They reveal how the tragic heroes’ fantasies of women cripple men and destroy female characters, illuminating the way in which the men’s development of their own identity depends on and exploits women.” (Neely, 3) According to Neely, a study of the women’s role in Shakespeare’s plays naturally leads to privileging of marriage, and the attempts to establish connection between gender and genre in Shakespeare’s plays unveil the submission of women to the patriarchal society during his time. An analysis of different genres of plays written by Shakespeare such as romantic comedy (e.g. Much Ado about Nothing), problem comedy (e.g. All’s Well that Ends Well), tragedies (e.g. Othello and Antony and Cleopatra), and romance (e.g. The Winter’s Tale) lay bare the fact that the female characters live in a world where the expected traditional role is to be subservient to males. A close analysis of Shakespeare’s Othello and Antony and Cleopatra confirms that the reality concerning women in Shakespeare’s time often comes into conflict with those female characters that exhibit the slightest ambition or independence to live as they see fit. In these plays, the major female characters break the rules concerning the traditional roles for women in patriarchal societies. In a reflective exploration of Othello, it becomes lucid that the playwright clearly depicts, through the representation of the female characters, the condition of women within the patriarchal system. In this play, Shakespeare presents his female character as living in a world where her expected traditional role is to be subservient to males. Significantly, this celebrated work can be realized as a reflecting mirror of the role of women during the time of Shakespeare. As Timm Gehrmann maintains, “In Shakespearean times women in general were meant to show certain traits which find their representation in Desdemona. She is sexually attractive, yet not without gracefulness of conversation and social elegance. At the same time, Desdemona stirs up jealousy in men as she does not only care about her household and is good friends with other men. As her father already tried to own her, she is not willing to be owned by Othello even though she would not be unfaithful.” (Gehrmann, 15) Therefore, it is fundamental to comprehend that the play Othello clearly demonstrates the representation of the female characters in Shakespearean plays and it is evident that female characters live in a world which is determined by the patriarchal society. In the play, the major female character, Desdemona, is presented as a loving and subservient daughter and wife. However, the most fundamental feature of this character is that she breaks the ideal image of woman in the patriarchal society. Thus, in the opening section of the play, Desdemona runs away from her patriarchal home in order to marry the “other,” or commonly called the moor. This untraditional action of Desdemona reflects the female desire to escape the rules and regulations of patriarchal society, but the same act suggests the reason for a dreadful end for this female character. The response of the patriarchal society to this untraditional deed of the female character is clear from her father’s remarks: “O’ treason of the blood! / Fathers, from hence trust not your daughters minds / By what you see them act” (Othello, 1.2.170-2) Significantly, Brabanzio is not able to understand the strange behavior of her daughter and he accuses the Moor for conjuring up magic to woo Desdemona. “Damned as thou art, thou has enchanted her, / For I’ll refer me to all things of sense, / If she in chains of magic were not bound” (1.2.64-6). Therefore, it is clear that Shakespeare presents Brabanzio as a father who is highly traditional, representing most fathers during his period. Similarly, it is important to recognize that Desdemona accepts complete responsibility for her miserable situation at the hand of her new and exotic husband, Othello. Her experience as wife to Othello confirms the fact a woman’s fortune during Shakespeare’s time relied solely upon males. Thus, when she becomes a target of her husband’s jealousy, Desdemona accepts her fate. In reply to Emilia question as to who caused the misfortune, Desdemona answers, “Nobody, I myself. Farewell” (5.2.134). Thus, it becomes obvious that women in the hierarchical system of the middle ages were left with no options but to accept the reality that men rule over women. One of the most illuminating ideas about Shakespeare’s Othello is that the play clearly suggests the aftereffects of the major female character’s violation of the traditional roles for women in patriarchal societies. It is enlightening to realize that the tragedy in Othello occurs mainly due to the over-adherence to patriarchal rules and stereotypes. Significantly, some of the recent researches on the topic suggest that the tragedy of the play stems primarily from the female characters’ helplessness to defend themselves from the male-oriented society’s impression of them. In the play Othello, the character of Desdemona indicates that women of Shakespeare’s time are unable to find their autonomy and achieve adulthood when they simply follow conventional patterns of behavior set for them by the patriarchal society. As Liz Lewis purports, “Certainly Desdemona’s very much feminized qualities of passivity, softness, and obedience are no match for Othello’s masculine qualities of dominance, aggression and authority… Protected by a