Othello

A major theme is William Shakespeare's play, Othello, is marriage and the roles normally cast in it. Desdemona and Iago's discussion on the fairer sex reveals the inner feelings of Iago on the matter, and how the society of the time thought. In Iago, and it seems the women's minds, the two most important qualities of a woman is her brains and beauty. If a woman posses either trait, she is able to manipulate and gain a husbend. Even if she is not, she still "does foul pranks which fair and wise ones do" (Act II, i, 142). This accusation of Iago's that women do nothing but manipulate men is followed by a comment that their jobs are merely to care for the house and have children. Although normal sterotypes for the time period, Iago'd hostility toward women is unusual. His diadain toward women must have a more personal tie. Perhaps he was cheated by a woman he loved in the past. That would explain his anger, and even his quick accusations about the rumored affair between Othello and Iago's wife.