Re-telling of Othello (by yours truly)

Introduction

I chose 3 characters to have this dialogue: Emilia (from both Shakespeare's and Cinthio's versions - altho Cinthio never gave her a name), Patient Griselda (originally from Boccaccio's Decameron, re-written in Chaucer's Centerbury Tales, and the Wife of Bath (one of the pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales)

Emilia - Iago's wife. Shakespeare has her finally speak up against all the wrongs committed at the end of the play; however, she is killed. Cinthio never gives her a real voice, but allows her to live -- that is how the story is carried on.

Patient Griselda - Boccaccio's story; thee embodiment of wifely obediance and patience. In short, her husband puts her through 13-16 years of trials in which he supposedly murders their children and 'divorces' her -- in an attempt to test her patience and steadfastness.

Wife of Bath - Some claim her to be Chaucer's version of a feminist; *she* wears the pants in the household, and (admittedly) uses men for what she can get out of them, and (presumably) works them to death. She's middle aged, but is already on her 5th husband in the Canterbury Tales.

I chose these women because, when combined, their differences provide good conversation and discussion on the finer points of the story. Griselda (who is obviously more verbose than she would be otherwise) is used to highlight the so-called ‘proper manners’ of noble women -- and to provide a juxtaposition with the Wife of Bath’s domineering ‘feminist’ persona. The tale, itself, is a synthesis between Shakespeare and Cinthio, with facts woven in from various other sources to provide more complete details and views on certain aspects of the story that, I felt, needed to be highlighted in order to have a better understanding of the story as a whole.


((Note: At the end is an appendix of quotes, and where I took them from - along with a bibliography. I'd hate to be called out on plagerism!))

