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After reading The Arabian Nights, where women were constantly persecuted for their gender, I thought it would be refreshing to read a new book that treated women better. While reading Othello, this was certainly not the case. Throughout Othello, there are many situations we can point to that exemplify the problem that society had with women. Similarly to The Arabian Nights women were considered less important than men and treated as objects of possession or only useful for sex. The three female characters we can observe in Othello are: Bianca, Emilia, and Desdemona. Firstly, we can talk about Bianca. Throughout the book, we see that Bianca seems to want a relationship with Cassio. However, their relationship is purely physical, and Cassio is uninterested in having an emotional or compassionate relationship with Bianca. This points to Bianca only being useful for one reason… sex (www.123Helpme.com). Secondly, we can also consider Emilia’s relationship with Iago. Iago begged her to steal the handkerchief and after providing it she doesn’t seem to gain any thanks or praise. Emilia knows that women are treated poorly and voices her opinion claiming, “They (men) are all but stomachs, and we (women) all but food. To eat us hungrily, and when they are full, They belch us” (III,IV, 93-95). The evidence behind this claim is seen throughout the book when viewing the male characters’ acts towards their significant others. Iago used Emilia to steal the handkerchief, Cassio used Bianca for sex, and Othello mistreating Desdemona (because he believed un proven “theories”). Besides the women being mistreated and “used” by the males, there is another similarity between the two pieces. Shahriyar unreasonably killed all of his wives because he didn’t trust them (he was only justified in killing his first wife because she actually cheated on him). Similarly, Othello killed Desdemona for false accusations made by Iago. So both men killed their wives for no good reason.

“Role of Women in Shakespeare’s Othello.” 123HelpMe.com. 20 May 2015
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