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Oct. 28th, 2004 11:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tammaiyaOMFG I am so tired. Will go to bed in a few minutes. Am sick, but not overly so, so shall live. And such.
D = Director
A1 = Actor 1
A2 = Actor 2
A3 = Actor 3. And me.
D: *hands script to A2* Iago. *hands script to A3* Cassio. *hands script to A1*
A3: Hey, I don't have a clipboard!
D: You'll live.
A1: Okay, what’s my motivation?
D: You’re in love with Desdemona, but Iago has tricked you into thinking she’s sleeping with Cassio and you’re insane with rage.
A1: Right. *pause* …Wait. Isn’t that Othello?
D: Yes.
A1: But I thought we were doing Tis Pity She’s A Whore?
D: No, that’s next season.
A1: Wasn’t I supposed to be Ferdinand, though?
D: That’s the Duchess of Malfi!
A1: Oh yeah.
D: How could you mix up three completely different plays? They’re not even written by the same playwright!
A1: They’re not completely different. In fact, they’re all basically the same play! They’ve got loads in common.
D: Like?
A1: They’re all tragedies where everybody dies.
D: …
A1: … Don’t give me that look. They’ve also got similar themes. We could even mix them into one play.
D: Better. But how precisely do you intend to do that?
A1: Easy! Tis Pity She’s A Fella!
D: … What?
A2: I think what he meant to say was Tis Pity She’s Othello.
D: No, barking up the wrong tree… We need something covering all three plays.
A3: Othello, The Whore Of Venice?
D: Closer, but not quite. We need a title made up of all three… Wait! I’ve got it, I’m brilliant!
All A: … What.
D: Othello, The Whore Of Malfi! Or, the Moor The Merrier, a tragedy in 5 minutes.
A2: Nice.
A3: Got a good ring to it.
D: Well, we’ve got a title, now we just need to combine the plays. Any suggestions?
A1: We could start by examining the themes present in all of the plays.
A2: You sound like an essay question.
D: Nothing wrong with essay questions. It’s a good idea.
A3: Great! Then I vote we start with sexual content!
A1: You would.
A2: … This oral is rated MA for adult content and sexual references. *pointed look at A3*
A3: Why thank you. *sweeps a bow*
A2: You’re welcome.
D: *to A3* Well, it was your idea, so seeing as you’re so keen, why don’t you start?
A3: Okay, I will! Basically, all the plays are about sex.
A2: … EXCUSE me?
A3: No, really! Look, just think about it- in each play, the tragedy is centred on the reality or the suspicion that a female character is having a sexual relationship with a male character.
A1: All that means is that the 3 plays are about jealousy.
A3: Exactly! Lust leads to jealousy, jealousy leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads TO THE DARK SIDE! I mean, tragedy.
D: *glare* THIS IS NOT STAR WARS.
A3: *cowers* I know, I’m sorry! But you get what I mean. Listen, I’ll start with Othello.
D: *suspiciously* Okay…
A3: In Othello, the main plot unfolds when Othello is convinced by Iago that his wife Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. Both Othello and Iago use very explicit language when discussing the supposed “relationship” between Cassio and Desdemona- Othello, in his paranoia: “I had been happy if the general camp, pioneers, and all, had tasted her sweet body, so I had nothing known”; Iago, in his attempt to manipulate Othello into jealous rage: “[…] Were they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys, as salt as wolves, in pride”.
A2: This is actually sounding almost reasonable.
A3: Of course it is. Anyway, aside from all the sexual imagery associated with Desdemona, the manner in which Iago addresses his wife is also riddled with sexual jokes and innuendoes.
D: I have a thing for you.
A2: A thing for me? It is a common thing.
A1: Hey, has anyone else noticed that Iago seems to be involved in all this sexually explicit conversation?
A3: Iago is a very sexually oriented character, yes.
A2: Like you!
A3: *glare* AS I was saying. Iago is not only involved in all the conversations in the play about sex; he is also the character who instigates all the sexual insults. At the beginning of the play, when Roderigo and Iago alert Desdemona’s father Brabantio to his daughter’s marriage to Othello, it is Iago who begins to make crude animal references to Othello and Desdemona having sex.
A2: Even now, very now, a black ram is tupping your white ewe!
A3: While Othello calls Desdemona a whore towards the end of the play, it was originally Iago who planted the idea in his mind. Iago’s motivations, convoluted and confused though they are, can also be said to come down to lust. In one of his monologues, Iago states a belief that Othello has slept with Emilia:
A2: I hate the Moor, and it is thought abroad, that ‘twixt my sheets he’s done my office.
A3: While this is said in an aside and is thus more likely to be true, it is also completely out of place in the context of the play- this is the only time Iago expresses the suspicion that Emilia is cheating on him with Othello. Perhaps even Iago is unaware of his true motives.
A1: … psycho.
A3: Quite. It has also been suggested that he may be motivated by sexual feelings for Othello and/or Cassio.
A2: Okay, I take back what I said about you sounding reasonable.
A3: Oh, shut up, I didn’t make that up! I’ve even got PROOF.
A2: *sceptically* Let’s hear it, then.
A3: Well, as for Othello, Iago’s behaviour towards him during the play is very erratic. While his aim is ostensibly Othello’s downfall, half the time he seems to be attempting to gain an exclusive position in Othello’s trust and affections. The stage directions often place Iago physically close to Othello, whispering in his ear and by his side. His actions could almost be likened to those of an Incubus, a sexual demon sucking away Othello’s sanity bit by bit- particularly in the scene where Othello vows to kill Desdemona.
A1: You mean the bit where they both kneel?
A3: Yes, exactly.
A1: *kneels* In the due reverence of a sacred vow, I here engage my words.
A3: Do not rise yet. *kneels* Witness, you ever-burning lights above, you elements that clip us round about, witness that Iago here doth give up the excellency of his wit, hand, heart, to wrong’d Othello’s service.
(*A1 and A3 rise*)
A2: Still not convinced.
A3: ... FINE. The subtext of Iago’s attitude towards Cassio is less frequent, but somewhat more blatant.
D: … I know where this is going.