Emilia - Thank you both for coming. Lots has happened in the past few weeks, and I need to get it all off my chest.
Griselda - Oh, dear, we’re here for you. Let me make some tea...
Emilia - No, my dear, patient Griselda... No need. The tea is ready to serve, and my cup’s been filled. Indeed, help yourselves.
Gris. - I’ll just have some water.
Wife of Bath - Sooo? Make with the story -- the suspense and your somber countenance is enough to drive me to drink!
Gris. - Lord have Mercy! You know the drink is no good, and best left to men who have the strength... If you insist on drinking it, you should water it down!
Wife - (loud sigh) Darling cousin -- I fear the times have changed and left you behind! I may drink the same as my husband...
Gris. - Then you have not been properly taught by Prudence and Sobriety!
Em. - Peace, sisters! There’s a bottle of wine in the cabinet that my late husband never drank.
Gris. & Wife - Late?
Wife - What happened?
Gris. - (sad face) Poor dear... a shame to lose such a gentleman!
Wife - The shame is in calling such a man gentle! Experience is right enough for anyone to speak of the woes of marriage...
Em. - Before we diminish ourselves by squabbling, let me say that both your accounts are correct. The man was as virtuous in presence as he was villainous in nature. Forsooth -- he charmed me into wedlock before I knew his true form... and charmed me again as I stood near the carriage before our dear daughter was born.
Gris. - How is your beautiful flower?
Em. - Fraught with distress, locked away in her room. It’s been near two days past her father’s wake -- she stayed dutifully by his side, even read him stories before she bedded the couch. It soothes my soul that she thinks him such a model of goodness.
Wife - Yet one day she must know the truth!
Gris. - I pray she ne’er discovers any past wrongs that may harden her most soft and virtuous character!
Wife - The girl ought to know the God’s honest truth!
Gris. - And what if, God forbid!, that sways her towards a vicious nature?
Em. - I will tell her the truth if her tender ears yearn to listen. Until that day, let her think what she may. Out of respect, and love for me -- none of us shall breath a word to her.
(They all nod. Wife raises her wine glass, Gris. her water, and Em. her tea.)
Gris. - So, please dear - impart your tale of woe to ears willing to listen and hearts ready with compassion... My eyes already tear at your pain!
Wife - Oh yes, do tell... (pours another glass of wine)
Em. - Surely both of you know of Othello...?
Wife - A strong and handsome warrior!
Gris. - An honorable and virtuous man!
Wife - A Moor who rose from the piteous slave to valiant captain!
Gris. - A man who outranked his peers in humble prestige!
Em. - Well, the story begins with him and his newly wed wife, Desdemona.
Gris. - Tales of her patience and virtue are widespread.
Wife - But she’s obviously ill-educated to marry against her father’s wishes! Nevermind to a man who’s opposite her creed and nature!
Gris. - Against her father? Oh, shame of shames! A young girl ought to be very humble and obedient to her parents. ‘Tis unthinkable that she would go ‘gainst their grain!
