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... her reputation not important in the eyes of other women? The difference between male and female interpretations of purity is that one is more lenient. As seen in the wedding seen, Beatrice is the only person who does not immediately discredit Heros reputation. Although Hero attempts to defend herself, she is bombarded with negativity. Her father cries: Hath no mans dagger here point for me / O fate, take not away they heavy hand! / Death is the fairest cover for her shame/ That may be with for. / Could she here deny / The story that is printed in her blood - / Do not live, Hero; do not ope thine eyes: / For did I think thou wouldst not quickly die, / Thought I thy spirits were stronger than thy / shames, / Myself would, on the reward of reproaches, / Strike at they life. (IV.
i. 112 - 33). In this situation, not only has Hero been betrayed, but she is also powerless against others beliefs, specifically those of Leonato. Regardless of her words, a mark has been placed on her once clean record of chastity. Therefore, according to the dominant patriarchal belief of womens value being equivalent to their purity, Hero becomes a whore in the eyes of others when she ceases to be a virgin. Is womans virtue so fragile that one smudge can cause her father to wish death upon her rather than a life of shame. After Heros countless years of perfect behavior, Leonato cannot put faith behind her innocence.
Heros predicament illustrates the insidious nature of slander, an attack for which woman has no defense. 15 In this situation, Hero fell from grace without hope to rebuild her reputation. Due to society's focus on motherhood and chastity, women cannot acquire honor after it has been lost. Instead, they are forced to wait for male perceptions to recreate their positive standings. Heros salvation is not dependent upon her own behavior.
It is dependent upon the male perception of her behavior. Heros reputation is redeemed through the confession of Borachio. Reactions to the news are joyous, especially that of Claudio. He expresses his love in saying, Sweet Hero! now thy image doth appear / In the rare semblance that I love it first (V. i. 259 - 260).
Claudio's declaration of love displays its superficiality, he loved Heros image. When Leonato offers him another Hero, he gratefully accepts. His ability to substitute one love for another so quickly does not instill faith in his emotions. Rather, it reaffirms the fragile identity of woman in patriarchal society. When Hero is unveiled and everyone rejoices at her reputations miraculous recovery, she reverts to the Hero of Act I. She is no more assertive or angry after her experience.
Instead, she resumes the ideal identity of chastity, morality, and loyalty to father and husband. The purest form of loyalty can be found within Othello's Desdemona. In a similar fashion to Ophelia and Hero, Desdemona's character has been praised for her devotion and censured for her sexuality, described as deceptive, proud, and manipulative or as helplessly passive. 16 In addition to this, Desdemona is affectionate and sensual. Her wealth of love for Othello causes her to conform to the ideals feminine behavior.
Goddard claims she has a mans courage an extreme example of that union of feminine and masculine qualities that Shakespeare plainly held essential for either the perfect man of the perfect woman. 17 Not only are some critics impressed and intrigued by Desdemona, Othello also describes their interactions lovingly, Shed come again, and with a greedy ear / Devour up my discourse (I. iii. 149 - 50). Although this description is one of devotion and completion, it does not protect Desdemona and Othello's relationship from patriarchal structures. After her marriage, Desdemona allows herself to become submissive.
At first, however, Desdemona proclaimed her independence from her father by declaring her love for Othello. She maintains this free spirit long enough to elope, but then transgresses to the patriarchal ideal of woman, which she explicitly foreshadows. She states: My noble father, / I do perceive here a divided duty. / To you I am bound for life and education. / My life and education both do learn me / How to respect you: you are the lord of duty; / I am hitherto your daughter. But heres my husband; / And so much duty as my mother showed / To you, preferring you before her father, So much I challenge that I may profess / Due to the Moor my lord. (I. iii. 181 - 189) Her understanding of marriage is conventional and submissive. By choosing to adopt the role of her mother, Desdemona chooses to have her ownership passed from father to husband.
In doing so, she refuses herself access to maturity and intimacy. Through this, like Ophelia, Desdemona becomes trapped between childhood and adulthood. The difference being that Desdemona becomes independent of her father. This paradox is the definition of Desdemona's image.
She is courageous, heroic, passive, and vulnerable. 18 The defiance of her father was courageous while her role in marriage is passive. All of her actions surrounding Othello are selfless and done with good intentions. However, by trying to be the perfect wife, Desdemona denies her own authority. Due to the patriarchal form of marriage Desdemona tries to recreate, she submits to a typically father-daughter relationship rather than the trustworthy, intimate bond of husband and wife. The confusion within Desdemona's character is the cause of her submissive role with Othello. As she states, My love doth so approve him / that even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns - / have grace and favor (IV.
iii. 19 - 21). Her extreme loyalty to Othello blinds her from his flaws. Rather than understand his limitations, Desdemona embraces them as qualities of endearments. She reflects: And ever will (though he do shake me off / To beggarly divorcement) love him dearly, / Comfort forswear me! Unkindness may do much, / And unkindness may defeat my life, / But never taint my love. (IV. ii. 157 - 60).
