In His Tragedies Shakespeare Often Presents Women Merely as the Tragic Victims of Men Essay Example for Free

In His Tragedies Shakespeare Often Presents Women Merely as the Tragic Victims of Men Essay In His Tragedies Shakespeare Often Presents Women Merely as the Tragic Victims of Men. To What Extent Do You Consider This Applies to Desdemona In Othello? There are no Antigones in Elizabethan Drama, Lyndsey Turner. Turner is here expressing the view that Shakespeare does not use his women as heroines. Instead she is of the opinion that they are used as devices on which the tragic impulses of the plays male characters are enacted. They are a device to produce a cathartic response from Shakespeares audience. In order to discuss to what extent Desdemona complies with this view, it would appear logical to define a tragic victim. Many say that a tragic victim is a character in a tragedy who suffers at the hand of circumstance and the fates. They suffer through no fault of their own and are brought down by others, they are totally powerless to change their fate and dont contribute to their own tragedy; they are solely the victims of others. It is also vital that they produce a cathartic response from the audience in order for their suffering to be tragic. Looking at these criteria it becomes clear why Shakespeare often uses women as his tragic victims. In the time Shakespeare was writing women had very little influence on their destiny having to submit either to their father or husband. They were the objects of men. When Iago warns Brabantio of his daughters escape he says Look to your house, your daughter and your bags. This shows of how little importance women were, being so powerless they would then be a natural choice for tragic victims, powerless to avoid their fate because of their weakness in society. However, when Desdemona is first presented to us she does not seem anything like a stereotypical woman of the time. Her character is presented as much stronger than that. Her father has not tried to force her into marriage even telling Roderigo that, My daughter is not for thee, even though it is clear that Roderigo is a rich man. At the end of Act one he goes to, sell all his land, in order to pursue Desdemona. As Brabantio is not therefore being in any way a tyrant to his daughter; her ability to escape from the house and deceive him shocks us and surely would have shocked a contemporary audience even more. This woman is not the kind of person you would expect to become a victim. Before the audience have even seen her she is described as a woman of, Beauty, wit and fortunes. She has gone to Othello in the dead of night protected by a, Knave of common hire, a gondolier. This shows Desdemonas bravery and strength. All of this increases her status with the audience and detracts from the image of a weak submissive woman. In Act 1 Scene 3 she defies what the Duke says, when he requests that she stay at her fathers house while Othello is in Cyprus saying that, She did love the Moor to live with him. For a woman to speak in front of a council of the most powerful people in Venice, not invited to do so, would be shocking to a contemporary audience and really show her strength of character. It is almost as though she is a feminine version of Othello, as Patsy Hall says, She cannot be the man, but she can be the husband of the man. She has shunned the Wealthy curled darlings of her nation unlike most women and instead chooses Othello. She doesnt care about his age or race she sees Othellos visage in his mind. The language Shakespeare gives her when talking of her wooing shows how deeply immersed in Othellos world she is; she, Falls in love with the battles even her language is strong. My downright violence and storm of fortunes, She is presented as incredibly strong certainly not a figure of pity. It is seemingly no wonder that Othello calls her, his fair warrior. Although Desdemona is first portrayed as quite a heroic figure by Shakespeare he soon starts to use her as a cathartic device, as the audience watch her previous strength fall away. It becomes clear that Shakespeare made her so strong willed deliberately in order to shape our response to Desdemona. Doing this makes it that much more painful for the audience. A major episode wherein Desdemona is presented as an object of pity is in the handkerchief episode. Desdemona loses her handkerchief and Othello sees Cassio with it. Despite Othellos growing suspicion, Desdemona remains ignorant claiming that, The sun where he was born drew all such humours from him. We feel tremendous pity for Desdemona when she says this because Shakespeare has shaped our response using structure and also the irony of her language. In the last scene we saw that Othello was seething with jealousy and vowed to kill her. This amplifies hugely our feeling of catharsis for her because we feel so helpless. Our pity for her is only added to when Shakespeare shapes events in the play so that all her qualities that were viewed as good in the first act of the play cause her to fall even further. However, she is still a victim because she is powerless to stop it; she is a victim of circumstance and ignorance that Iago has been planning her destruction. She continues to mention Cassio even when it is clear it is causing Othello irritance, she thinks that it is a trick to put her from her suit. The audiences feeling of catharsis is amplified as we can do nothing while her language puts her fidelity in more doubt in Othellos mind The time when we pity her most however is when Othello strikes her. Again she says precisely the wrong things, through no fault of her own but rather because her loving nature wishes to help Cassio, saying that, She would do much for the love she bears to Cassio. All the audience can do is sit and despair for her. When he hits her we think that maybe her strength will come back but she simply responds by saying that she, Will not stay to offend Othello. We despair because we know that if she submits to Othello she will die at his hands. This is yet more evidence of Desdemonas good proving to be her downfall. Shakespeare shapes events very cleverly in the next section in order to get the largest cathartic reaction. For a moment it seems like we might see a glimpse of Desdemonas fight. She claims, She has no Lord. The audience think for a moment she will be fine, however soon she is asking Iago, What shall I do to win my Lord again. The assertive Desdemona from the earlier scenes is gone and the audience despair for her. Even when Othello kills her she does not blame him. When asked who has killed her she says, Nobody, I myself. She dies a symbol of goodness and love, the way Shakespeare shapes her demise is unquestionably tragic. However, is she actually a victim? The audience on the most part at the time would say she is because she does not fall through a flaw in her character. However was she totally helpless and unable to change her fate? Patsy Hall argues that Othello and Desdemona have a, Mutual ignorance of each others nature, saying also that she is, so selflessly devoted that she cannot acknowledge imperfection in her husband. I would agree with this statement by Hall. The audience are constantly perplexed throughout the play as to why Othello will not listen to anyone but Iago. This could be perhaps a comment on how women have had to suffer under the patriarchal society in which Shakespeares original audience was living, perhaps through Desdemona he is trying to show the unfair nature of their society. But in many ways the same is true for Desdemona. Emilia tries to tell her that, Jealous souls are not ever jealous for the cause, but jealous for they are jealous. But even after this warning Desdemona takes no heed of anyone but Iago, therefore it could just perhaps be confirmation of Iagos intelligence, this backs up Desdemonas role as a victim as she is a victim of others. So in conclusion there is no doubt that Desdemonas demise is very much tragic. Also having examined the criteria it would be accurate to say that in many ways Desdemona is a victim. She suffers through no fault of her own and is the victim of circumstance. However, I am not sure that one could say that she was totally powerless to stop her eventual fate. I would say that Desdemona was not a victim of Iagos scheming or Othellos jealousy as she could have stopped these. She was a victim of her own love for Othello. Therefore, I would say that the statement in the title applies to Desdemona so far as she was the tragic victim of her own love for a man.