Wife - By my fey, we women love no man that takes keep or charge of where we go -- we are free to act as we wish!
Gris. - No, hardly so...
Wife. - (finishes glass of wine) I mean, who wouldn’t swoon under the presence and gaze of such a statuesque man, forged in the heat of battle! Il Moro... (shivers, fans herself)
Gris. - Tsk! You are truly a lustful fruit! ... (turns to Em.) You knew the young woman before the marriage?
Em. - I knew her because I worked in her father’s house. Othello, then a Corporal, would sit and tell his war stories to delight Brabantio’s ears.
Gris. - And the poor girl heard them?
Em. - A few times, she was present to hear the tales, at which point the Moor would lower the tone so that she would be able to listen.
Gris. - Oh good... such scenes of bloody battle are not for women’s ears!
Wife - Bah! To hear such tales makes my heart flutter and my loins warm...
Gris. - Such delight in sinful wickedness!
Em. - The tales caused Desdemona to pity the Moor.
Gris. - And so she fell in-love with him?
Em. - Well, he definitely fell in-love with her for it.
Wife - Wait -- she didn’t love him?
Em. - ‘Twas never clear. When I asked her about it, she’d smile and say that it wasn’t proper for a woman to speak of her feelings towards a gentleman.
Wife - Blasted manners!
Gris. - Blessed manners!
Em. - If memory serves me correctly, she later said that no word ever passed between them that was not affectionate and kind. There was only one occasion that I can recall where she spoke ill of Othello.
Gris. - (gasps)
Wife - What’d she say?
Em. - Truthfully, I do not know. She only hinted at it when speaking about Michael Cassio, after he was demoted, how when she spoke dispraisingly of Othello, Cassio took up his defense.
Gris. - The thought makes me woozy! Wives should be humble, trying hard to say everything that ought to please him, always keeping a happy expression on her face! To think...
Wife - (shakes her head) We love no man that keeps tabs on where we go and what we do. We are free to act as we wish!
Gris. - (shocked, closes closes her eyes and clasps her hands in prayer) Oh dear Lord in Heaven -- have mercy...
Em. - Anyhow, Othello soon got promoted to Captain and ordered to leave at once for Cyprus.
Wife - Ah, the battle with the Turks...
Em. - Indeed, you are truly knowledgeable on current affairs...
Wife - I’ve an ear for it. (smiles)
Gris. - Your ears should be turned towards your husband, dear cousin.
Wife - My husband did not single me out as a minx from a lot of sheep... In fact, I chose him.
Gris. - I am far from a minx, and more like a sheep... (bows her head)
Wife - Surely Walter would love to know he hangs a sheep ‘round his neck! (loud, drunken laughter)
Gris. - (clasps hands) Neither Gualtieri nor I would attempt a retort.
Em. - Nor should you. ... (turns to Wife) Dear sister, beware your slanderous serpent tongue, drunk on thoughts that, not un’corked, should never grace the lips of a woman.
Gris. - Please, sweet Emilia, continue with your story.
Em. - My husband, Iago, was Othello’s Ensign. He was outraged that Othello was promoted before himself...

