초록 열기/닫기 버튼
The existence of a patriarchal society is dependent on inequality between genders. In a patriarchal social system, the male is in a position of power in relation to the female. The female is meant to be silenced, or she places herself in a man’s position, whereas the male is threatened by fear of castration and thus becomes more aggressive in asserting his manhood. Gender difference was an important way of representing social relations in early modern England, hence, it was common for contemporary playwrights to dramatize unstable gender relations and explore assumptions about women in their plays. The Shakespearean tragic heroine figure represents an independent woman who does not conform to the patriarchal idea of proper female behavior. Rather than being a woman of patient endurance as is commonly imagined, Desdemona is a woman of actions. Her lifestyle implies that she ignores social conventions although it ultimately leads to her demise. Desdemona unshackles herself from the identity of a docile lover, dependent daughter, and servile wife and shows the development of her true self-identity. However, her final death, or the “sacrifice of love” demonstrates the limit of her rebellion against patriarchal Venetian society.
