Othello: discrimination against womenYes, even in Shakespeare's tragic drama Othello there is considerable sexism. Let us root out and analyze instances of blatant sexism in this play. Even the noble general succumbed to his elder's sexist remarks and insinuations, thus developing a reprehensible attitude towards his lovely and faithful wife. Angela Pitt in "Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies" comments on the sexist treatment reserved by the Moor to Desdemona: Desdemona therefore has some rather serious defects as a wife, including having her own will, evident even before marriage. This does not mean that she deserves the terrible accusations thrown at her by Othello, nor does she in any way deserve her death, but she is partly responsible for the tragic action of the play. Othello's behavior and growing jealousy become more understandable if we remember what Elizabethan husbands could expect from their wives. (45)In the opening scene, while Iago expresses his hatred towards General Othello for having chosen Michael Cassio as lieutenant, he devises a plan to partially take revenge (“I follow him to serve him my turn”), with the help of Roderigo, alerting Desdemona's father, Brabantio, of his daughter's escape with Othello: “Call her father, / Wake him: pursue him, poison his delight [. . .] .” Implicit in this move is the fact that the father takes control over his daughter's choice of spouse. It closely follows Iago's warning to the senator: “'Zounds, sir, you are robbed; for shame, put on your toga; / Your heart burst, you lost half your soul. This statement also implies that the father has authority over the daughter... middle of the paper... Ilia's astonishing interrogation and conviction of her husband as the evil mastermind behind the murder overturns the sexist image of women underlying the game . Her performance demonstrates that women are guided by reason to the same extent, or even more, than men; and that men are driven by passion more than women. The tables turn on sexism right at the climax of the drama! WORKS CITED Jorgensen, Paul A. William Shakespeare: The Tragedies. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1985. Pitt, Angela. "Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies." Readings on tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprinted from Shakespeare's Women. Np: np, 1981.Shakespeare, William. Othello. In Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No lines n..