Gris. - It is ill-suited for anyone to judge another by their promotion! One ought not to hinder the advancement of anyone else, but think only of one’s own soul and of behaving wisely and always doing one’s duty well...
Wife - Oh, you are so full of Pis’ an’--
Em. - Sister! Need I remind you that my daughter is upstairs? Again, watch thine tongue...
Wife - (pours another glass of wine)
Em. - Iago and I joined Othello and Desdemona in Cyprus. Curiously, Othello went ahead, and left his wife to my husband’s charge. (sigh) I say this in mine utmost confidence of your tongues, which (looks at Wife) I’m hoping will stay sealed... out of love and respect for yours truly...
Gris. - We’d never think of breathing anything said here to another living being! Although to be fair, a wife should not -
Wife - Tell! Indeed, do tell!
Em. - (whispers) Well, I thought I saw Iago making curious eyes at my lady!
(Both Wife and Gris. shocked)
Em. - I know, I know. I’m sure that I saw some glint of shadow playing wrong in the dusky light, hopefully made a false assumption on an otherwise innocent gesture.
Wife - But, you know his character better than anyone!
Gris. - Such words dispraising should never be spoken aloud!
Em. - I know. Believe me, I know. Despite his faults, I believe him to have been a good man...
Wife - (snorts)
Gris. - What did your ladyship do? say?
Em. - She did not notice and I didn’t have the heart to tell her.
Gris. - (nods)
Em. - I wanted to make his scandalous behavior known, but how can I bring fog to the clear blue eyes of love? Her every thought was bent to her husband... and to twist it anon with slander and deviance? (sigh)
Gris. - Dear, you did the right thing...
Em. - In hindsight, I wonder if I should have broken the truth to her...
Wife - What do you mean?
Em. - I get ahead of myself. We arrived at Cyprus with no problems. Shortly thereafter, Cassio got into a most disgraceful fight, and was demoted. He took up this suit with Desdemona, begged her to speak to Othello on his behalf. And so she did...
Gris. - She was properly taught -- to be the means of peace and concord between men who are, by nature, courageous and hotheaded!
Em. - Yes, but I think this threw Othello...
Wife - Because she spoke of pity for another man than himself?
Em. - (nods)
Gris. - But, ‘tis her duty as his most honorable and affectionate wife to smooth out problems!
Em. - This we know, but Othello did not. Remember dear sisters -- he was a Moor, and thus was unaccustomed to the ways of Venetian women.
Gris. - He should have consulted someone before being so affected...
Em. - It wasn’t until my husband consulted him that Othello was affected.
Wife - How so?
Em. - I overheard his ploy, so viciously innocent. The man was always good at fencing, advance, retreat, advance, retreat. Thus he did with Othello.
Gris. - Such things that men do to each other...
Wife - Without which, we’d have no story!
Em. - (sigh) While I am freed of the burden of my husband, I do fervently wish this story had not taken place, so that sweet Desdemona and most honorable Othello may have had a true chance at happiness!
Wife - Iago killed them!?
Gris. - (shocked) ‘Zounds Cousin!
Em. - Let it be known that not once did Iago raise his sword to his Captain or my ladyship.
Wife - Good on it. (raises her glass) Continue.
Em. - Well, poor Othello -- his perception of his new bride was twisted! Iago played on this out-of-tune chord, plucked Othello’s heartstrings, tweaked the sharp man so that his logic went flat!
Wife. - What on Earth are you talking about? Slow down and tell the tale!
Em. - Iago... Iago planted the seed of Desdemona’s infidelity.
Wife. - He wanted Desdemona for himself?
Gris. - Oh horrid Envy...
Em. - Not sure, truthfully. Rumors are like water spilled on the floor - a little goes a long way, but it always picks up dirt as it rolls. I dare not say ‘yay’ or ‘nay’.
Gris. - And yet, he conspired against his own Captain...
Em. - This I know to be true. First he advanced a warning against jealousy, then retreated into his honest love for Othello, only to advance a seed of doubt because she went against her father in marrying him, then retreating into his love again, advanced in the suspicion of ‘a will most rank, foul disproportions and thoughts unnatural’, fertilized the seed of doubt by saying that she’d taken an aversion to his blackness, and a final retreat in hopes that Desdemona repent!
Gris. - But she did nothing wrong!
Wife. - ‘Tis a scoundrel’s proverb that wives will hide our vices until we be married, and then show them...
Em. - And yet ‘tis not a year or two before a man shows us that they are all but stomachs, and all but food...
Wife. - Ay, they eye us hungrily, and when they are full, they belch us out. ‘Tis why I let them pay their debts, and ate them instead! (laughs, pours another glass of wine) But, did your ladyship actually do what the slanderous rumors said?
Em. - What was in the depths of that girl’s heart -- no one but she knows. So far as I knew, the girl was true to her husband from day one until her end...
Gris. - Obviously, she entertained gentlemen, or laughed too hard at their jokes... A lady must always guard her reputation!
Wife. - I always swore that all my walking out by night was to find girls for my husbands to copulate with... and under that cover I had many a night of myrthe! (laughs haughtily)
Em. - My lady only walked with Cassio a few times, and after he began entreating her to talk with her husband on his account.
Gris. - Apparently still enough for slander...
Em. - Slander or no, I did nothing to help.
Wife. - What do you mean?
Em. - Desdemona came over to see my daughter one afternoon. The girl leapt up into my lady’s arms and they laughed and talked. Desdemona did not see Iago slip in and stand behind her...
Wife - More sly eyes?!
Em. - Yes, but something more which I did not know until far too late. You see, the baker came by, ringing his bell, and my dear flower began struggling to get down and see him about a pastry. Before she fell, Desdemona bent to set her down, and Iago swiped her handkerchief.
Gris. - What a random act of thievery....