Emersons Experience A Close Reading Essay -- essays papers

Emersons Experience A Close Reading In Experience, Ralph Waldo Emerson writes about the human condition shared by all in his uniquely â€Å"Emersonian† perspective. Perhaps one of his most effective works is Experience, an essay on a subject of which Emerson had much â€Å"experience† and personal grief. To fully appreciate Emerson, the reader must closely analyze his writing, with both its obvious meaning, and the experience with which he’s writing. One particular paragraph is especially eloquent, and warrants closer analysis: â€Å"People grieve and bemoan themselves, but it is not half so bad with them as they say. There are moods in which we court suffering, in the hope that here, at least, we shall find reality, sharp peaks and edges of truth†. Emerson’s training as a clergyman shines through here, as he counsels the grief-stricken that things are not as bad as they seem. People who are aggrieved often hope to find some truth at the end of their suffering to make it seem somehow worthwhile. â€Å"But it turns out to be scene-painting and counterfeit. The only thing grief has taught me, is to know how shallow it is. That, like all the rest, plays about the surface, and never introduces me into the reality, for contact with which, we would even pay the costly price of sons and lovers†. Emerson’s preliminary sentences were only meant to scratch the surface -- now he is probing the heart of t he matter. He is stating that there is no deep meaning revealed when we lose someone we love. It is more of a defense mechanism or a means of self-assurance than anything else, because losing the people closest to us defies any tangible meaning. In the next passage, â€Å"Was it Boscovich who found out that bodies never come in contact? Well, s... ...cosmic connection for man, animals, plants. Emerson seems to suggest that grief is merely an escape into self-pity, a way of denying death or what it represents. For Emerson, life was nothing without faith in nature. In nature, nothing can live unless something dies. It is all part of the eternal cycle of life. Experience taught Ralph Waldo Emerson that wallowing in grief provides neither comfort nor closure. It does not answer any questions and does not change anything. However, faith in nature can offer solace during life’s darkest moments. It is a human ‘experience’ which he, fortunately, shared with us all. Bibliography: WORK CITED O’Keefe, Richard R. â€Å"‘Experience’: Emerson on Death.† ATQ (The American Transcendental Quarterly), v9 n2, p. 119 (11). (June 1995).

