Similarly in The Duchess of Malfi, when the Duchess’ attempt to deceive her brothers and conceal her marriage leads to her death. However self-deception is also a recurrent theme in both of the plays, in Othello, it can be argued that Othello’s self- deception proves just as destructive as Iago’s, as by deceiving himself of his true nature and labelling himself as “one not easily jealous,” he continually supresses his feelings of inner turmoil until he breaks under the influence of Iago. F R Leavis agreed with this stating, “The mind that undoes [Othello] is not Iago’s but his own.” The role of deception would be nowhere near as essential to the play without the influence of Iago; described by AC Bradley as the “artist of evil” his ruthless manipulation of the other characters in the play ensures not only the destruction of Othello, but his own. Self- deception plays a crucial role within Othello and The Duchess of Malfi; it allows the audience to see further into the characters personality and gain a deeper understanding of them as a character. Othello himself is the most palpable example of self- deception within the plays as from when the audience is first introduced to him in Act One Scene Two, he believes
Bronte describes in the novel how they seem themselves as one person, if one dies then the other can no longer belong. But, she does not show this in the conventional way of them simply falling in love. Two of the main emotions portrayed in the book are revenge and violence. This is how we see Heathcliff’s feelings towards Catherine, he does not merely say the words ‘I love you’. There relationship is much deeper than that, it could even be associated with that of a sibling’s relationship, but maybe with a twist.
Moral Ambiguous Characters Throughout Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, the moral ambiguity of the central character, Dorian Gray, becomes more and more distinct. The story starts with Dorian being venerated by the artist Basil Hallward, and throughout the story the reader learns of Gray’s several wrong doings. Meeting Lord Henry almost straight away negatively influenced Dorian. He had started out blameless and innocent, but by the conclusion had been the cause of numerous deaths, all because of his selfish wish to stay beautiful forever. “His actions show a character who insists the soul is real, but loves the gaping chasm between the beauty of his body and the corruption of his soul” [ (Wilde 105-123) ].
Edna’s character abandons her role as a mother and wife; she breaks moral values and standards because of the intimate love affair she shares with Robert, therefore leading to the struggles she faces in the novel where she failed. Moral characters say more about a person than the background of an individual and play an important role in one’s life. When disregarded it can bring shame and conflict to a family differentiating a person to be good or bad. The concept of good and evil differs from one person to another, but certainly, a married woman who loves another man apart from her husband and acts upon that love is sinful. When the story begins Chopin’s description of Edna makes it look like she is the antagonist of the novel, when Mr. Pontellier was sitting on the
Jay Gatsby is also motivated by love, however it is by the love he has for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. As he tries to win Daisy over, Gatsby fears that she will always judge him for the class he is a part of in society. Hamlet and Gatsby are both similar in the sense that they are both tragic heroes, however their tragic flaws greatly differ. Gatsby’s flaw is that he is a dreamer and lives in a world where he is not able to face reality, while Hamlet’s issue is that he is a procrastinator and is unable to make decisions at the right time. Additionally, Gatsby and Amir are both forced to face the problems of class distinction in order to conquer their ultimate goals.
No matter how “inexplicably drawn to [the downright]” men she may be, her character is one that almost mirrors her grandfather’s. The incomprehensible attraction that Vanessa had for the “downright” men was the individual effort from her to be able to choose her own identity. Upon comprehension of her futile attempt to run away from what she is destined to be, she questions her personal choice and “[wonders] if [she will] ever catch up to [being like Uncle Dan].” Vanessa recognizes the distance between her true nature and the character that she seeks to choose. Her understanding and ability to feel what her family feels and to be able extend their sorrows and misery to her is what allows her to realize that her identity is an inherited character that she emulates from her
Cordelia takes on this role by unconditionally loving her father and furthermore forgiving Lear for banishing her, which is seen when she says “No cause, no cause.” (4.7). Edgar takes on a similar role by forgiving his father for going against him when he was tricked by Edmund and taking care of Gloucester in his blindness at the end of the play. The other characters, however, give into temptation and sin more frequently. Pride, for example, is a prominent sin that affects many characters, Lear being a prime example. Lear's pride keeps him from listening to the advice of Kent, the king's most loyal follower, after he banishes Cordelia and admitting he may have been wrong.
This lack of a father figure to influence him positively through his life could also provide reasoning for his ease to be influenced by Lord Henry. As shown by Lady Henry, Dorian begins to quote ‘one of Harry’s views’ showing the thorough control that Henry has over Dorian’s life in the same way a child would copy his father. This moment in his life also meant that Dorian was brought up by his cruel grandfather, Kelso, (instigator of his mother’s and father’s death) and from the nature of ‘the old schoolroom’ we can see that Kelso despised Dorian as he was a reminder of his daughter and her substandard marriage. This isolation can explain his naivety and provide some excuse for his ignorance leading to debauchery. In the beginning of the novel Dorian’s character comes across as childish and displays innocence and inexperience towards the world.
Ophelia is the representation of absolute innocence and her downfall inspires our earnest goodwill, that is, we feel deeply sorry for her. A mere pawn in the machinations of her father Polonius, Ophelia's ultimate fate is a devastating one. She is rejected by Hamlet, and then loses her father at the hands of her lover. Ophelia's residence at the castle was dependent on her father's
Though Heathcliff and Catherine become the best of friends, Hindley does not take kindly to Heathcliff becoming part of the family. When Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw die, Hindley takes over Wuthering Heights and makes Heathcliff a servant, degrading Heathcliff. Meanwhile, even though she truly loves him, Catherine sees Heathcliff as beneath her in society and social class. When Catherine meets Edgar she is impressed with his manners and wealth is then promised to be married to Edgar. It's hard to settle such an intense love with the choice she makes, but somehow she is able to work out the reasoning in her head; “I've no business to marry Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven; and if the wicked man in there not brought Heathcliff so low, I shouldn't have thought of it.