Desdemona's undying love for Othello is reassured even in death when she speaks only to protect him. Her devotion transcends her. Her role of compliance can be attributed to her desire for finding cause and adventure in life. Due to the limitations she experiences, Desdemona is unable to pursue her dreams and finds her cause indirectly through a masochistic devotion to her romance.
As she rejects the lifestyle of subservient daughter through rebellion, Desdemona chooses a modest and obedient self to act as Othello's wife. Similar to Hero, the person she once was no longer existed. Desdemona resumes the role of daughter when she marries Othello because she believes it is what he deserves. In doing so, Desdemona laid a foundation for her marriages demise and her own death.
Desdemona's confusion Othello's lack of an identity other than soldier ultimately causes them to fail. Othello is capable of being a soldier and Desdemona a daughter. The same behaviors that make them excellent warriors and obedient women are what destroy them in their own home. By assuming the patriarchal marriage structure of controlling husband and subservient wife, they prevent real intimacy and trust. Desdemona's chastity becomes more important to them than Desdemona herself because it is a valued feminine virtue. As seen before, there is nothing a woman can do to change a males perspective.
Due to this, Othello's jealousy takes charge and he murders Desdemona. Her loving selflessness, which translates to obedience, prevents her from defending herself against Othello's reign. As examined with Ophelia, Hero, and Desdemona, Shakespearean women are dominated by male figures in their lives. Within this domination, they are held up to various ideals. Women are forced to remain within the boundaries of the patriarchal structure, which includes obedience, modesty, and chastity. In the case of all three women, their reputations are questioned which results in further victimization.
They are immediately devalued when a mark of sexual desire crosses their celibate pasts. These situations enforce the goals of the patriarchal power structures that bind women to their subservient roles. However, Shakespearean women seek comfort and security in their families and marriages, the very same structures that dominate, chastise, and demand the need for a patriarchal order. This need for guidance and structure creates turmoil the role of woman as anything other than deprived and submissive. NOTES 1.
Carolyn Ruth Swift Lenz, Gayle Greene, and Carol Thomas Neely, The Womans Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1983), p. 3. 2. Amanda Mabillard, Shakespeare's Ophelia (Shakespeare Online, 2000) web (December 12, 2001). 3. Diane Elizabeth Dreher, Domination and Defiance: Fathers and Daughters in Shakespeare (Lexington, KT: 1986), p. 76. 4. Clara Claiborne Park, As We Like It: How a Girl Can Be Smart and Still Popular, The Womans Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1983), p. 102. 5. Irene G. Dash, Womens Worlds in Shakespeare's Plays (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1997) p. 26. 6.
Rebecca Smith, A Heart Cleft in Twain: The Dilemma of Shakespeare's Gertrude, The Womans Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1983), p. 198. 7. Diane Elizabeth Dreher, Domination and Defiance: Fathers and Daughters in Shakespeare (Lexington, KT: 1986), p. 77. 8. Marianne Novy, Shakespeare's Female Characters as Actors and Audience, The Womans Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1983), p. 257. 9. Diane Elizabeth Dreher, Domination and Defiance: Fathers and Daughters in Shakespeare (Lexington, KT: 1986), p. 78. 10. Irene G. Dash, Womens Worlds in Shakespeare's Plays (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1997) p. 119 11.
Herman Harrell Horne, Shakespeare's Philosophy of Love (Raleigh, NC: Edwards and Broughton, 1945), p. 104. 12. Diane Elizabeth Dreher, Domination and Defiance: Fathers and Daughters in Shakespeare (Lexington, KT: 1986), p. 83. 13. Irene G. Dash, Womens Worlds in Shakespeare's Plays (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1997) p. 192. 14. Irene G. Dash, Womens Worlds in Shakespeare's Plays (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1997) p. 82. 15.
Joyce Sexton, The Slandered Woman in Shakespeare (Victoria, B. C. : English Literary Studies, 1978) p. 39 - 44. 16. Diane Elizabeth Dreher, Domination and Defiance: Fathers and Daughters in Shakespeare (Lexington, KT: 1986), p. 87. 17. Harold C.
Goddard, The Meaning of Shakespeare (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 951), p. 469 - 70. 18. Diane Elizabeth Dreher, Domination and Defiance: Fathers and Daughters in Shakespeare (Lexington, KT: 1986), p. 91.
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Research essay sample on Women And Patriarchal Society In Shakespeare