Biological Importance of Water

The Biological Importance Of Water Water plays a huge role in our lives, the molecule which is comprised of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen bonded together has many complex properties. The molecule maintains a bent shape due to its tetrahedral arrangement and the negative lone pair of electrons on the oxygen. The electrons from both hydrogen and oxygen are joined covalently but the difference in electronegativity lets the electrons from hydrogen get pulled slightly toward the oxygen therefore making the hydrogen positive and the oxygen negative (a dipole molecule). Hence water being a polar molecule, the result of this lets water get attracted to other polar molecules and more importantly to other water molecules. Hydrogen bonds form in-between these polar molecules. The many unique properties water withholds will be discussed in this essay varying from its thermal properties to its solvent properties. The polar molecule attracts other polar water molecules. The slightly negative oxygen is attracted to the slightly positive hydrogen. Weak hydrogen bonds connect them. Electrons are pulled closer to oxygen making oxygen negative and hydrogen positive and therefore polarised. Solvent properties Since water is polarized it attracts ions and other polarized molecules. Water can collect around the molecule separate it making the chemicals able to move freely around and react with other chemicals. For example when NaCl enters water they dissociate into ions (Na+) and (Cl-), this occurs because both ions are more attracted to water dipoles. The water molecules surround the ions therefore making it hydrated, the molecules are bound providing a osmotic surface. This process takes place withen animals and plants. In order for a plant to abssorb minerals from the soil and for the blood(waterbased) to transport glucose, amino acids and minerals. Without this soloution living orgasisms wouldn’t be able to physical survie due to lack of nutrients. All metablic reactions happen in this soloution, such a respiration, excretion and photosythesis. In the circumstance that a molecules intermoleculer bonds are to strong the charged surface normally gets attracted to water which would then remain isolated, this therefore avoids them joining – collodical suspension. The plasma in your blood is a example of a collodical suspension as it carries all the nurtirents and elctrolytes but doesn’t fuse with the red blood cells. Thermal properties A realtively large proportion of energy is needed to increase the tempreture of water (high heat capacity) because of the large amounts of hydrogen bonds water pocesses. The more water content there is the harder it is to change the tempreture. Due to the high water content inside our bodies changing tempreture is a slow process, making maintaing a stable body tempreture easy, water acts as a buffer. This is obviously a advantage so enzymes can work at there optium tempreture. When sweating occurs a lot of heat energy escapes via evaperation making it a good cooling mechanism and helping organisms mantian the optium body tempreture which is vital to endothermic organisms. Density and freezing properties When water is solid , its less dense then it was when it was in liquid form. Ice floats because it is about 9% less dense than liquid water. The density of water starts to decrease after 4 celsus and therefore starts to float, insulating water particals below it. As water cools below 4Â °C, the hydrogen bonds adjust to hold the negatively charged oxygen atoms apart. This produces a crystal lattice. If it wasn’t for density being less dense water would sink and the whole ocean would freeze killing water life and reducing the circulate nutrients in oceans. When water freezes is expands inorder to make space for more hydrogen bonds. Water stays liquid through a large tempreture range which helps water animals live. High surface tension and cohesion Since water moves together in long unbroken columns through plants (xylem tissue)- the low viscosity allows water to drift easily. Transpiration steam occurs in soloution and is held together by cohesion. Water molecules attach to the xylem vessel showing the use of adhesion(because both water and cellulose are polar molecules there is a strong attraction for water within the hollow capillaries of the xylem). The guard cell is turgid because it has an increase in turgor pressure – water enters the central vacuole by osmosis. The cohesion of water molecules creates a large surface tenison ontop of the water letting small organisms use it as a habitat. Water also effects the support of mammals due to the waterfilled tissue which boosts are skeletal support. All of these properties show that water has great biological importance and is fundamentally vital for any living organisms to survive.

Gone Girl By Amy Dunne - 1428 Words

Gone Girl Case Study Amy Dunne at first expression is a nice, cool, stylish female who would be an ideal daughter and wife. She is her parents’ inspiration for a children’s book series called â€Å"Amazing Amy†, which was about a perfect girl who overcomes all obstacles that come her way. To her husband Nick Dunne, she is a dedicated wife, who loves him dearly, and struggles to make her marriage work. Okay now let’s give you the real Amy, analyzing her throughout the book it seems she should be diagnosed with Borderline personality disorders. The real Amy she is actually a narcissistic person who has many different personalities and pretenses. While analyzing her throughout â€Å"Gone Girl†, she has maintained an image that was described above. In order to better understand Amy Dunne I am using Erik Erikson’s approach. In the beginning of Gone Girl, Amy has written a diary in which we have seen her personality as an image she developed of herself as Fake Amy. In Erik Erikson s approach, Amy seems to be stuck in the stages between five to twelve years old of her psychosocial development. During these stages normally children focus on being good or doing things right, they show early signs of industry and diligence. (Erikson, 1950, p. 247) Normally parents withhold encouragement during these phases. But Amy was rather than being praised by her parents felt constantly compared to a perfect, fictional image of herself in â€Å"Amazing Amy†. Which resulted to a complex while she wasShow MoreRelatedGone Girl By Amy Dunne1245 Words   |  5 PagesThe film â€Å"Gone Girl† depicts the story of a man named Nick Dunne and the disappearance and possible murder of his publicly adored wife, Amy Dunne. 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