Context Flashcards
Machiavelli + The Machiavellian
A Machiavellian is characterised as somebody who; lacks empathy and has a cynical disregard for morality.
Machiavelli was born in Venice and associated in the minds of English audiences with vice and poisonings.
‘The Prince’ (political treatise) sets out that men in general are selfish.
Race
“Moor” referring to an Arab inhabitant of North Africa. It isn’t precise, yet this is unimportant - the fact he is of a different race offers enough of a reason for racial prejudice and his isolation.
Only Iago voices explicitly his view on Othello’s race, depicting him from the beginning as an animalistic outsider.
Women
Women were expected to be subservient to men during the 16/17th centuries - wives were considered to be a mans possession.
They have few rights and all male characters show a sense of misogyny - Iago explicitly, but with hints of misogyny from Othello and Cassio, despite their polite mannerisms and natures.
