Othello always knew that his wife Desdemona and her friend were faithful and truthful, respectively, yet he chose to listen to Lagos since he was his fellow male counterpart. This scenario shows how men tend to follow their fellow blindly without considering other factors and values, hence ending up making decisions that leave a long-lasting negative impact on their lives. Moreover, this shows how women were utterly undervalued in the setting (Shakespeare et al. 10). Virtues of trustworthiness and faithfulness are highly regarded in all of humanity. The fact that Othello disregards these values merely because they are coming from a female clearly shows how women were despised then. Were it not for complicity in patriarchy, Othello would not have murdered Desdemona and Emilia since he would have believed the two girls who had been loyal to him for so long instead of Lagos.
In a male-dominated society, women often succumb to the complicities accompanied by the patriarchal surrounding. While taking a close look at the tragedy Othello, Desdemona and Emilia's case is not any different from the consequences availed by a patriarchal society. Emilia, a woman, favored with emotional resilience and practical wisdom, solely succumbs to death for not abiding by her husband's ideas (Shakespeare 23). Before her death, Emilia was fully submissive to his husband, Lago. She performed her wifely duties without demur, till she later realized men in her society were taking advantage of women and treating them like their puppets (Shakespeare 24).
In correlation to Emilia's self-realization, she quickly facilitates a meeting between Cassio and Desdemona to warn them of imminent accusations from his husband, Lago. Emilia aggressively encourages Desdemona to champion in the best interests of Cassio (Shakespeare 24). Quite not as anticipated, Emilia seizes the opportunity to collect Desdemona's and hand it back to her despite the demands from Lago, his husband. Lago had wooed Emilia to steal the handkerchief but refrained from the act to sue her suspicion over the intended use.
Despite Emilia being Lago's puppet, she had realized the significance of standing by her principles for the first time. She critically scolds Othello for doubting her wife's virtues and, consequently, dares him to remove the foolish thought from his mind. Emilia's revolution towards the patriarchal society is more evident when she progressively unleashes the truth about Desdemona's death (Shakespeare 44). Emilia courageously lashes out at Othello for killing her wife based on scrupulous information he had acquired from his fellow man. In a male-dominated society, Emilia swears to wholly seek justice for Desdemona by availing Othello to the laws of justice. Emilia's loosening from the hinges of a patriarchal environment ultimately sees her respond confidently to her rude husband, Lago. She warns of revealing Lago's act to the public despite Lago's ardent actions of shutting her mouth. Amid the scuffling environment, Lago outrageously stabs Emilia to quiet her, and as a result, another death occurs.
Lago's act of violence portrays the influence men had at the current times. While Othello contemplated killing her wife Desdemona without offering her the chance to explain herself, he represents the majority of men in the society who end up abusing their women through listening to every bit of a single word channeled to them by their peers (Shakespeare 38). Emilia succumbs to a vital death in the presence of the public, yet no single individual attempted to prevent the scuffling incidence. Her cause of death was solely attached to her overriding thirst in approving the events that led to Desdemona's sudden death. Parallel to Desdemona's turn of events, Lago does not heed her wife's ideas rather than define her as foolish, which is the direct opposite of Emilia's resilience.
Moreover, at the event of Desdemona's death, Othello puts his hands over her mouth as a way of denying her the chance to say her last words to Emilia. It's customary for a dying person to be accorded a moment of silence, which is a sign of honor, which Othello denied Emilia because he despised her. On the other hand, it's worth noting that Othello did not necessarily kill Desdemona due to mere patriarchy (Shakespeare 46). Lagos was his close friend, and it's normal for someone to trust a close friend, especially in infidelity matters. In any case, a woman will be more inclined to believe her female best friend if she tells her that her man is unfaithful, which is basically what happened with Othello and Lagos. We might as well conclude that Othello was innocently tricked into killing his wife, and the situation has nothing to do with patriarchy.
