『오셀로』에 나타난 작가의 결혼관

Abstract

Shakespeare, who lived during the Renaissance Period, had progressive ideas on marriage in a time when traditional ideas dominated. Shakespeare expressed his ideas on marriage in several of his plays. In Othello specifically, we can see how Shakespeare questioned the traditional ideas on marriage which forced women to obey and completely dedicate themselves to men—regardless of if they had a lot of problems or acted badly as husbands. He asked whether these traditional ideas were suitable for the new upcoming age. Desdemona was very active and challenged marital social norms with her love and marriage to Othello. However, after marriage, she completely changed and followed the patriarchal rules for wives to become submissive, obedient, and faithful despite whatever Othello did. Compared to her, Emilia and Bianca also followed their men’s orders just to please them but when they encountered their husbands’ problems or bad behavior, they refused to obey and follow them, unlike Desdemona. Shakespeare, who tried to follow progressive marital ideas, thought it was foolish to obey traditional marital ones by showing Desdemona’s marital life and her death. Shakespeare believed that for the new upcoming age, new ideas about marriage were needed to develop better relationships between husbands and wives. In this way, he used his playwriting to advocate for more progressive marital ideas.