In Act 1, Scene2, Brabantio accuses Othello of stealing Desdemona and using magic to get her to marry him. Brabantio says, "O thou foul thief", and " Damned as thou art, thou has enchanted her, for I'll refer me to all things in sense, if she in chains of magic were not bound". Clearly, Brabantio has an issue with Othello's race above anything else. Throughout the beginning of the play, Othello is presented in a negative way by a few different characters. Iago uses the term,"The Moor", when referring to Othello. In Shakespeare's day, they used this term to describe any African with dark skin. Blacks were viewed as wicked with negative associations. Roderigo shares Iago's views toward Othello, referring to him as "The Black Ram" and making reference to his "thick lips" in act 1, scene 1. This is unfortunate because Othello is a well rounded, powerful man who did seem to have genuine intentions for Desdemona.
The relationship between Desdemona and Othello bothers Brabantio because he does not feel that "The Moor'', who he views as animalistic, is not a suitable match for his daughter. Of course, to Brabantio, Desdemona is "tender, fair and happy"(act 1, scene 2).
This scenario is similar to Much Ado About Nothing. Like Brabantio's perception of Desdemona, Leonato sees Hero as being pure, kind, and gentle. But when he hears of the accusations regarding his daughters sexual conduct, he is distraught. However, unlike Brabantio, Leonato is honored to give his daughter's hand to the admirable Claudio. That is until Claudio's true colors show. Though the story lines are different, the two plays are similar in that they tackle some touchy issues; race, and the purity of women.
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5 comments:
Where does Roderigo call Othello "Black Ram"? I thought this was Iago.
And you are right--the daughters are seen as pure and virtuous; therefore, what the men do to them is much more offensive than if they were, say, like Beatrice and Emilia.
U'r right the two plays are very similar to one another but , there are also some differences that u could have brought out like- hero's father thought her as impure when he heard the accusations towards her but to leonato desdemona was sweet and innocent.
Although I agree with most of the above, I cant tell what exactly you mean by "until Claudio shows his true colors". If your implying that there was something morally wrong/sinister with him throughout the play and only surfaced itself when he was convinced(through don john) that the only thing that was important to him up to that point, Hero, was not what he had hoped/prayed/expected it to be, then your missing the greater parallel between Caudio and Othello; the "good" honest/virtuous people "othello+claudio" vs the "bad" lieing/schemeing "don john+iago.
Othello have been discriminated by almost everyone in the play. Even his own wife describe Othello as the Moor
One powerful argument in Othello is definitely racial biases and virtue of female chastity and celibacy before marriages ignoring the male counterparts in the play Much Ado About Nothing. Sad but true these persecutions still prevails in many societies.
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