Vanita, Ruth. “‘Proper’ Men and ‘Fallen’ Women: The Unprotectedness of Wives in Othello.” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, vol. 34, no. 2, 1994, pp. 341–356. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/450905. Accessed 29 June 2021.
In “‘Proper’ Men and ‘Fallen’ Women: The Unprotectedness of Wives in Othello,” Ruth Vanita argues that both Desdemona’s and Emilia’s deaths, though actually carried out by one person each - Othello and Iago, respectively - are instead caused by others’ inability and unwillingness to intervene in marital affairs. Vanita outlines both characters’ deaths and the events that led up to them, in addition to the ways in which they could have been prevented. In first discussing Desdemona’s slow demise, Vanita spends a good deal of time blaming Lodovico, Desdemona’s “kinsman” and someone who “should represent some form of support for her” (345). Instead, he not only ignores her public beating by Othello’s hand, but then quickly formalizes their relationship and proves to Desdemona that his “polite speeches...mask his fatal failure to act the proper role of a man” (347). Additionally, Vanita supports her claim of Emilia’s death by explaining in great detail all that could have - and should have - happened. Vanita reminds readers that in that final scene, Iago attempts to stab Emilia to silence her, which in turn causes Othello to try to stab Iago, which consequently causes Montano to step in and disarm Othello. “The man who intervenes does so to save the murderer, not his victim” (Vanita 350). Through her discussion of both wives’ deaths, Ruth Vanita proves to readers that though both marital disputes were made public in many instances, the lack of aid provided to these “defenseless” wives cause them to be “felled by” the male-driven world that might as well promote the murder of women (352).
--Michelle Vucsko
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The relationship between husband and wife is considered private, even when part of their relationship plays out in public. Because of this private-ness, Vanita argues that, in Othello, people, particularly men, are unlikely to intervene on behalf of a physically abused wife. She notes that this exemplifies the ways in which the marital union is viewed because the men have no problem interrupting a man-on-man altercation. Vanita concludes that the deaths of both Desdemona and Emilia are not only to blamed on their husbands, but all people who witnessed the abuse and did not interfere. As evidence, Vanita points out that the women are “powerless” (345) against their husbands, noting that their husbands are always armed. She also uses the example of Lodovico as one who saw physical abuse firsthand, “expresses shock” (346), and still does not intervene in their “private” relationship.
-- Lauren Olson
