Othello and Oedipus Othello&oedipus Rex

Othello and Oedipus Othello&Oedipus Rex comparison Prompt One: Consider the main characters in Oedipus Rex and Othello Oedipus the King or Oedipus Rex is a Greek tragedy which was first performed in 429 BC. One can begin to address this essay topic by the more obvious comparison between the two main characters of Othello and Oedipus.

They are both cultural heroes but also tragic characters who make decisions and follow certain paths in life that lead to disastrous consequences; while Othello eventually kills his wife whom he loves dearly; Oedipus unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother. However, central to the tragic direction of their lives are the social norms and influences that play a decisive role in the way that they perceive the world around them. As many studies of this aspect note, they both achieve in the eyes of society.

Othello defeats the enemies of Venice and Oedipus defeats the Sphinx and relieves Thebes of the burden of heavy taxes. What is also clear from a reading of the plays is that both characters live in a male -- dominated or patriarchic society, where the male and female characters have certain prescribed roles and perceptions of themselves. In the world of Othello, as is the case as well in Oedipus, the female is generally portrayed as being secondary in status and accomplishments to the male characters.

The males rule, control and conquer, while the female characters such as Desdemona tend to be more subservient. Unlike the male characters they are not expected to perform major social functions and duties. This does not mean that a character like Desdemona does not have her own identity and integrity, but rather that she is seen in a social sense as secondary because of her gender. She is manipulated by Iago according to various female stereotypes of the time.

Iago provides Othello with "proof" of her lack of fidelity based on certain preconceptions of the immoral nature of women which Iago knows that Othello will have imbibed from the society around him. The patriarchal attitude and view of women can perhaps best be seen in the way that Othello tends to believe almost too easily that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him. It is as if his sense of male control and dominance prescribed by the norms of the society is blinding him to her true nature.

He judges her in terms of the norms of assumed female weakness. This aspect is summarized in the following quotation. Gender relations are pretty antagonistic in Othello. Unmarried women are regarded as their fathers' property and the play's two marriages are marked by male jealousy and cruelty (both wives are murdered by their own husbands). Most male characters in Othello assume that all Venetian women are inherently promiscuous, which explains why female sexuality is a huge threat to men in the play.

Othello is easily convinced his wife is cheating on him and feels emasculated and humiliated as a result (Othello: Theme of Gender) In a similar sense in King Oedipus, the inferior status or societal position of women can be seen in the fact the mother of Oedipus is ordered to kill her own son, as the King fears a prophesy that his son would murder him.

It is therefore clear that women have a lower status than men and that men makes the decisions and determine the direction of life in the society. The ideal of the male hero is also prominent in this play as.