Gender Roles in Othello

     Gender roles are seen in multiple different ways throughout Othello. One way gender roles can be seen is that men see women as their property, specifically, women who are unmarried are seen as their father's property. For example, Brabantio sees Desdemona as his property when he does not want to allow her to be with Othello and believes he should choose who Desdemona is with. Another way gender roles can be seen is through the promiscuity of women. Men of this time often thought women were promiscuous and often, husbands could not trust their wives. This is why both Othello and Iago are so easily led to believe that their wives have cheated on them. One final way gender roles can be seen is the terrible view some of the men have on women. For example, when Iago is talking badly about Emilia in front of Desdemona and Emilia herself.
     More examples include that Desdemona believes that she must always remain faithful to her husband and never cheat on him, regardless of if he is cheating on her or not. Another example is that since Othello is a man that has been cheated on by his wife, he believes that he has the right to kill his wife. Finally, there is one character in Othello who often breaks gender roles. This character is Emilia. One example of Emilia breaking gender roles is when she tells Desdemona that she would cheat on her husband. A second example is at the end of Act 5 when Emilia throws Iago under the bus and does not leave or stop talking when he tells her to. These are examples of gender roles in Othello.