Em. - No, all to well planned. The handkerchief (brings it out) was given to her by the Moor. His mother was given it by a charmer who said that this object, if kept safe, would keep a man’s heart bound to the woman who held it.
Gris. - Such fine embroidery! A beautiful example of craftsmanship!
Wife. - I’ve never seen its like. So, Iago stole it so that Othello would become angry with her for losing it?
Em. - Yes, and no. He was terrible angry when, one night at dinner, he asked her for it. She searched and searched, but couldn’t find it. But that was only a minor part of Iago’s plan.
Gris. - I hate to ask...
Wife. - Well, I dare to ask. What of it?
Em. - Othello was tormented, saying he’d have been happier if the whole of the army had tasted her sweet body -- so long as he didn’t know!
Gris. - (sigh) For shame...
Wife. - He thought her a whore?? So drawn are the lines of women and property...
Em. - So twisted that he thought her honest, and yet not... all in the same breath.
Wife. - Othello never questioned Iago’s intentions?
Em. - Othello’s entire perception of everyone was thrown into question -- he thought that Iago was honest and just, and yet not. But, Iago was the only man that Othello knew, which is the crook of the folly.
Gris. - In unfamiliar territory, on land and in heart...
Em. - Exactly. Whatever Iago said, Othello would have thought honest for Iago was an excellent soldier! His position as Ensign was one of great confidence and honor, great valor and the best of judgment. Before Othello was promoted, Iago was above him in rank. Part of me thinks that Iago so wickedly jested with Othello because of this sudden outranking...
Wife. - So, you think that Desdemona was completely innocent?
Em. - Like I said, as far as I know her thoughts were bent entirely to her husband. (sigh, thinking) I must apologize, for I misspoke earlier -- my dear lady actually said two things against her husband.
Gris. - Oh, Mercy dear Lord, I beg of thee... Such young women are fraught with good intentions but wrong actions...
Wife. - How else did she speak ill of him?
Em. - The other questionable statement was spoken by my ladyship after Othello became angry with her for speaking so earnestly and constantly about Cassio -- if memory serves me, she said something to the effect of Moors being so hot of a nature that every little triffle moves them to anger and revenge...
Wife. - Well, ‘tis true!
Gris. - You cannot say that -- he never would have been moved to such actions had Iago not affected him so... begging your pardon sister, for speaking ill of your late husband.
Em. - No, your words are quite right. I do not think that Othello would have acted so rashly towards her -- he loved her with every fiber of his being! But, alas -- Othello knew nothing of Venetian women -- he’d never been around them for any length of time but the brief moments when they greeted each other before Othello met with her father... So Iago had the upper hand because he’d lived here -- he let Othello think he was an authority on the subject.
Gris. - With his judgment thus affected, what did Othello do? Surely, he didn’t call her supposed infidelity out -- ‘tis improper, and completely dishonorable!
Em. - No, Othello kept his thoughts a secret from his wife. ‘Tis, indeed, custom in these parts to keep such acts of inappropriate behavior secret...
Wife. - Bah. Why do they hide, with sorrow and bad luck, the keys to their hearts away from their wives? It’s our good as well as theirs!
Gris. - Because ‘tis their lot in life to be such. Took almost sixteen years for my husband to reveal his true intent...
Wife. - And the torture you withstood is shameful!
Gris. - If I spoke harshly to him, I would gain nothing. And if he lead me a bad life I would only be kicking against the spur; he could have left me, and people would mock me all the more and believe shame and dishonour, and it might be still worse for me. I must life and die with him whatever he is like. ‘Twas my Lord’s intent to test me -- if I had known his purpose all the while, his mind would never have been satiated with my answers.
Em. - Wives assayed by husbands... Such an age we live in!
Wife. - This is one reason why I worked and played my husbands so hard... Who would not make her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch?
Gris. - I would certainly not! I would do no such wrong for all the world!
Wife. - Why, the wrong is but a wrong in this world -- and if the world is your world, you might quickly make it right... I see it as our duty to let our husbands know that their wives have sense like them. Let them use us well; else let them know the ills we do, their ills instruct us so.
Em. - Truly, sister, you stand alone on that prospect. I spent my years afraid of Iago and his wrath... ‘tis why I held my tongue for a year and more to tell this tale -- and would have waited longer if Iago had not been killed...
Gris. - Methinks our cousin is the exception, for no other husbands than her harem would have put up with such disobedience.
Wife. - I chose well. (smiles)
Em. - Arguably, so did Desdemona. ‘Twas Othello that needed tuning... She noticed such a change in his demeanor that she begged me to tell her anything that he said that could explain to her the meaning of his sudden madness. All I could do was warn her as best I could: ‘Beware lest you give any cause of suspicion to your husband, and show him by every means your fidelity and love...’
Gris. - What happened after this?
Em. - Well, Iago convinced Othello that Cassio, his long time friend, was the guilty man -- and so they plotted his death.
Gris. - And you said nothing?
Em. - ‘Tis well known that a man in the heat of anger says many things -- how am I to be sure of what was truly meant or falsely sworn?
Gris. - ‘Tis murder thou speakest of! That is against Divine Laws! You should have spoken up!
Em. - And with no proof but what mine ears had heard?
Wife. - You did not see this pact being formed?
Em. - Aye, I saw it. I saw them kneel together and swear on their swords.
Gris. - That is enough proof if ever there was...
Em. - But, dear, patient Griselda, this tale was begot by rumors, by twisted perceptions... How would my accusation of this plan have been any different than the accusation against my lady?
Gris. - While both infidelity and murder go against God’s Divine Laws, murder is most certainly more wicked and shameful -- you should have gone to the authorities.

