Editing Othello (section)

===Patriarchy===
At Brabantio's first appearance towards the end of the first scene, he asks whether sinister "charms" may have abused "the property of youth and maidenhood" of Desdemona.<ref>''Othello'' 1.1.169-171.</ref> For him, Desdemona denying her father's right to choose her husband, and choosing a black man for herself, can only be explained by black magic.<ref>Green MacDonald, Joyce "Black Ram, White Ewe: Shakespeare, Race, and Women"  in Callaghan, Dympna (ed.) "A Feminist Companion to Shakespeare" Blackwell Publishers Limited, 2001, pp.188-207 at p.188 & 192</ref>{{sfn|Muir|McAlindon|2015|p=xxv}}

The notion of women as property pervades the play. Even after her death, Othello says of Desdemona: "Had she been true, / If heaven would make me such another world / Of one entire and perfect [[Topaz|chrysolite]], / I'd not have sold her for it."<ref>''Othello'' 5.2.139-142.</ref><ref>Snyder, Susan, "''Othello'': A Modern Perspective" in Mowat, Barbara A (ed.), Werstine, Paul (ed.) and Shakespeare, William, "Othello", Folger Shakespeare Library edition, Simon and Schuster, 2017, pp.291-302 at p.299.</ref> Also pervasive is the male fear of female sexuality.<ref>Snyder, 2017, pp.299-300.</ref>

The word "whore" appears 14 times in ''Othello'', more often than in any other work by Shakespeare, often used (in Kay Stanton's words) as a "male-initiated inscription onto the female as scapegoat."<ref>Stanton, Kay ""Made to write 'whore' upon?": Male and Female Use of the Word "Whore" in Shakespeare's Canon" in Callaghan, Dympna (ed.) "A Feminist Companion to Shakespeare" Blackwell Publishers Limited, 2001, pp.80-102 at pp.94 & 95.</ref> And it is one of only two of the plays (alongside ''[[Timon of Athens]]'') in which the word "whore" is used with specific reference to every named female character.<ref>Stanton, 2001, p.97</ref> In the world of the play, ''whorishness'' is understood as the true and essential nature of women—yet this is constantly shown to be a projection of male imaginations, completely unrelated to the women's perceptions of themselves or to their behavior.<ref>Stanton, 2001, p.98.</ref>
<!-- COMMENTING THIS OUT - DOESN'T SEEM TO HAVE AN APPROPRIATE CONTEXT AT THE MOMENT: Cassio is contemptuous of the courtesan Bianca, describing her as a "monkey" and a "fitchew" (a [[polecat]]), both animals associated at the time with having strong sex drives.<ref>Green MacDonald, 2001, p.193 & 196; ''Othello'' 4.1.128 & 4.1.145.</ref> -->

Towards the end of the play, Desdemona's goodness increasingly becomes represented by long-suffering martyrdom, perceived as a longstanding sign of acceptable femininity. In place of the headstrong heroine of the opening acts, Desdemona, increasingly stripped of agency, endures her husband's anger and humiliations—even his striking her in public—and eventually, while dying, tries to exonerate him for his murder of her.<ref>Howard, Jean E. "Feminist Criticism" in Wells, Stanley and Orlin, Lena Cowen "Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide", Oxford University Press, 2003, pp.411-430 at p.427, in turn citing Lisa Jardine's essay "She sat like Patience on a Monument / Smiling at grief".</ref> Others perceive Desdemona's reaction as one of strength and dignity, not passivity.{{sfn|Muir|McAlindon|2015|p=lv}}

In contrast, Emilia ("the only real grown-up in the play", in the words of stage director [[Michael Attenborough]]{{sfn|Bate|Rasmussen|2009|p=188}}) revolts against misogyny, defying her husband Iago's demands three times in the final scene.<ref>''Othello'' 5.2.192-194, 5.2.217-220 and 5.2.222.</ref>{{sfn|Neill|2008|p=176}}