Similarities Between Othello And Anowa

The plays Anowa by Ama Ata Aidoo and Othello by William Shakespeare share many similarities depicting the main female characters, Anowa and Desdemona. The two, strong, opinionated, beautiful, and clever, women represent an unusual woman for their time and culture. Both women struggle with the love and control of an overbearing parent that they wish to escape. In the end, both women face a depressing and harsh fate because they undermined their parent’s best intentions. One thing that young women can take away from both plays is, even though parents come off controlling they have one’s best interest at heart. Desdemona is a young beautiful Venetian noblewoman who grew up in a well-respected noble family. Her father, Brabantio, is a strict man that wants the best for his daughter. Educated and beautiful, Desdemona is a clever girl that wishes to be free of her father’s controlling love. Desdemona finds a way to undermined her father by marrying Othello, the great Moor. In 1.3, Desdemona states to her Father, “…How to respect you; you are the lord of duty, / I am hitherto your daughter: but here’s my husband, / And so …show more content…
The play Othello takes place in the 1600’s in Venice and Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean Sea. The play Anowa, takes place in the 19th century, on the golden coast of Africa. Not only having different cultures but having different roles for women make both women different. Desdemona comes from a culture where the man of the family has more power over the women, leaving the women with little significant in their own life. Anowa’s culture, the power flows through the women’s side of the family, allowing the women to have some power in the family. Also, allow for the women to hold high positions in the military and village. With that being said, the differences between the two makes the similarities more significant, due to the dramatic gap in time and