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What judgments does Iago make about women in his conversation with Desdemona and Emilia?
Quick answer:
In his conversation with Desdemona and Emilia, Iago expresses misogynistic views, portraying women as deceptive and hypocritical. He accuses them of being outwardly charming yet wild and insincere at home, suggesting they pretend to be domestic while being driven by sexual desires. Iago's remarks reflect the sexist double standards of Elizabethan society, where women were expected to be silent and chaste, while men had more freedoms. His judgments reveal his disdain for women and foreshadow his treachery.
In Othello Act II, Iago uses verbal irony to reveal his misogynistic attitude toward women:
Come on, come on; you are pictures out of doors,
Bells in your parlors, wild-cats in your kitchens,
Saints m your injuries, devils being offended,
Players in your housewifery, and housewives' in your beds.
AND
It is clear that Iago relishes his male reputation, as it affords him the voice to make such damning statements about women in front of women. They cannot retaliate, only laugh it off.
The Elizabethan culture was overtly sexist, full of double standards. Men could talk; women were to remain quiet. Men were educated; women were not. Men could have affairs; women were to remain virgins. So, Iago is saying that women are deceivers: they only toy with men, pretending to be domestic housewives ("rise to play"), but really all they want it sex ("go to bed to work").
In this way, Iago characterizes these otherwise pure women as common prostitutes, even in marriage. The irony, of course, is that Iago is the deceiver who will have these two women murdered in a bed by the play's end.
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