On Friday I attended the English Symposium! I saw on the schedule that there was a session about Othello and The Merchant of Venice, and I attended that session.The three speakers had very interesting points regarding the plays and the issues that they addressed. Here is a brief list of the main points highlighted by the speakers:
1. Shakespeare creates 2 ideal feminine women in Othello and Merchant of Venice, but in process shows that these women (Portia with masculine traits, and Desdemona by being ideal and yet intelligent) are masculine in certain ways that make them ideal.
2. Shakespeare blurs the line. He challenges audience to look at conception of what is good as far as genders go.
3. Distortions that are taught to a person from childhood have a lasting effect on that individual. Othello was raised with the idea that women were unfaithful creatures, and even admits in the play that he knew he'd be subjected to infidelity. Iago wasn't the cause of the spiral of distrust, he merely facilitated what was already present in Othello's mind.
4. Pornography addiction is mirrored in the story of Othello and Desdemona. Pornography simply isolates body parts and turns a person into a thing. Othello tries to find answers in her body, rather than pursuing a companionate relationship.
5. Women are in the same position as those who face racism in Shakespearean society, they are assigned a sense of “otherness,” and because of that have a lost sense of power. Ethnic oppression is echoed in female oppression.
6. In Merchant, Shakespeare allows woman to take masculine role and thereby have a happy ending. In Othello, Othello refuses to allow Desdemona to take the masculine role and ends up in tragedy and murder. Good becomes bad (Desdemona’s faithfulness) and bad good (Portia becomes a man). Shakespeare shows that a man NEEDS a female counterpart to be successful and whole.
The insight that these English students had into Shakespeare's works was fascinating. While listening to their insight, my thesis began to form with regards to my own research project here in this blog. I am going to research and support the following statement: SHAKESPEARE'S WORKS HAVE HAD SUCH LASTING SUCCESS NOT MERELY BECAUSE OF THEIR BEAUTY AND INSIGHT INTO THE HUMAN CONDITION, BUT BECAUSE THEY RAISE DIFFICULT QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED AND ADDRESSED. THESE ISSUES ARE STILL BEING LOOKED AT TODAY, AND SHAKESPEARE'S WORKS HAVE FACILITATED PUBLIC THOUGHT INTO SUCH DILEMMAS.