Em. - And how many times did I, in the recesses of my mind, swear to leave Iago, steal away with our daughter and find some place far away where his wickedness could not taint us? I cannot give you a number, but I can assure you that for all my thoughts and utterances, I never actually went through with the action.
Wife. - Words are one thing, but actions speak much louder, smack of their intent.
Em. - Indeed. I could not stand up because I hoped that Othello would wake up to Iago’s treachery... He left such a sharp, stinging thorn in the Moor’s heart... and many in mine own throughout the years...
Gris. - This tale takes a downward spiral from which it may never bring itself to the light of goodness.... (sighs)
Em. - If it lightens your heart, they did not succeed in their plan... Cassio lives.
Wife. - Indeed, he was made Governor...
Gris. - My spirit is indeed lightened by this news, thank you.
Em. - The deed was done in such a fashion that no one knew who drew up the plans, only the action itself -- all guilt diverted to a mysterious shadow instead of their own reputations...
Wife. - Always like men to have such guard for reputations, and disregard for the lives stolen!
Gris. - Men and women alike must have high regard for their reputations -- ‘tis how we are seen in the eyes of others!
Wife. - And yet any person, with a witty tongue and a devious mind may strike down any good reputation! Honor is given and taken by Fortune’s whims!
Gris. - Anyone slighting someone’s reputation does so at their own peril -- surely, if the person slandered was good, then their inherent goodness shines through and thus makes the other person look twice as bad...
Em. - In theory, this works itself out so. In practice, my dear, ‘tis another thing altogether.
Gris. - How do you mean?
Em. - Well, Desdemona’s reputation, in the eyes of her dear husband, was completely shattered. He upheld it in the eyes of society so that he, himself, would not be lowered... But they still planned her downfall...
Wife. - They killed her?
Em. - Yes. It struck me odd that Iago went to visit the Moor so late one night, so I followed in the shadows. The plan was pulled off without a hitch -- a plan that gave Othello satisfaction and raised no suspicions to either of their characters...
Wife. - I’m afraid to ask, but my curiosity demands for you to explain...
Em. - (sigh) I stood at the door and peeked in -- Othello awoke Desdemona as he crawled into bed. She heard a noise, and he sent her to check it out...
Gris. - A warrior sending his wife?
Em. - Iago rushed out of the closet and... and beat her with a bag of sand.
Wife. - The height of cruelty!
Em. - To be sure. Desdemona fell and Othello leapt up on the bed and cried, “Thou wickedest women, thus has thy falseness found its just reward, the recompense to wives who, counterfeiting love, place horns upon their husbands’ brows!”
Gris. - ...word for word, and with such authority you speak!
Em. - No matter how I’ve tried, the words are stuck fast in my mind. With such hateful venom they were spoken... My lady appealed to her husband and Heaven... and then my husband brought the bag down three more times before she lay silent.
Wife. - True barbarians...
Gris. - They shall burn for their unjust actions.
Em. - They dragged Desdemona onto the bed, then torn down the ceiling -- the house was old, and so my lady’s death went down as an accident.
Wife. - Such an ‘accident’ for such accidental judgements...
Em. - Afterwards, the Moor, completely free from accusation, began to feel such sorrow that he went wandering about the house as one bereft of reason... A month later, Iago revealed to Cassio that it had been Othello’s plan to kill him and his wife. Othello, sustaining vicious torture, remained resolute of his innocence. So, he was imprisoned and condemned to perpetual banishment, where Desdemona’s family (who suspected that he was the cause of her sudden demise) found him, and killed him.
Gris. - Senseless, but seemingly just...
Wife. - And your husband?
Em. - He returned to his homeland and brought accusations against a man. However, Iago was tortured to prove the accuracy of his words. He returned to me in poor shape, and less than a week later lay dead.
Gris. - Barbarism is everywhere... what hope for justice in this life?
Wife. - Well, at least the timing was good, since the Queen just ordered all ‘negars and Blackmoors’ to be expelled...
Em. - Desdemona felt the same way.
Wife. - They both got their come-upance... equally as cruel as the sentence they themselves carried out.
Em. - Justice works itself out, in this life and after.
Gris. - But with such grisely terms? While I am grateful that you are freed from such a man, especially after hearing this tale -- I cannot think that such actions were true and good. Murder is murder...
Wife. - Be that as it may, you cannot say that they did not justly deserve it!
Gris. - My heart is wrenched!
Em. - Well, that’s the end of the tale... I am truly sorry for vexing your heart thusly, but I could not keep this locked in my chest any longer.
Wife. - Your sorrows are shared, and three sets of shoulders will ease the burden.
[enter daughter]
D. - The baker’s bell rings, Mummy! May I have a coin with which to purchase a pastry?
Em. - So close to dinner?
D. - Then for dessert?
Gris. - Here, darling (gives her a coin). [Daughter runs outside] While usurping your motherly authority, after such a tale, my heart lightens to know that your tender flower is still blooming. I pray she never finds out these sad affairs...
Em. - Me too.