A3: I’m sure you do. In Act III, Scene III, Iago says to Othello:
I lay with Cassio lately, and being troubled with raging tooth, I could not sleep. There are a kind of men so loose of soul that in their sleeps will mutter their affairs. One of this kind is Cassio; in sleep I heard him say “Sweet Desdemona, let us be wary, let us hide our love,” and then, sir, would he gripe and wring my hand, cry out “Sweet creature!” and then kiss me hard, as if he pluck’d up kisses by the roots that grew upon my lips, then laid his leg over my thigh, and sigh’d, and kiss’d, and then cried “Cursed fate, that gave thee to the Moor!”
A2: Alright, you win.
A3: Damn straight I do. Or not so straight in this case, but anyway. The most interesting thing about this monologue is that the events depicted in it didn’t actually happen, at least insofar as it relates to Desdemona. Iago has made this tale up as a means of persuading Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him; however, there is any number of other, more believable stories he could have devised. Why choose this one?
A1: Because he has a thing for Cassio! Or maybe a thing WITH Cassio?
D: That’s stretching it a bit TOO far.
A1: *shrug* Meh.
A2: Okay, I admit you’ve made your point about sex so far as Othello is concerned. But what about the Duchess of Malfi?
A3: Again, the tragedy is centred around the sexual relationships of the female protagonist. Ferdinand and the Cardinal plot to kill the Duchess because of her marriage to Antonio; the catalyst is her pregnancy, and therefore it is viable to say the tragedy of the play is caused by her sleeping with Antonio.
A2: Fair enough, I suppose.
A3: Like Othello, the Duchess of Malfi also contains sexually based insults and imagery, particularly from Ferdinand:
A1: Go to, mistress! ‘Tis not your whore’s milk that shall quench my wild-fire, but your whore’s blood!
A3: The subtext of socially unacceptable lust is again a them that emerges, this time manifesting in Ferdinand’s attitude towards his sister, the Duchess.
A1: So since incest and homosexuality were both considered sins, it’s another similarity between the plays?
A2: Evidently. Instead of homosexuality, we have brother-sister lust.
A3: I wouldn’t say that. What about Bosola and Antonio? “The man I would have sav’d ‘bove mine own life”?
A2: *withering look* Idiot.
A3: *hopefully* Delio and Antonio? Delio is VERY devoted…
D: GET BACK TO THE DAMN POINT.
A3: *cower* I’m sorry!
D: You’d better be. What about Tis Pity She’s A Whore?
A3: Hm. Harder. Vasques and Soranzo?
D: That wasn’t what I meant! What about the sexual themes?
A3: Oh! Right. Well, Tis Pity differs from the other two plays in two main ways: first of all, there is very little in the way of sexual imagery and insults, and secondly there is no particular sexual subtext.
A1: Aw. *looks disappointed*
A3: That’s mostly because the socially unacceptable relationship this time is a blatantly incestual relationship.
A1: … Oh. *cheers up*
A3: Again, the tragedy is caused by the sexual relationship of the main female character. This is a common theme through all three plays, as are unacceptable relationships in general.
D: True. I suppose even the main relationships of Othello and the Duchess fall under that category.
A2: Desdemona marries the Moor Othello…
A1: And the Duchess marries beneath her.
A3: So I’ve made my point about the sex thing. What next?
D: Well you’ll notice that directly linked to sex in these plays is the treatment of women.
A2: *warily* …And?
D: And I think it’s relevant, so I’m going to talk about it.
A3: But… weren’t you the one…?
D: *dangerously* If you can’t beat them, join them and take them over.
A1: *nervously* Um. Right. So what did you want to say about women?
D: We’re superior to you lot. Other than that, I was going to discuss attitudes towards them in the three plays. I may as well start with Othello and keep the same pattern.
A3: Heh. *smug*
(Through this next bit, A3 continuously cracks onto A2 in the background, and is repeatedly knocked back.)
D: Throughout the play, Bianca and Emilia are treated like sex objects, which is very typical of the contemporary society. While Desdemona and Othello originally have a loving relationship, she falls into the same position as her compatriots as soon as jealousy enters the scene.
A1: Harsh.
D: Mm. It does put a rather unpleasant spin on Othello’s apparent love for Desdemona, that he could be swayed so dramatically against her so easily. Whichever way, this treatment is obvious through the sexual jokes and insults mentioned earlier.
A1: I guess women in the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods didn’t have much power, huh?
D: Well, not at first glance, no. The women in Othello do not have any official power like the men do, certainly. However, in a way, the power they do have over the men emotionally is far greater and subtler.
A2: The general’s wife is the general now, right?
D: Precisely. Desdemona has influence over Othello’s actions through his love for her, at least for the first half of the play. Similarly, Bianca is able- if to a much lesser degree- to make Cassio run and jump at her beck and call when she is actually present.
A1: What about Emilia?
D: Emilia is a somewhat different case; as Iago does not seem to have any real love or affection for her whatsoever, she thus has no ability to affect his actions through his emotions. She does still have power over him, however, the source of which in this case being her knowledge of his doings.
A3: … the handkerchief.
D: Yes. Emilia is the only character aside from Iago himself who knows of his complicity in the disappearance of Desdemona’s handkerchief. This is where we reach the heart of the position of women in Othello; Emilia is crucial to bringing about the end of the play by betraying Iago’s plot, but by doing this she is stepping beyond her social boundaries as a woman. Similarly, Desdemona’s decision to marry Othello is the beginning point of the events in the play, and this too defies social boundaries- she disobeyed her father.
A1: Wow. So I suppose the play depends upon women doing things society decrees they are not allowed to do.
D: Basically. A similar situation occurs in the Duchess of Malfi; even though the Duchess holds a position of apparent power, she is still relatively helpless. She is wary enough of her marriage to Antonio that she keeps it secret, even after seven years and three children. This fear shows that her brothers hold a lot of power over her- enough to cause her to be cautious having disobeyed them, despite the fact that they are all apparently of the same rank. This becomes more pronounced as the play progresses, particularly when Ferdinand is able to imprison her in her own court during the second last Act of the play.
A1: Man, her brothers are nasty.
