The Impotent Othello Essay -- Othello essays

The Impotent OthelloOthello is one of the some extraordinary characters in all of Shakespeares dramas. He enjoyed unheralded success on the battlefield, which gave him the reputation as one of Venices most able generals. The Moors military proficiency placed him in a class by himself in the same way his ethnicity distinguished him from his Venetian counterparts. These are both intrinsic and highly identifiable characteristics of Othello. But a much lesser discussed idiosyncrasy of the Moor was his sexual disorder - impotency. As striking as this produce sounds there is much evidence in the drama to support the idea that Othello was impotent in both sexual and social relationships. Othellos sexual impotence subdue the consummation of his marriage to Desdemona as the two never experienced sexual intimacy. His sexual disorder then sparked a social impotence powerlessness in dealing with his wife and friends. In terms of shaping the final events of the drama, Othellos impotency play ed an even more vital role than his military might or Moorish heritage.Throughout Othello, there is much evidence to suggest that Othello and his wife Desdemona never consummated their marriage. Shortly after murdering his wife, the Moor remarked, cold, cold my girl?/ thus far in thy Chastity (V.ii.273-4). The final word chastity - brings what actually transpired in their bedroom into serious question. By referring to Desdemona as chaste is it possible that Othello was divulging that he and his wife never had sexual intercourse? Other passages from the play indicate that this is indeed the case. Upon his arrival at the citadel in Cyprus, Othello invited his wife to their sleeping quarters for the entropy time with the following utteranceCom... ... character as his Moorish ancestry. Works Cited Butler-Evans, Elliot. Haply, for I am Black Othello and the Semiotics of Race and Otherness. sensitive Essays by Black Writers. Ed. Mythili Kaul. chapiter D.C. Howard UP, 1997. 139-150. C EINET. Impotence On-line. Online. Internet. Available http //www.cei.net/impotenc/deth.html. Impotent. Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition. Oxford Oxford University Press, 1989. Koch, Carl. Living a Christian Lifestyle. St. Paul Saint Marys Press, 1996. Sedwick, Eve. Between Men English Literature and Male Homosocial Desire. New York Colombia UP, 1985. United States. Natl. Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Impotence. Online. Internet. 9 July 1998. Available http//www. niddk.nih.gov/health/urolog/pubs/impotnce/impotnce.htmcause