Explore the presentation of women as defiant protofeminists in Shakespeare's 'Othello'

The women in Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’ are presented with the duality of women oppressed by a patriarchal society. Firstly, reflecting Shakespeare’s Elizabethan society, the Venetian hierarchy within the play demotes female characters to submissive roles. However, it can be argued, as Honigmann suggests, that these characters also display greatly defiant characteristics associated with protofeminist figures, most notably in their outspoken actions before male characters. // Shakespeare’s presentation of the character of Desdemona perfectly encapsulates this contrast as she has been heavily debated by feminist readers due to her contradictory actions in multiple scenes. Desdemona’s absence in the play until Act 1 Scene 3 highlights the passivity of female figures within ‘Othello’, as although the first scene – and indeed a large proportion of the overall plot and eventual climax in Act 5– relies exceedingly on Desdemona’s existence and impact on the men in her life, she is not seen on stage nor mentioned by name until Scene 3. This mirrors Elizabethan society’s gender divide where women were expected to fade into the background due to them not being perceived as individuals but instead as extensions of their male counterparts, being passed from Father to husband as mere property. Desdemona’s absence highlights her character’s conformity to this social expectation of female invisibility contradicting the claim that this character could be labelled as a protofeminist. // On the other hand, the very nature of the marriage between Othello and Desdemona – disobeying the will of both her Father and Venetian opinion due to the biracial nature of the union – illuminates the more defiant side to Desdemona. The character’s introduction is due to Othello calling on his new wife to defend the relationship before the military council, the confidence shown in her ability to do this highlights a quiet strength within this character not yet displayed by Shakespeare. As Desdemona states, she “perceive[s] a divided duty”, the plosive and heavy alliteration emphasizing the emotional difficulty of her decision as well as the character’s final concrete resolve upon choosing her husband over her Father. This underlines both the compassion and bravery within Desdemona, highlighted again in Act 4 when Emilia states how difficult it must have been for her to “forsooth… her Father,” subtly implying a level of adoration towards her mistress’ actions. However, Shakespeare’s decision to give Desdemona an outspoken and shocking introduction (particularly to a more conservative contemporary audience) may have negative connotations due to the stereotypes perceived by the Elizabethan public about Venice as a place for “female deviance” as Ania Loomba discusses. This therefore suggests Shakespeare’s decision may not have been to create a self-assured protofeminist character but instead form an example out of Desdemona as a foolish foreign girl who clearly does not know her correct place in society.