D: *sarcastically* Yes, thank you for that wonderful piece of insight. The sexual bullying and imagery in the Duchess is also centred on the female characters, generally the Duchess herself. This is most prominent in the second scene of Act I, when Ferdinand and the Cardinal corner her about whether she intends to remarry, particularly when she says “Diamonds are of most value, they say, that have pass’d through most jewellers’ hands,” and Ferdinand replies “Whores, by that rule, are precious”. This illustrates the sexism and double standards of contemporary society; promiscuity and even remarriage was frowned upon in women where men such as the Cardinal could get away with crimes far worse.
A2: Hooray for feminism, then.
D: *sniff* You’r still all chauvinistic pigs. Anyway, as in Othello, the events of the play are set off by her stepping beyond her position as a woman through her marriage to Antonio.
A3: Huh. So that leaves-
D: Tis Pity She’s A Whore, yes. Again, this play differs slightly from the other two. Like the female protagonists of Othello and the Duchess of Malfi, Annabella has no official power- she is entirely at the whim of her father, her suitors, and ultimately, her brother Giovanni. However, unlike Desdemona and the Duchess, Annabella does not really offset the events of the play through her own disobedience.
A2: Oh, come on. What about sleeping with her brother? I’d hardly call that doing what society tells her!
D: No, it’s not what society tells her, but nor is it essentially her own choice. While she is in love with Giovanni, it is very unlikely that anything would have come of it without Giovanni’s aggressive seduction of her at the beginning of the play. As she said: “For every sigh that thou hast spent for me I have sigh’d ten; for every tear shed twenty: and not so much for that I lov’d, as that I durst not say I lov’d nor scarcely think it.”
A1: Are you saying that Annabella is weak-willed?
D: In a very real sense, she is. Love aside, she seems to sleep with her brother mostly because he emotionally blackmails her into it; she marries because her father orders it. The true irony is that while the tragedy of Othello and the Duchess of Malfi is brought about by the headstrong actions of the female protagonist, in Tis Pity She’s A Whore it is caused by the weak submission of Annabella to the whims of her male family members. In all three, however, the power men hold over women is a common theme.
A2: Relationships between men and women aren’t the only ones highlighted in the plays, though.
A3: *gleefully* Yeah, there’s also relationships between men and men! *drapes over A2 and gets shoved off*
A2: Shut up. Moron. Status in these plays is very important, as can be seen by the unequal relationships in all three plays. In Othello, this is present in the lady and maid relationship of Desdemona and Emilia and the general and subordinate relationship of Othello and Cassio.
A3: *sniggers*
A2: *ignores* This uneven status is far more subtle between Desdemona and Emilia than it is between Othello and Cassio; Desdemona does order Emilia around, but her manner of speech is gentle.
A3: I would that you had never seen him!
D: So would I not, my love doth so approve him, that even in his stubbornness, his checks and frowns- prithee unpin me- have grace and favour in them.
A3: I have laid those sheets you bade me on the bed.
A2: By contrast, Othello’s power over Cassio is only subtle until he exerts it by removing Cassio’s office.
A1: That would widen the status gap, wouldn’t it?
A2: Exactly. After that, Cassio is unable to directly approach Othello about the return of his office, which emphasises the difficulty of maintaining friendship between those of unequal status- a friend would be someone you could speak to plainly without fear of reprisal, and indeed, a friend wouldn’t have been in a position where he would be almost forced to shove Cassio away in the first place.
A3: Aw, poor Cassio.
A3: In the Duchess, this status gap is seen primarily through the Duchess and Antonio.
D: But the Duchess and Antonio were covered by relationships between men and women, weren’t they?
A2: Not as such. Because the Duchess has higher status than Antonio, the dynamic differs substantially.
A3: Also because he’s a sensitive new-age guy.
A2: That too. This relationship between Duchess and subject is quite dissimilar to the uneven relationships in Othello, presumably due to the love involved. While she does initially take advantage of her position to trick him into marriage-
D: Fie, fie, what’s all this? One of your eyes is bloodshot, use my ring to’t, they say ‘tis very sovereign: ‘twas my wedding ring, and I did vow never to part with it, but to my second husband.
A1: You have parted with it now.
D: Yes, to help your eyesight.
A2: -she quickly seeks to have her power over Antonio voided, as she desires to be on even ground with her new husband. In Tis Pity, there is again the lady and maid relationship between Annabella and Putana. This is a rather strange example, as Annabella does not appear to have much power over Putana during the play. At the beginning, when she tells Putana to be quiet, Putana ignores her.
D: Pray do not talk so much.
A3: Take the worst with the best, there’s Grimaldi the soldier, a very well-timber’d fellow…
A2: Putana’s relationship seems to be more that of a confidant and to some extent a friend rather than servant and master, much like that of Emilia and Desdemona.
A1: Speaking of relationships, the family interaction in these plays is warped, man.
Others: *WINCE*
A1: Like, in Othello- Desdemona’s father obviously doesn’t care about her too much as an actual person if he disowns her for one infraction.
A2: My daugher, O my daughter!
A3: Dead?
A2: Ay, to me.
A1: I mean, it doesn’t exactly seem like a very loving or parental thing to say, does it?
A3: It’s like he sees her as a piece of property…
A1: Yeah. Same with the sibling relationships in the Duchess of Malfi- there is very little or no real affection in the attitudes of Ferdinand and the Cardinal to their sister or each other. Ferdinand’s possessive outrage speaks again of the idea of the woman being treated as property.
A3: And incestuous undertones, but we’ve been there, so let's move right along.
A1: The father in Tis Pity professes a concern for his daughter’s feelings which seems almost refreshing after the first two plays. When you look closer, though, he’s just as bad- he doesn’t know or understand either of his children. Furthermore, his discussions with Annabella’s various suitors and their companions has the unpleasant flavour of bargaining over merchandise. As for Annabella and her brother…
A2: Oh, can we not? We’ve covered incest. This is grossing me out.
A1: … Aside from the rather disturbing nature of their affection for one another, Giovanni’s love for his sister, while on the surface genuine-
D: And creepy.
A1: - is somewhat lacking when examined. He lies to her when seducing her, essentially tricking her into sleeping with him.