((The End))

Quotes within story ((These pages are now out of order; however, if the entire story were copied into a word program, I think they would just about align.))


Page 1

“Experience is right enough for anyone to speak of the woes of marriage...” (CT, lines 1-3)

Page 4

“We women love no man that takes keep or charge of where we go -- we are free to act as we wish!” (CT, lines 321-22)

“Wives should be humble, trying hard to say everything that ought to please him, always keeping a happy expression on her face” (CdP, p. 62-3)

Page 5

“It is ill-suited for anyone to judge another by their promotion! One ought not to hinder the advancement of anyone else, but think only of one’s own soul and of behaving wisely and always doing one’s duty well.” (CdP, p. 120)

Page 7

“...to be the means of peace and concord between men who are, by nature, courageous and hotheaded!” (rephrased) (CdP, p. 51)

Page 8

“‘Tis a scoundrel’s proverb that wives will hide our vices until we be married, and then show them...” (rephrased) (CT, lines 282-4)

“And yet ‘tis not a year or two before a man shows us that they are all but stomachs, and all but food... Ay, they eye us hungrily, and when they are full, they belch us out.” (Shakespeare, III, iv, 103-106)

Page 9

“I always swore that all my walking out by night was to find girls for my husbands to copulate with... and under that cover I had many a night of myrthe!” (CT, lines 397-99)

Page 10

- Qualities to the position of Ensign described in Bullough, p. 197-8

Page 11

“Moors being so hot of a nature that every little triffle moves them to anger and revenge...” (Cinthio, p. 2)

- Mediterranean custom of keeping “sexual dishonor and its punishment” a secret described in Bullough, p. 200

“If I spoke harshly to him, I would gain nothing. And if he lead me a bad life I would only be kicking against the spur; he could have left me, and people would mock me all the more and believe shame and dishonour, and it might be still worse for me. I must life and die with him whatever he is like.” (rephrased) (CdP, 64)

“Why do they hide, with sorrow and bad luck, the keys to their hearts away from their wives? It’s our good as well as theirs!” (CT, 308-9)

“Who would not make her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch? ... I would certainly not! I would do no such wrong for all the world! ... Why, the wrong is but a wrong in this world -- and if the world is your world, you might quickly make it right... I see it as our duty to let our husbands know that their wives have sense like them. Let them use us well; else let them know the ills we do, their ills instruct us so.” (rearranged & rephrased) (Shakespeare, IV, iii, 63-103)

Page 12

“Beware lest you give any cause of suspicion to your husband, and show him by every means your fidelity and love...” (Cinthio, p. 5)

Page 14-15

“Thou wickedest women, thus has thy falseness found its just reward, the recompense to wives who, counterfeiting love, place horns upon their husbands’ brows!” (Cinthio, p. 6)


Page 16

- historical bit about Queen expelling all ‘negars and Blackmoors’ from England from Bullough, p. 208




Bibliography/References (as always, give credit where credit is due)



Bulloughs, Geoffrey. “Othello”. Narrative & Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare. 7 Vol. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd., 1973. (Vol. VII, p. 193-238)

Calderwood, James L. The Properties of Othello. Massachusetts: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1989.

Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Edited by Larry D. Benson. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000. (“Wife of Bath’s Prologue”, p.87-98)

Cinthio, Giraldi. Hecatommithi. (written in 1565) Trans. J. E. Taylor (1855) www.virgil.org...

Hirsh, James. “Othello and Perception” Othello: New Perspectives. Edited by Virginia Mason Caughan & Kent Cartwright. New Jersey: Associated University Presses, Inc., 1991. p. 135-159.

Pisan, Christine de. The Treasure of the City of Ladies. Trans. by Sarah Lawson. New York: Penguin Books, 1985.

Shakespeare, Willian. “Othello”. The Riverside Shakespeare. 2nd ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997. p. 1251-1288.

*********

*big sigh*
End of transmission.


So - thoughts? suggestions?

My original intent was to write it as prose, but I soon realized just *how* long the story would have gotten.. so, I stayed with dialogue. (Might it be better in prose? Goodness knows I'm willing to do it, but I was on a deadline.)

P.S. The quotes would align if the text were copied and double-spaced; there's about 1/2 page difference because of my heading and blurb of explanation at the top of the first page.

BRAVO !!!
Would be an awesome stage dialogue, imo. But then, I'm just a mechanic.
I truly loved it !
Was the line about "rumours are likle water" original from you ? I really like that one.
Anyway, again, I liked it.

Lex

Edit : Oh yeah..
You have voted Diseria for the Way Above Top Secret award. You have one more vote left for this month.

[edit on 27-11-2006 by Lexion]

Why thank you! *humble bow*


I thought about this being a stage production -- my original plan was to have this as an actual prose story (however it got too long much too quickly, and I was on a deadline). However, it could work very well on stage, provided there's more action happening between the ladies -- I imagine such a production might get kinda boring if they never get up and interact with the set.

Assuming that you knew nothing about the characters before reading my little intro-blurb... from the dialogue, did their individual characters come through? I worried about that the whole time I was writing it.. was Griselda humble enough? was the Wife of Bath verbose enough? (I thought making her drunk might heighten her outrageous-ness, as well as make the things she says believable -- especially for those who haven't read the Canterbury tales...)

Any details of the story that weren't clear?

Would more about the setting actually help the story? (I couldn't decide....)


Again -- Thank You for taking the time to read it! I's appreciates it!

Very good i really enjoyed your take on it. You should do very well with that.

I have to say though that i have steered clear of anything vaguely Shakespearish since i left home many years ago. My mum was a English Lit lecturer and shoved it down my throat for years, she went even so far as forcing my sister and myself to perform acts for her and her friends at dinner party's. Aaaaggghhhhh.

Originally posted by mojo4sale
Very good i really enjoyed your take on it. You should do very well with that.

I have to say though that i have steered clear of anything vaguely Shakespearish since i left home many years ago. My mum was a English Lit lecturer and shoved it down my throat for years, she went even so far as forcing my sister and myself to perform acts for her and her friends at dinner party's. Aaaaggghhhhh.

I greatly appreciate your taking the time to read my story!

I was brought up almost exactly opposite -- popular fiction all the way. We didn't have any 'classics' in the house, and while I won't call myself a 'shakespeare-groupie', I read to understand how he wove the details into the story. (especially with Othello -- I stared for hours at the scene where Iago manipulated Othello trying to understand just how it was so effective...)


If you, or anyone else, is interested - I have my own version of Patient Griselda's tale... which is an actual story (not dialogue).
That seems to be my latest theme.. re-writing stories to include all the versions available, working in as many little details as I can find. I like re-vamping the tales, and it seems very fitting with the stories that I've 're-told/re-envisioned' so far because the tales were already known when Shakespeare/Boccaccio/Chaucer wrote them. Taking familiar characters and giving them new stories, or re-telling the old. I dig that... and of course, I don't feel guilty for doing the same.

[edit on 30-11-2006 by Diseria]

Please post anything you've written. I'm more than happy to read something original, and get my nose out of tech manuals.

Lex