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Misogynism in Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’
Gender is what makes humanity complete since both men and women have their distinct roles in society. It is the aim of any community for the two genders to interact peacefully and harmoniously. In addition, equality for both men and women is a common aspect of a healthy society. In many parts of the world, the society continues to consider man as superior to women. However, this does not necessitate unfair treatment and perception against the opposite sex. There are men who hate women; these men are known as misogynists. Misogynists have three distinct qualities: hatred, dislike, and mistrust against women. In Othello, a book by William Shakespeare, Iago qualifies to be a misogynist. His hatred and mistrust for women is evident. On this note, is highly likely that Shakespeare used Iago as character in order to express his own hatred for women.
In the play ‘Othello’, Iago is a soldier who became Othello’s most trusted advisor. However, at the beginning of the story, Iago is full of anger towards Othello. This is because he thought he was the best soldier to be Othello’s lieutenant. He thinks that Michael Cassio got the position unfairly. For this reason, Iago is in frequent conspiracies to make Othello demote Michael Cassio from the position of lieutenant. It is against this background that Iago’s misogynist qualities come into the light. Iago has a wife by the name Emilia who is Desdemona’s lady in waiting. Desdemona is Othello’s wife. In addition, Iago has a close ally in the name of Roderigo. Iago uses all these characters to express his hatred, dislike, and mistrust for women.
There are various qualities that present Iago as a misogynist. To begin with, he makes false promises using women as the prize. Such a tendency of making women look like non-living objects is only present in people who hate them. In the book, Iago promises Roderigo that the latter will earn the affection of Othello’s wife after the husband dies. It is important to note that Othello and his wife, Desdemona, are happily married up to a certain point. However, this fact does not stop Iago in using Desdemona to make a promise that he knows she will never fulfill. Such a move shows that Iago considered women as less equal to men. Moreover, Iago is certain in his words that Roderigo will win the affection of Othello’s wife. This shows that Iago perceives women as persons who are emotionally weak. According to Iago, after Desdemona loses her husband, Othello’s wife is not in a position to choose another man for herself. In addition, Iago believes that a woman cannot remain a widow and; therefore, she must have a man.
A misogynist man uses his own wife in carrying out a heinous act against other people. This is because such a man does not respect women. In addition, manipulating one’s own wife to engage in a conspiracy is an indicator of a man who does not honor marriage vows. In the play, Iago manipulates his wife, Emilia, to take a handkerchief from Desdemona. Othello gave his wife this handkerchief, and this makes it easy for him to recognize it. Iago then uses this handkerchief to set up Cassio against Othello. He makes Othello believe that Casio took the handkerchief from Desdemona while having an affair. Emilia, Iago’s wife, was not willing to steal the handkerchief from her employer. However, Iago convinced her to do so. This displays another quality of a misogynist: controlling. Misogynists believe that their plans are always good, and everyone else must follow them.
In another twist of misogynist qualities, Iago makes Othello believe that a conversation between himself and Cassio about Bianca is about Desdemona. In this part of the story, Iago makes use of two women as tools to achieve his personal interests (Shakespeare 141). To begin with, Iago falsifies the character of Bianca to be that of Desdemona. The aim of this ploy is to convince Desdemona’s husband, Othello, that his wife is cheating on him with Bianca’s boyfriend, Cassio. At the time of this conversation, Othello is hiding in the background while listening. Full of Jealousy, Othello orders Iago to kill Cassio. Othello promises Iago the post of lieutenant if he does the killing. This was Iago’s dream position.
A misogynist man allows his hatred for women to destroy other people’s marriage. The aim for this is not taking any material wealth but to see women suffering. In the story, Iago presses falsified charges and evidence against Othello’s wife. Desdemona was a virtuous and innocent woman. As a matter of fact, there are no credible facts that relate her to any act of crime. However, Desdemona’s good personality was not good enough to stop the misogynist Iago. Iago hates Desdemona for no reason. Desdemona did not possess anything that created interest to Iago. However, Othello kills Desdemona as a result of Iago’s fictitious charges. After Desdemona’s death, there is nothing material that Iago gains. Iago is aware of this ending from the beginning, but his hatred for women is the driving force to committing injustices against women.
Finally, a misogynist man can do anything to stop criticism from a woman. In extreme cases, such men cause serious injuries to women or even go to the extent of killing them. In the book, Iago finally kills his wife Emilia when she discloses his treachery character (Shakespeare 167). Iago cannot stand the bitter truth from his own wife.
The author of ‘Othello’, William Shakespeare, may have used Iago’s character to express his own attitude and perception towards women. There are serious aspects of this book that lay the foundation for accusing William Shakespeare as a misogynist. To begin with, the character of Iago exceeds that of the main character, Othello. In earlier versions of the story, Iago makes more lines than Othello himself. It is surprising that an author brings out a character that is more powerful than the main character. The plot of the story reveals that, probably, Shakespeare used Othello to cover up for Iago as the main character. On this note, Shakespeare wanted the society to continue seeing him as an upright person as opposed to a misogynist. Such a ploy would amount to the highest caliber of deception. In addition, William Shakespeare made Iago appear on almost all primary themes in the book. It is through this strategy that the reader gains interest in the character of Iago. This might be a proof of Shakespeare’s own misogynist character, as revealed in his play, ‘Othello.

References
Shakespeare William. Othello: The Moor of Venice. Minnesota: EMC/ Paradigm Publishers, 2005. Print.