A2: I ask’d counsel of the Holy Church, who tells me I may love you.
A1: And by the end of the play, it is clear that he too views Annabella as a pawn to be subjected to his own individual desires.
D: Ugh, I feel disturbed and depressed, now.
A3: Yeah, me too... Speaking of Giovanni and Ferdinand, though, I’ve thought of another common theme!
D: Oh?
A3: Jealousy, insanity and revenge!
A2: Aren’t they three separate themes?
A3: In a manner of speaking, but they’re also all connected. In Othello, Iago’s jealousy is the basis for his actions during the play- setting up Desdemona, Cassio and Othello for a fall. In other words, his revenge. Iago’s revenge and manipulation leads in turn to Othello’s jealousy, which is the basis of his insanity, and it is in this state that he kill Desdemona for his self-righteous vengeance.
A2: Okay, I get your point about their being connected.
A1: It’s a trifecta!
D: You could even argue that Iago is insane. Or at least severely deranged and psychopathic.
A2: Iago might be a psychopath, but he has nothing on Ferdinand. The same pattern holds true in the Duchess of Malfi; Ferdinand is angered by and jealous of his sister’s marriage, which leads to his insanity in the middle of the play. It is in this insanity that he tortures his sister and orders Bosola to kill her- the ultimate revenge once more murder.
A1: Tis Pity She’s A Whore also follows to the formula to the letter- Giovanni’s jealousy, caused by the marriage of his sister and lover, drives him over the edge. As always seems to be the case in these plays, this results in the murder of the woman at the centre of all his rage.
D: Alright, you lot win. I agree that the plays have very similar themes and plots- we could probably mix them into one basic script after all, using elements from all three. Let’s see… Ill-advised romance between the woman and man-
A1: *helpfully* The wench and the jealous guy.
A2: It’s the wench and the SNAG in the Duchess…
A1: Okay, USUALLY the wench and the jealous guy.
D: Right, ill-advised romance between the wench and the jealous guy leads to the rage of the bad guy, who plots their downfall, involving setting up the SNAG.
A1: *looks distressed* But, but there’s no SNAG in Tis Pity!
D: Oh, who cares? Close enough. Anyway, the bad guy tricks the jealous one into believing that the wench is sleeping with the SNAG-
A3: That’s only Othello, isn’t it?
D: Yes, but it’s similar to the other two- the difference is merely that it’s true in the other plays. We can leave it ambiguous. Now, where was I? Right, so the main guy goes insane with jealousy, kills the wench and wounds the SNAG. The SNAG tells him the truth of the bad guy’s complicity. The main character kills the bad guy and then himself, the end. We could even do it with lines from one of the plays.
A3: I’ll be the SNAG… *coy wave*
A2: Then I’m the bad guy.
D: And as the only female here, I’ll be the wench. *to A1* That leaves you as the jealous guy, congratulations. Well, let’s shoot.
A3: Othello, The Whore Of Malfi, OR, The Moor The Merrier, A Tragedy In Five Minutes.
O: Sister, I have a suit to you.
A: The heavens forbid but that our loves and comforts should increase even as our days do grow. On my knees, brother, even by our mother’s dust, I charge you: do not betray me to your mirth or hate.
O: I was lured to you. I do love thee, and when I love thee not, chaos is come again. The love of thee, my sister, and the view of thy immortal beauty hath untun’d all harmony both of my rest and life.
A: May our sweet affections, like the spears, be still in motion.
*knocking*
O: Who’s there?
I: My dear Othello!
A: Let him enter. I will withdraw. *exit*
O: O, come in, Iago.
I: How do you like the French court?
O: I admire it.
I: Was not that Annabella parted from my lord?
O: Aye.
I: A most exquisite lady.
O: That beauty which if framed anew the gods would make a god of if they had it there and kneel to it as I do kneel to them. So we are forced to express our violent passions in riddles and in dreams and leave the path of simple virtue, which is never made to seem the thing it is not.
I: Why, foolish madman. Have done unhappy youth, for thou art lost! In thy wilful flames, already see thy ruin- Heaven is just.
O: Must I not do what all men else may, love?
I: My lord, you know I love you.
O: I greet thy love. But leave me.
I: Is my lord angry? No more of that. My lord, she is a whore.
O: Get thee into some unknown part of the world that I may never see thee!
I: Is ‘t come to this?
O: Make me to see ‘t, or at the least so prove it. Give me a living reason that she’s disloyal.
*enter wench and snag, giggling and whispering*
O: Methinks I see her laughing! Talk to me quickly, somewhat, else my imagination shall carry me to see her in the shameful act of sin.
I: With whom? Some lovely squire.
O: I could kill her now.
I: You fly beyond your reason. ‘Tis pity she’s a whore.
O: Now do I see ‘tis true; look here, Iago, all my fond love thus do I blow to heaven… ‘tis gone.
*walks towards wench and snag*
A: My lord?
O: Impudent strumpet!
A: I am sure I am none such. By heaven, you do me wrong.
O: I intend to be rid of you.
A: Love me or kill me, brother!
O: Tis not your whore’s milk that shall quench my wild-fire, but your whore’s blood.
*kills wench*
Snag: Annabella! O, help, ho! Light! A surgeon!
O: I have no great devotion to the deed, and yet he has given me satisfying reasons; tis but a man gone: forth, my sword, he dies. *stabs snag*
S: O, I am slain!
I: There flies your ransom.
O: Now my revenge is perfect.
S: Moor, she was chaste. She loved thee, so come my soul to bliss as I speak true.
O: Iago, is this true?
I: *shifty look* Um.
O: Villainous whore! *stabs*
I: Oh Justice; I suffer now for what hath former bin. *dies*
S: O thou dull Moor, what should such a fool do with such a good woman?
O: My sister, O, my sister! There’s the cause on it. Whether by ambition, blood or lust, like diamonds we are cut with our own dust. *kills self*
S: Something... is rotten... in the state of Denmark!
D: You idiot, that’s Horatio from Hamlet! *dies again*
S: Oh, sorry. Um. *long pause* All that’s spoke is marr’d. *pause. Dies.*
A1: The end!