The Shakespeare Othello reflects the patriarchal society where people have been made to have perceptions that they believe that true. For instance, women in Shakespeare's Othello are seen to be possessed by men, a part of the patriarchal society. Society has thought to and embraced the perception that women are lesser beings that need to be supervised by women (Shakespeare 48). The women have also believed that they are lesser human beings, and they have submitted to the man as their servants. Women are taught from the time they are young kids to submit to men in charge of everything they do. They see their mothers offering to their fathers; hence they grow up believing that they should submit to men in society. Emilia in Shakespeare seems to be her husband's puppet, where she cannot question her husband despite having different thoughts and ideas.
Desdemona's Death in Othello represents the patriarchal society in terms of men misusing women being accepted by the club to the extent that Othello killed his wife, Desdemona. Othello loved Desdemona, but his emotions run high, causing death that he had not planned. The ego that makes him cause death is part of the social problem that has been accepted by society. Othello's ego is created by the belief that he had authority over his wife and that the wife was not supposed to make mistakes of any kind (Shakespeare 51). In patriarchal societies, some people suffer more than others; hence, Desdemona is one of the women who suffered due to the community's beliefs towards the people they perceive to be weak. The death was tragic, but because it's her husband who had killed her, the people were likely to say that Desdemona had made a mistake that deserved punishment.
The Duke of Venice and the Venetian state also claimed in Shakespeare that Othello had drugged his daughter and took him somewhere where no one knew. Fathers and family members are supposed to take care of their siblings because of the love and respect that they are supposed to show them. Drugging your daughter is a crime that is not expected to be acted by the father to the daughter (Shakespeare 61). The patriarchal society has made men believe that they can control women and even go to the extent of harming them because no one will question them. There are negative aspects of the patriarchal society that leads to one gender being discriminated against and treated inhumanly. Othello was supposed to protect her daughter but instead drugged her.
The collaboration of society makes it difficult for people to get justice because there are activities that have to happen for one to get justice. Emilia used to get assaulted by Othello, who took advantage of her innocence and naivety. Emilia and Desdemona tried to be loyal to Othello, who developed jealousy of her virginity (Shakespeare 61). The collaboration of society made it difficult for Emilia to get an education despite being bright and willing to learn. There should be support systems to support the vulnerable in society despite their gender and country of origin. If Emilia could have had an education, she could not have ended in a marriage that resulted in the death. The collaboration of society makes it hard for women and other vulnerable people to get assistance from the community.
In the play, Othello frequently treats Desdemona as an inferior being. He treats her as a property that was presented to him through marriages. This shows that Othello has some elements of patriarchy in society. Desdemona is oppressed by Othello throughout the play all because she has been married and she is a subjective woman. Othello does this by the verbal comments he makes in the game. She is treated with disrespectful comments such as "a prostitute" and "strumpet" being pushed towards Desdemona. Again in the play, Desdemona was seen as a victim of sexism (Shakespeare 64). Othello mistreats Desdemona in public by hitting her. He does not fulfill his duties as Desdemona's husband either. This makes Desdemona be referred to as a victim of violence from her husband. It was as a result of jealousy he had upon Desdemona that makes him mad hence killing Desdemona. This was a sense of patriarchal society.
Iago uses Desdemona's liberated actions that turn Othello against her. The act of individualism shown by Desdemona turns to be her downfall at the end. Some acts, such as making an emotional appeal on behalf of another man or even touching another man's hands, were not allowed in society. Desdemona puts herself at significant risk by operating behold the boundaries of the men notion of accepted behavior.
Desdemona enters the world of military politics when she intervenes on Cassio's behalf with Othello. By doing so, she surpasses her gender's traditional role, which increases the raging fire of jealousy burning in the heart of Othello. According to the male society, when women acted outside their part of a subjective wife, behavior raised the community's alarm (Shakespeare 69). An act of suspicious behavior by women resulted in being punished or harsh consequences upon them, which is a consequence of a patriarchal society. In conclusion, society complications make it difficult for Emilia and Desdemona to get fair treatment, a factor that leads to their deaths. The patriarchal society creates an unfair community where the minorities are mistreated.
