The Manipulation of Gender Roles in Shakespeare’s Othello...

The Manipulation of Gender Roles in Shakespeare’s Othello Of Shakespeare’s great tragedies, the story of the rise and fall of the Moor of Venice arguably elicits the most intensely personal and emotional responses from its English-speaking audiences over the centuries. Treating the subject of personal human relationships, the tragedy which should have been a love story speaks to both reading and viewing audiences by exploring the archetypal dramatic values of love and betrayal. The final source of the tragic action in Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice has been attributed to various psychological, mythical, racial, social sources: Othello’s status as racial outsider in Venetian society, his pagan roots in†¦show more content†¦The most illusive character in all of Shakespeare’s drama, Iago is perhaps the most difficult to explore psychologically for the simple reason that he lacks a personal self. He dons and sheds gender like a closet of clothes, adorning each article as it suits hi m. Ultimately evolved from the Vice figure of the medieval English morality plays, as Bernard Spivack has convincingly argued, Iago is the Shakespeare’s dramatic and humanistic manifestation of the abstracted evil which governed the dramatic movement of the previous generations of English plays. The self he presents to the world is bound only by circumstance and not by constitution. One key to Iago’s power is his â€Å"improvisational ability† (Gutierrez 12). Like the mythical Satan as Prince of Lies, he makes up his fabulous stories as he goes along, playing off of others’ actions and reactions to his ever-spinning web of lies. Iago switches between the facades of emotion easily and fluidly. He admits and affirms his hatred of Othello in the opening lines of the play (I.i.1-9) [All citations are from the Bantam edition.] and reveals his intentions of betraying Othello at his earliest convenience (I.i.44). In the very next scene, not more than 150 lines l ater, we find Iago in his role as sycophant openly fawning before theShow MoreRelatedEssay about The Impact of Gender on Shakespeares Othello 1376 Words   |  6 PagesThe Impact of Gender on Shakespeare’s Othello In the book â€Å"Gender Trouble† (1990), feminist theorist Judith Butler explains â€Å"gender is not only a social construct, but also a kind of performance such as a show we put on, a costume or disguise we wear† (Butler). In other words, gender is a performance, an act, and costumes, not the main aspect of essential identity. 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