A3: But I wanted a happy ending!
D: It’s a tragedy!
A3: So?
D: Didn’t you read the plays?
A3: … It depends on what your definition of ‘reading’ is… So, happy ending? We could make it a musical! *falls to knees* IAAGOOOOO! *A1 and A2 do disco move*
D: ARGH. *storms off*
A3: What’s HER problem?
A1: You.
A2: Happy ending? Tragedy?
A3: So? It’s easy! Look, we could find out that Annabella isn’t really Othello’s sister, and that Antonio is actually her gay best friend who is in love with Iago. It turns out they were childhood sweethearts separated by cruel society, and reunited, they fall into each other’s arms! Both couples get married and have children, who grow up and fall in love, connecting the families together forever.
A1: It sounds like a soap opera.
A2: Slight problem- Antonio and Iago are both men. THEY CANNOT HAVE CHILDREN.
A3: *shrug* Just a minor issue.
A1: Yeah. We’ll chuck Antonio in a dress and it’ll all be FINE. *door closes after them*
Also I drew Sandy and Af when bored at work, but I'm too tired to put them up now. maybe tomorrow. *collapses*
D = Director
A1 = Actor 1
A2 = Actor 2
A3 = Actor 3. And me.
D: *hands script to A2* Iago. *hands script to A3* Cassio. *hands script to A1*
A3: Hey, I don't have a clipboard!
D: You'll live.
A1: Okay, what’s my motivation?
D: You’re in love with Desdemona, but Iago has tricked you into thinking she’s sleeping with Cassio and you’re insane with rage.
A1: Right. *pause* …Wait. Isn’t that Othello?
D: Yes.
A1: But I thought we were doing Tis Pity She’s A Whore?
D: No, that’s next season.
A1: Wasn’t I supposed to be Ferdinand, though?
D: That’s the Duchess of Malfi!
A1: Oh yeah.
D: How could you mix up three completely different plays? They’re not even written by the same playwright!
A1: They’re not completely different. In fact, they’re all basically the same play! They’ve got loads in common.
D: Like?
A1: They’re all tragedies where everybody dies.
D: …
A1: … Don’t give me that look. They’ve also got similar themes. We could even mix them into one play.
D: Better. But how precisely do you intend to do that?
A1: Easy! Tis Pity She’s A Fella!
D: … What?
A2: I think what he meant to say was Tis Pity She’s Othello.
D: No, barking up the wrong tree… We need something covering all three plays.
A3: Othello, The Whore Of Venice?
D: Closer, but not quite. We need a title made up of all three… Wait! I’ve got it, I’m brilliant!
All A: … What.
D: Othello, The Whore Of Malfi! Or, the Moor The Merrier, a tragedy in 5 minutes.
A2: Nice.
A3: Got a good ring to it.
D: Well, we’ve got a title, now we just need to combine the plays. Any suggestions?
A1: We could start by examining the themes present in all of the plays.
A2: You sound like an essay question.
D: Nothing wrong with essay questions. It’s a good idea.
A3: Great! Then I vote we start with sexual content!
A1: You would.
A2: … This oral is rated MA for adult content and sexual references. *pointed look at A3*
A3: Why thank you. *sweeps a bow*
A2: You’re welcome.
D: *to A3* Well, it was your idea, so seeing as you’re so keen, why don’t you start?
A3: Okay, I will! Basically, all the plays are about sex.
A2: … EXCUSE me?
A3: No, really! Look, just think about it- in each play, the tragedy is centred on the reality or the suspicion that a female character is having a sexual relationship with a male character.
A1: All that means is that the 3 plays are about jealousy.
A3: Exactly! Lust leads to jealousy, jealousy leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads TO THE DARK SIDE! I mean, tragedy.
D: *glare* THIS IS NOT STAR WARS.
A3: *cowers* I know, I’m sorry! But you get what I mean. Listen, I’ll start with Othello.
D: *suspiciously* Okay…
A3: In Othello, the main plot unfolds when Othello is convinced by Iago that his wife Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. Both Othello and Iago use very explicit language when discussing the supposed “relationship” between Cassio and Desdemona- Othello, in his paranoia: “I had been happy if the general camp, pioneers, and all, had tasted her sweet body, so I had nothing known”; Iago, in his attempt to manipulate Othello into jealous rage: “[…] Were they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys, as salt as wolves, in pride”.
A2: This is actually sounding almost reasonable.
A3: Of course it is. Anyway, aside from all the sexual imagery associated with Desdemona, the manner in which Iago addresses his wife is also riddled with sexual jokes and innuendoes.
D: I have a thing for you.
A2: A thing for me? It is a common thing.
A1: Hey, has anyone else noticed that Iago seems to be involved in all this sexually explicit conversation?
A3: Iago is a very sexually oriented character, yes.
A2: Like you!
A3: *glare* AS I was saying. Iago is not only involved in all the conversations in the play about sex; he is also the character who instigates all the sexual insults. At the beginning of the play, when Roderigo and Iago alert Desdemona’s father Brabantio to his daughter’s marriage to Othello, it is Iago who begins to make crude animal references to Othello and Desdemona having sex.
A2: Even now, very now, a black ram is tupping your white ewe!
A3: While Othello calls Desdemona a whore towards the end of the play, it was originally Iago who planted the idea in his mind. Iago’s motivations, convoluted and confused though they are, can also be said to come down to lust. In one of his monologues, Iago states a belief that Othello has slept with Emilia:
A2: I hate the Moor, and it is thought abroad, that ‘twixt my sheets he’s done my office.
A3: While this is said in an aside and is thus more likely to be true, it is also completely out of place in the context of the play- this is the only time Iago expresses the suspicion that Emilia is cheating on him with Othello. Perhaps even Iago is unaware of his true motives.
A1: … psycho.
A3: Quite. It has also been suggested that he may be motivated by sexual feelings for Othello and/or Cassio.
A2: Okay, I take back what I said about you sounding reasonable.
A3: Oh, shut up, I didn’t make that up! I’ve even got PROOF.
A2: *sceptically* Let’s hear it, then.