system which makes women the weaker, dependent sex, Desdemona is unequipped to deal with such aggression; she is helpless against Othello... Desdemona thus retreats into childlike behaviour to escape from reality… In Othello’s refusal to hear Desdemona’s own protestations of innocence, Othello is very much a tragedy in which the female is subordinated by the male.” (Lewis) Therefore, it is fundamental to realize that the playwright effectively indicates the conflict between the traditional roles of women set by patriarchal societies and the female characters’ slightest ambition or independence to live as they see fit. The interaction between gender and genre is most manifestly seen in the play Antony and Cleopatra which reveals the consequences of the major female character’s transgression of the traditional roles set for women by the patriarchal societies. Antony and Cleopatra should be realized not as a play in which gender roles are exchanged or transcended, but as one in which gender roles are played out in a more variety in comparison to the other tragedies by Shakespeare. Thus, Carol Thomas Neely maintains that there is no dissolution of gender boundaries in the play Antony and Cleopatra and it does not transcend the traditional masculine and feminine roles. Instead, the play exhibits more flexible gender relations due to the greater genre diversity of the play, and it reaffirms the division between masculinity and femininity. “This play seems different from the others, not because it overcomes gender dichotomies, but because it incorporates the greatest variety of gender relations, conflicts, assumptions, accommodations; because in it, Antony and Cleopatra have equal prominence, eloquence, complexity, and power, although the central conflicts and developments are Antony’s; and because it embodies the fullest mutual acceptance and self-realization of any of the plays.” (Neely, 139) Thus, the play Antony and Cleopatra is most celebrated for its representation of how main female character exhibits the ambition or independence to live challenging the patriarchal convictions. Similarly, the play Antony and Cleopatra presents Cleopatra’s sexuality is unhidden and unrestricted by the role assigned to women by the patriarchal society, although it reflects the denunciation by the patriarchal men. In fact, Shakespeare allows this female character boldly convey her sexual power over men and one needs to celebrate the heroine’s sexuality as a positive force in the play. The memorable description of Cleopatra by the patriarchal logician Enobarbus in the play is an explicit evidence of her sexuality as a positive force. “Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale / Her infinite variety. Other women cloy / The appetites they feed, but she makes hungry / Where most she satisfies. For vilest things / Become themselves in her, that the holy priests / Bless she is riggish.” (Antony and Cleopatra, 2.2: 246-51). Therefore, it is essential to relate here that the female character in Antony and Cleopatra challenges the traditional role assigned to women by patriarchal men and she refuses to adhere to the stereotypes of patriarchal society. One may also realize that Cleopatra is determined about fulfilling a political role against the advices of the patriarchal men such as Enobarbus. According to Liz Lewis, when Cleopatra refuses to stick on to the stereotypes of patriarchal society, she really transforms her natural sexuality into part of her power. “Cleopatra thus forces her access into the male arena, where Ophelia and Desdemona do not - and cannot of course, in the same way, for in her status as a middle aged woman and Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra naturally has more freedom. She is not dependent upon anyone financially, as are Ophelia and Desdemona.” (Lewis) Significantly, Antony and Cleopatra reveals the consequences faced by the major female character when she transgresses against the traditional roles for women who live in patriarchal societies. In conclusion, a profound analysis of Shakespeare’s Othello and Antony and Cleopatra confirms that Shakespeare’s female characters live in a world where the expected traditional role is to be subservient to males. This reality often comes into conflict with those female characters that exhibit the slightest ambition or independence to live as they see fit. More specifically, Shakespeare’s Othello and Antony and Cleopatra reveal the consequences faced by the major female characters when they transgress against the traditional roles for women who live in patriarchal societies. Works Cited Ekici, Sara. Feminist Criticism: Female Characters in Shakespeare’s Plays Othello and Hamlet. GRIN Verlag. 2009. 3. Gehrmann, Timm. Female Characters in "Macbeth", "Othello" and "Hamlet". GRIN Verlag. 2007. 15. Lewis, Liz. “Shakespeares Women: Shakespeare’s Treatment of Women in the Tragedies Hamlet, Othello and Antony and Cleopatra.” Literature Study Online. 2001. Nov 30, 2010. . Neely, Carol Thomas. Broken nuptials in Shakespeare’s plays. University of Illinois Press. 1993. 3. Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra. The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, et al. 2nd ed. New York and London: W.W. Norton, 2008. 899-985. Print. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice. The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, et al. 2nd ed. New York and London: W.W. Norton, 2008. 385-457. Print. Read More