In William Shakespeare’s Othello, we follow the story of Othello (a general in the venetian army)

and Desdemona’s marriage, which is broken by Iago (a flag bearer under Othello). Iago seeks
revenge from Othello because a) Othello promotes Cassio to lieutenant instead of Iago and b)
he hears a rumour that Othello is sleeping with his wife (Emilia). The entire play follows Iago
using his ingratiating strategies to bring down Othello (his reign) and Desdemona’s relationship.
Shakespeare uses Iago’s jealousy and insecurities to build a very interesting plot about lust,
envy, and apprehension. Being a tragedy, the play ends with Othello smothering Desdemona
and killing himself.

The Streetcar Named Desire, written by Tennessee Williams is a story of prim-and-proper

Blanche DuBois who arrives at her sister’s Stella and her husband Stanley’s apartment
uninvited. The story follows Blanche’s struggle to fit in with her sister, and getting Stanley to like
her, while we unravel her traumatic past relationship as she gets closer to Mitch. Stella, who is
happily married to Stanley, is often urged by Blanche to get out of the abusive relationship, as
Stanley tries to get to the bottom of why Blanche came to their apartment and thinks that
Blanche used the money from Belle Reve on her own desires for her appearance. In both
stories we follow different relationship dynamics between marriages and clashes between
powerful, authoritative characters highlighting how men and women often struggle to resolve
problems. While both stories have different motives that drive the plot, the ideological
differences between the main characters often show conflicts between men and women, and
them not succeeding very well to reach a consensus.

Othello and Desdemona’s marriage is plagued by mistrust and external pressures, as their
struggles with infidelity and societal disapproval ultimately prevent them from resolving their
conflicts successfully. Both Shakespeare and Williams have centred the plot around a central
marriage of Othello and Desdemona, and Stanley and Stella, with external characters Iago and
Blanche driving the plot with different motives. Although both stories have a huge focus on the
protagonists, ultimately the central marriages are affected both in bad and good ways.
Shakespeare presented Desdemona and Othello’s marriage as sacred, and precious by
establishing Desdemona’s dilemma of having to choose Othello against her father’s will, when
she says “here I perceive a divided duty. To you (brabantio) I am bound for life and education,
but here is my husband”. By highlighting the nature of this relationship breaking societal bounds
of the “white ewe” desdemona marrying Othello, the “black ram”, Shakespeare has established
the grounds for a strong relationship, and desdemona’s relentless effort to keep Othello happy.
Which is later proved when Desdemona is helpless when Othello questions her infidelity and
she is unable to defend herself against the “web of lies” that Iago has spun. We see Desdemona
go from a self-effacing, faithful wife and as a bold, independent personality, to being put in the
position of defending her fidelity to her husband. Just as she’s beginning to portray this
supremely independent personality, midway through she must struggle against all odds to
convince Othello that she’s not too independent, leading to the ultimate conflict between the
two. Although she’s portrayed as “guiltless” until the end of the play, she seems only to be able
to watch as her husband is driven insane with jealousy, which they aren’t able to solve and
ultimately results in her death. Although this stands in contrast to Stella choosing Stanley over
Blanche and ends up in a happy marriage, the relationship dynamic in both marriages where the
males (Othello and Stanley) are both authoritative and powerful, strong believers of establishing
hegemony over their wives, (Desdemona and Stella) who are both very gullible, and protective
of their marriages. This portrayal of the stark character differences between Othello and
Desdemona, or the downfall of Desdemona’s independent characterization, highlights how men
and women often struggle to resolve their conflicts, and may even end up in tragedy if trust is
threatened.

Contrastingly, the arguments between Iago and Emilia, despite both of them being very
authoritarian, and strong-willed, are also an example of men and women not succeeding very
well at maintaining good relationships. Unlike Desdemona, who is helpless towards the climax
of the play, Emilia is a strong believer in right and wrong, and is portrayed as a relentless
character who is not afraid to speak her opinion. We can see this when Emilia is explaining to
Desdemona that she “thinks it is their husbands’ faults / If wives do fall”. Later she reveals a
sharp-eyed and self-aware perspective on how women are often vulnerable to abuse at the
hands of their husbands, saying “they eat us hungerly, and when they are full / They belch us” to
Desdemona. While Iago is portrayed as a manipulative, assertive villain of the story, who spins
his “web of lies” to ruin Othello’s life. These two insistent, dominant characters in a marriage
create a constant opportunity for conflict, showing how men and women, no matter how
invested in the relationship, struggle to resolve conflict. Contrasting to Desdemona, Emilia is
independent and not afraid to show Iago his place; which doesn’t add to the already egoistic
personality that gets in the way of resolved conflicts, and a happy marriage.