A3: Well, as for Othello, Iago’s behaviour towards him during the play is very erratic. While his aim is ostensibly Othello’s downfall, half the time he seems to be attempting to gain an exclusive position in Othello’s trust and affections. The stage directions often place Iago physically close to Othello, whispering in his ear and by his side. His actions could almost be likened to those of an Incubus, a sexual demon sucking away Othello’s sanity bit by bit- particularly in the scene where Othello vows to kill Desdemona.
A1: You mean the bit where they both kneel?
A3: Yes, exactly.
A1: *kneels* In the due reverence of a sacred vow, I here engage my words.
A3: Do not rise yet. *kneels* Witness, you ever-burning lights above, you elements that clip us round about, witness that Iago here doth give up the excellency of his wit, hand, heart, to wrong’d Othello’s service.
(*A1 and A3 rise*)
A2: Still not convinced.
A3: ... FINE. The subtext of Iago’s attitude towards Cassio is less frequent, but somewhat more blatant.
D: … I know where this is going.
A3: I’m sure you do. In Act III, Scene III, Iago says to Othello:
I lay with Cassio lately, and being troubled with raging tooth, I could not sleep. There are a kind of men so loose of soul that in their sleeps will mutter their affairs. One of this kind is Cassio; in sleep I heard him say “Sweet Desdemona, let us be wary, let us hide our love,” and then, sir, would he gripe and wring my hand, cry out “Sweet creature!” and then kiss me hard, as if he pluck’d up kisses by the roots that grew upon my lips, then laid his leg over my thigh, and sigh’d, and kiss’d, and then cried “Cursed fate, that gave thee to the Moor!”
A2: Alright, you win.
A3: Damn straight I do. Or not so straight in this case, but anyway. The most interesting thing about this monologue is that the events depicted in it didn’t actually happen, at least insofar as it relates to Desdemona. Iago has made this tale up as a means of persuading Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him; however, there is any number of other, more believable stories he could have devised. Why choose this one?
A1: Because he has a thing for Cassio! Or maybe a thing WITH Cassio?
D: That’s stretching it a bit TOO far.
A1: *shrug* Meh.
A2: Okay, I admit you’ve made your point about sex so far as Othello is concerned. But what about the Duchess of Malfi?
A3: Again, the tragedy is centred around the sexual relationships of the female protagonist. Ferdinand and the Cardinal plot to kill the Duchess because of her marriage to Antonio; the catalyst is her pregnancy, and therefore it is viable to say the tragedy of the play is caused by her sleeping with Antonio.
A2: Fair enough, I suppose.
A3: Like Othello, the Duchess of Malfi also contains sexually based insults and imagery, particularly from Ferdinand:
A1: Go to, mistress! ‘Tis not your whore’s milk that shall quench my wild-fire, but your whore’s blood!
A3: The subtext of socially unacceptable lust is again a them that emerges, this time manifesting in Ferdinand’s attitude towards his sister, the Duchess.
A1: So since incest and homosexuality were both considered sins, it’s another similarity between the plays?
A2: Evidently. Instead of homosexuality, we have brother-sister lust.
A3: I wouldn’t say that. What about Bosola and Antonio? “The man I would have sav’d ‘bove mine own life”?
A2: *withering look* Idiot.
A3: *hopefully* Delio and Antonio? Delio is VERY devoted…
D: GET BACK TO THE DAMN POINT.
A3: *cower* I’m sorry!
D: You’d better be. What about Tis Pity She’s A Whore?
A3: Hm. Harder. Vasques and Soranzo?
D: That wasn’t what I meant! What about the sexual themes?
A3: Oh! Right. Well, Tis Pity differs from the other two plays in two main ways: first of all, there is very little in the way of sexual imagery and insults, and secondly there is no particular sexual subtext.
A1: Aw. *looks disappointed*
A3: That’s mostly because the socially unacceptable relationship this time is a blatantly incestual relationship.
A1: … Oh. *cheers up*
A3: Again, the tragedy is caused by the sexual relationship of the main female character. This is a common theme through all three plays, as are unacceptable relationships in general.
D: True. I suppose even the main relationships of Othello and the Duchess fall under that category.
A2: Desdemona marries the Moor Othello…
A1: And the Duchess marries beneath her.
A3: So I’ve made my point about the sex thing. What next?
D: Well you’ll notice that directly linked to sex in these plays is the treatment of women.
A2: *warily* …And?
D: And I think it’s relevant, so I’m going to talk about it.
A3: But… weren’t you the one…?
D: *dangerously* If you can’t beat them, join them and take them over.
A1: *nervously* Um. Right. So what did you want to say about women?
D: We’re superior to you lot. Other than that, I was going to discuss attitudes towards them in the three plays. I may as well start with Othello and keep the same pattern.
A3: Heh. *smug*
(Through this next bit, A3 continuously cracks onto A2 in the background, and is repeatedly knocked back.)
D: Throughout the play, Bianca and Emilia are treated like sex objects, which is very typical of the contemporary society. While Desdemona and Othello originally have a loving relationship, she falls into the same position as her compatriots as soon as jealousy enters the scene.
A1: Harsh.
D: Mm. It does put a rather unpleasant spin on Othello’s apparent love for Desdemona, that he could be swayed so dramatically against her so easily. Whichever way, this treatment is obvious through the sexual jokes and insults mentioned earlier.
A1: I guess women in the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods didn’t have much power, huh?
D: Well, not at first glance, no. The women in Othello do not have any official power like the men do, certainly. However, in a way, the power they do have over the men emotionally is far greater and subtler.
A2: The general’s wife is the general now, right?
D: Precisely. Desdemona has influence over Othello’s actions through his love for her, at least for the first half of the play. Similarly, Bianca is able- if to a much lesser degree- to make Cassio run and jump at her beck and call when she is actually present.
A1: What about Emilia?
D: Emilia is a somewhat different case; as Iago does not seem to have any real love or affection for her whatsoever, she thus has no ability to affect his actions through his emotions. She does still have power over him, however, the source of which in this case being her knowledge of his doings.
A3: … the handkerchief.
