2014 QA

 2014 Question A

“Various social groups, both large and small (such as family, friends, organisations or community) reflect the cultural context in texts.”

 

In the text I’ve studied so far as part of my comparative course, “Othello” by William Shakespeare I’ve come to see the rigid attitudes and restricting values that people held at the time. These views were made apparent to me by the aspects of cultural context that various social groups, both large and small reflect throughout the text.

The first example of social groups reflecting the cultural context can be seen in Act 1 Scene 3 in the senate. This scene reflects the deeply ingrained and highly prejudicial nature of racism and its links to superstition in this text. Brabantio, Desdemona's father believes he can win the vote of the senate by persuading them Othello has bewitched Desdemona into marrying him, he believes this because Othello is foreign and to him this equates to mystery and danger. Brabantio is highly suspicious of Othello even claiming he must have used “drugs or minerals” to win Desdemona's affection. It's clear to me that Brabantio assumed he would win the trust of the senate as during the time period white men had voice and power while people of colour and women did not. In my opinion the senate reflects a principal aspect of the cultural context surrounding the lack of respect and suspicion that the white characters wrongly hold for Othello. These groups reflect the lack of power and harmful attitudes people of colour had to experience at the time.

What Brabantio has not accounted for is that Othello while still an outsider is highly ranked in the world of the military, which as they are currently in conflict makes Othello an invaluable asset. Which brings me onto my next point surrounding how cultural context is reflected through various social groups, notably the army.

The second example of how cultural context is portrayed in Othello by various social groups is the power of class in terms of positions of power. All men in the main cast of the play are part of the Venetian army. This is where Othello gains his respect, where Cassio loses his, but also where Iago is overlooked for a senior position due to his class background. The cultural context of the stratified society in Venice at the time is reflected through this organisation by the appointment of Cassio, a wealthy Florentine with little experience over Iago an originally working-class Venetian with years of knowledge and know how. This to me reflects how difficult it was to change the embedded views people held surrounding class in this time period, and how those views can be perpetuated by state organsations as well as social groups.

The final example in Othello of how cultural context is reflected through the various social groups in this text is the treatment of women throughout the play. This mistreatment is apparent in Desdemona's relationship with her father as well as the language and attitude displayed by the army members towards their own and each other's female lovers and wives. Desdemona betrays her Father by marrying Othello without his permission, Desdemona is treated as a commodity by her Father and the senate, she is something to be passed over to another man instead of being represented as herself, an individual human being. It's clear to me Brabantio believes Desdemona to be his to own by the line where Brabantio states “she is abus’d, stol’n from me and corrupted”. Stolen, as if she was ever his. The disrespectful and misogynistic treatment of women in Othello is reflected also through the language used about women within the social group of the members of the army. Othello and Iago refer to Desdemona as a devil, as a foolish strumpet, a mistress, a creature and many more. Yet they do not repeat such language in the company of anyone else apart from fellow army members. This reflects to me how the men believe when they are not around women and in their army social group it is acceptable to speak of women in a demeaning and disrespectful manner. This portrays to me how the cultural context of women's place in society is perpetuated by the social groups displayed in Othello.

In conclusion I believe the cultural context in Othello is reflected strongly through the various social groups throughout the text, I also believe that these aspects of the cultural contrast portrayed are preserved and reinforced by these groups and the power dynamics at their cores.