Iago’s misogynistic beliefs and manipulative tendencies prevent him from resolving conflicts with
women, as he views them as deceitful and untrustworthy. We can see this when Emilia
compares men to stomachs saying “They are all but stomachs, and we all but food; they eat us
hungerly, and when they are full, they belch us.” This metaphor not only highlights Emilia’s
obdurate ideologies of men in general, but also shows how the misogynistic ideals drove society
back in the 1500s. This back and forth between the power dynamics of marriages and
relationships was the main driving factor between many abusive relationships, and unresolved
conflicts between men and women. Especially Iago, who fails to treat Emilia or Desdemona with
respect, expresses his low opinion of women, believing that women are sexually corrupt and
inherently dishonest. He dismisses Emilia’s opinions and treats her as a tool in his “web of lies”,
while his relationship with Desdemona is purely transactional, actively working towards ruining
her and Othello's life. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony and soliloquies to reveal Iago’s
duplicitous nature, showing how pretends to be loyal to Othello and supportive of Desdemona,
while masking his true intentions of manipulation and deep-seated misogyny. Iago’s inability to
remain sincere in relationships may be a result of his own insecurities and need for control. His
patriarchal ideology that all women are unfaithful leads him to use Desdemona as a pawn in his
plot against Othello. His cruel treatment of Emilia, whom he murders, demonstrates his
complete disregard for women as individuals with agency, highlighting how his conflicts with
women remain unresolved, as his misogyny blinds him to the possibility of genuine
understanding or reconciliation.
Similar to Emilia and Iago, Williams portrays a contrast in the power dynamics between Blanche
and Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire, illustrating their ongoing struggles and failure to
resolve their conflicts. Stanley is also painted as a misogynistic character, who doesn’t respect
Stella as much as she puts him on a pedestal. We see this when Stanley throws a package of
meat at Stella stating his sexual ownership over Stella, highlighting the carnal relationship that
they share. Although this misogynistic characterization does prevail towards the end of the play
similar to Iago, who kills Emilia and is arrested, Stella chooses Stanley over her sister. This
shows the difference between Emilia’s strong-willedness and Stella’s naiveness both leading to
starkly different endings of the plays. Here we can see how being able to forgive your husband
and stay in an abusive relationship will make Stanley and Stella happy, but Emilia standing up
for herself and wanting Desdemona to stay happy ends in tragedy. Stanley and Stella’s
marriage is a good portrayal of wanting to stay in a toxic relationship, despite having the
conflicts that Stella chooses to avoid deliberately, while Blanche who is more level-headed like
Emilia ends up losing the only real relationship she ever had. Perhaps this is a good portrayal of
the prevalence of men and women struggling to resolve conflict, irrespective of whether there is
one understanding person in the marriage or not.

Both plays depict power struggles between men and women, especially in the contrasting
dynamics between Desdemona and Iago, and Blanche and Stanley. In both scenarios, the
women are portrayed as courtly and composed, while the men are more authoritative and
refuse to cede control, leading to unresolved conflicts. Desdemona and Blanche both embody
grace and elegance, yet both are trapped in a world dominated by powerful men. Despite Iago’s
clear hatred towards women, Desdemona must remain loyal to Othello similar to the way
Blanche is forced to endure Stanley’s cruelty, as her sister Stella chooses to not address his
abusive nature. Both Desdemona and Blanche are powerless against the men who seek to
undermine and control them, ultimately leading to their downfall. Both authors use contrasting
characters, powerful dialogue, and power dynamics to illustrate the conflicts that they often
struggle to resolve. Desdemona’s caring, submissive nature rubs against Iago’s manipulative
aggression, similar to how Blanche’s fragile illusions clash with Stanley’s brute force.Both Iago
and Stanley assert dominance over women, refusing to allow them any form of control within
their relationships.Meanwhile, Desdemona and Blanche, despite their initial strength, are left
defenseless. Their inability to escape these toxic dynamics highlights how gendered power
struggles and conflicts between male and female relationships remain unresolved.

To conclude, both Othello and A Streetcar Named Desire portray men and women struggling to
resolve conflicts in marriages and relationships, particularly when power dynamics and deeply
ingrained gender roles are a deciding factor. In Othello, Iago’s manipulative nature and
misogynistic views about women prevent him from engaging with women in any meaningful
way, while Desdemona is forced into a submissive role, unable to counter the deceit that
ultimately destroys her and her marriage, destroying the trust between her and Othello.
Similarly, in A Streetcar Named Desire, the clash between Blanche’s sophisticated ideals and
Stanley’s dominant personality creates irreconcilable conflicts, with Blanche ultimately
overpowered and silenced, like Desdemona. In both plays, the women’s lack of agency and the
men’s need for control make resolution impossible, leading to tragic consequences. While
Othello ends mostly in tragedy and death, Stella is happily married to Stanley and chooses her
marriage over her relationship with her sister. Through these conflicting relationships, both
Shakespeare and Williams emphasize how the struggle between men and women is often not
only unresolved but also destructive, reinforcing the idea that power dynamics and unrealistic,
patriarchal societal expectations can make reconciliation difficult to achieve, when trust has
been threatened.