D: Yes. Emilia is the only character aside from Iago himself who knows of his complicity in the disappearance of Desdemona’s handkerchief. This is where we reach the heart of the position of women in Othello; Emilia is crucial to bringing about the end of the play by betraying Iago’s plot, but by doing this she is stepping beyond her social boundaries as a woman. Similarly, Desdemona’s decision to marry Othello is the beginning point of the events in the play, and this too defies social boundaries- she disobeyed her father.
A1: Wow. So I suppose the play depends upon women doing things society decrees they are not allowed to do.
D: Basically. A similar situation occurs in the Duchess of Malfi; even though the Duchess holds a position of apparent power, she is still relatively helpless. She is wary enough of her marriage to Antonio that she keeps it secret, even after seven years and three children. This fear shows that her brothers hold a lot of power over her- enough to cause her to be cautious having disobeyed them, despite the fact that they are all apparently of the same rank. This becomes more pronounced as the play progresses, particularly when Ferdinand is able to imprison her in her own court during the second last Act of the play.
A1: Man, her brothers are nasty.
D: *sarcastically* Yes, thank you for that wonderful piece of insight. The sexual bullying and imagery in the Duchess is also centred on the female characters, generally the Duchess herself. This is most prominent in the second scene of Act I, when Ferdinand and the Cardinal corner her about whether she intends to remarry, particularly when she says “Diamonds are of most value, they say, that have pass’d through most jewellers’ hands,” and Ferdinand replies “Whores, by that rule, are precious”. This illustrates the sexism and double standards of contemporary society; promiscuity and even remarriage was frowned upon in women where men such as the Cardinal could get away with crimes far worse.
A2: Hooray for feminism, then.
D: *sniff* You’r still all chauvinistic pigs. Anyway, as in Othello, the events of the play are set off by her stepping beyond her position as a woman through her marriage to Antonio.
A3: Huh. So that leaves-
D: Tis Pity She’s A Whore, yes. Again, this play differs slightly from the other two. Like the female protagonists of Othello and the Duchess of Malfi, Annabella has no official power- she is entirely at the whim of her father, her suitors, and ultimately, her brother Giovanni. However, unlike Desdemona and the Duchess, Annabella does not really offset the events of the play through her own disobedience.
A2: Oh, come on. What about sleeping with her brother? I’d hardly call that doing what society tells her!
D: No, it’s not what society tells her, but nor is it essentially her own choice. While she is in love with Giovanni, it is very unlikely that anything would have come of it without Giovanni’s aggressive seduction of her at the beginning of the play. As she said: “For every sigh that thou hast spent for me I have sigh’d ten; for every tear shed twenty: and not so much for that I lov’d, as that I durst not say I lov’d nor scarcely think it.”
A1: Are you saying that Annabella is weak-willed?
D: In a very real sense, she is. Love aside, she seems to sleep with her brother mostly because he emotionally blackmails her into it; she marries because her father orders it. The true irony is that while the tragedy of Othello and the Duchess of Malfi is brought about by the headstrong actions of the female protagonist, in Tis Pity She’s A Whore it is caused by the weak submission of Annabella to the whims of her male family members. In all three, however, the power men hold over women is a common theme.
A2: Relationships between men and women aren’t the only ones highlighted in the plays, though.
A3: *gleefully* Yeah, there’s also relationships between men and men! *drapes over A2 and gets shoved off*
A2: Shut up. Moron. Status in these plays is very important, as can be seen by the unequal relationships in all three plays. In Othello, this is present in the lady and maid relationship of Desdemona and Emilia and the general and subordinate relationship of Othello and Cassio.
A3: *sniggers*
A2: *ignores* This uneven status is far more subtle between Desdemona and Emilia than it is between Othello and Cassio; Desdemona does order Emilia around, but her manner of speech is gentle.
A3: I would that you had never seen him!
D: So would I not, my love doth so approve him, that even in his stubbornness, his checks and frowns- prithee unpin me- have grace and favour in them.
A3: I have laid those sheets you bade me on the bed.
A2: By contrast, Othello’s power over Cassio is only subtle until he exerts it by removing Cassio’s office.
A1: That would widen the status gap, wouldn’t it?
A2: Exactly. After that, Cassio is unable to directly approach Othello about the return of his office, which emphasises the difficulty of maintaining friendship between those of unequal status- a friend would be someone you could speak to plainly without fear of reprisal, and indeed, a friend wouldn’t have been in a position where he would be almost forced to shove Cassio away in the first place.
A3: Aw, poor Cassio.
A3: In the Duchess, this status gap is seen primarily through the Duchess and Antonio.
D: But the Duchess and Antonio were covered by relationships between men and women, weren’t they?
A2: Not as such. Because the Duchess has higher status than Antonio, the dynamic differs substantially.
A3: Also because he’s a sensitive new-age guy.
A2: That too. This relationship between Duchess and subject is quite dissimilar to the uneven relationships in Othello, presumably due to the love involved. While she does initially take advantage of her position to trick him into marriage-
D: Fie, fie, what’s all this? One of your eyes is bloodshot, use my ring to’t, they say ‘tis very sovereign: ‘twas my wedding ring, and I did vow never to part with it, but to my second husband.
A1: You have parted with it now.
D: Yes, to help your eyesight.
A2: -she quickly seeks to have her power over Antonio voided, as she desires to be on even ground with her new husband. In Tis Pity, there is again the lady and maid relationship between Annabella and Putana. This is a rather strange example, as Annabella does not appear to have much power over Putana during the play. At the beginning, when she tells Putana to be quiet, Putana ignores her.
D: Pray do not talk so much.
A3: Take the worst with the best, there’s Grimaldi the soldier, a very well-timber’d fellow…
A2: Putana’s relationship seems to be more that of a confidant and to some extent a friend rather than servant and master, much like that of Emilia and Desdemona.
A1: Speaking of relationships, the family interaction in these plays is warped, man.
Others: *WINCE*
A1: Like, in Othello- Desdemona’s father obviously doesn’t care about her too much as an actual person if he disowns her for one infraction.
A2: My daugher, O my daughter!
A3: Dead?
A2: Ay, to me.
A1: I mean, it doesn’t exactly seem like a very loving or parental thing to say, does it?
A3: It’s like he sees her as a piece of property…
A1: Yeah. Same with the sibling relationships in the Duchess of Malfi- there is very little or no real affection in the attitudes of Ferdinand and the Cardinal to their sister or each other. Ferdinand’s possessive outrage speaks again of the idea of the woman being treated as property.
A3: And incestuous undertones, but we’ve been there, so let's move right along.
A1: The father in Tis Pity professes a concern for his daughter’s feelings which seems almost refreshing after the first two plays. When you look closer, though, he’s just as bad- he doesn’t know or understand either of his children. Furthermore, his discussions with Annabella’s various suitors and their companions has the unpleasant flavour of bargaining over merchandise. As for Annabella and her brother…
A2: Oh, can we not? We’ve covered incest. This is grossing me out.
A1: … Aside from the rather disturbing nature of their affection for one another, Giovanni’s love for his sister, while on the surface genuine-
D: And creepy.
A1: - is somewhat lacking when examined. He lies to her when seducing her, essentially tricking her into sleeping with him.
A2: I ask’d counsel of the Holy Church, who tells me I may love you.
A1: And by the end of the play, it is clear that he too views Annabella as a pawn to be subjected to his own individual desires.
D: Ugh, I feel disturbed and depressed, now.
A3: Yeah, me too... Speaking of Giovanni and Ferdinand, though, I’ve thought of another common theme!
D: Oh?
A3: Jealousy, insanity and revenge!
A2: Aren’t they three separate themes?
A3: In a manner of speaking, but they’re also all connected. In Othello, Iago’s jealousy is the basis for his actions during the play- setting up Desdemona, Cassio and Othello for a fall. In other words, his revenge. Iago’s revenge and manipulation leads in turn to Othello’s jealousy, which is the basis of his insanity, and it is in this state that he kill Desdemona for his self-righteous vengeance.
A2: Okay, I get your point about their being connected.
A1: It’s a trifecta!
D: You could even argue that Iago is insane. Or at least severely deranged and psychopathic.
A2: Iago might be a psychopath, but he has nothing on Ferdinand. The same pattern holds true in the Duchess of Malfi; Ferdinand is angered by and jealous of his sister’s marriage, which leads to his insanity in the middle of the play. It is in this insanity that he tortures his sister and orders Bosola to kill her- the ultimate revenge once more murder.
A1: Tis Pity She’s A Whore also follows to the formula to the letter- Giovanni’s jealousy, caused by the marriage of his sister and lover, drives him over the edge. As always seems to be the case in these plays, this results in the murder of the woman at the centre of all his rage.
D: Alright, you lot win. I agree that the plays have very similar themes and plots- we could probably mix them into one basic script after all, using elements from all three. Let’s see… Ill-advised romance between the woman and man-
A1: *helpfully* The wench and the jealous guy.
A2: It’s the wench and the SNAG in the Duchess…
A1: Okay, USUALLY the wench and the jealous guy.
D: Right, ill-advised romance between the wench and the jealous guy leads to the rage of the bad guy, who plots their downfall, involving setting up the SNAG.
A1: *looks distressed* But, but there’s no SNAG in Tis Pity!
D: Oh, who cares? Close enough. Anyway, the bad guy tricks the jealous one into believing that the wench is sleeping with the SNAG-
A3: That’s only Othello, isn’t it?
D: Yes, but it’s similar to the other two- the difference is merely that it’s true in the other plays. We can leave it ambiguous. Now, where was I? Right, so the main guy goes insane with jealousy, kills the wench and wounds the SNAG. The SNAG tells him the truth of the bad guy’s complicity. The main character kills the bad guy and then himself, the end. We could even do it with lines from one of the plays.
A3: I’ll be the SNAG… *coy wave*
A2: Then I’m the bad guy.
D: And as the only female here, I’ll be the wench. *to A1* That leaves you as the jealous guy, congratulations. Well, let’s shoot.
A3: Othello, The Whore Of Malfi, OR, The Moor The Merrier, A Tragedy In Five Minutes.
O: Sister, I have a suit to you.
A: The heavens forbid but that our loves and comforts should increase even as our days do grow. On my knees, brother, even by our mother’s dust, I charge you: do not betray me to your mirth or hate.
O: I was lured to you. I do love thee, and when I love thee not, chaos is come again. The love of thee, my sister, and the view of thy immortal beauty hath untun’d all harmony both of my rest and life.
A: May our sweet affections, like the spears, be still in motion.
*knocking*
O: Who’s there?
I: My dear Othello!
A: Let him enter. I will withdraw. *exit*
O: O, come in, Iago.
I: How do you like the French court?
O: I admire it.
I: Was not that Annabella parted from my lord?
O: Aye.
I: A most exquisite lady.
O: That beauty which if framed anew the gods would make a god of if they had it there and kneel to it as I do kneel to them. So we are forced to express our violent passions in riddles and in dreams and leave the path of simple virtue, which is never made to seem the thing it is not.
I: Why, foolish madman. Have done unhappy youth, for thou art lost! In thy wilful flames, already see thy ruin- Heaven is just.
O: Must I not do what all men else may, love?
I: My lord, you know I love you.
O: I greet thy love. But leave me.
I: Is my lord angry? No more of that. My lord, she is a whore.
O: Get thee into some unknown part of the world that I may never see thee!
I: Is ‘t come to this?
O: Make me to see ‘t, or at the least so prove it. Give me a living reason that she’s disloyal.
*enter wench and snag, giggling and whispering*
O: Methinks I see her laughing! Talk to me quickly, somewhat, else my imagination shall carry me to see her in the shameful act of sin.
I: With whom? Some lovely squire.
O: I could kill her now.
I: You fly beyond your reason. ‘Tis pity she’s a whore.
O: Now do I see ‘tis true; look here, Iago, all my fond love thus do I blow to heaven… ‘tis gone.
*walks towards wench and snag*
A: My lord?
O: Impudent strumpet!
A: I am sure I am none such. By heaven, you do me wrong.
O: I intend to be rid of you.
A: Love me or kill me, brother!
O: Tis not your whore’s milk that shall quench my wild-fire, but your whore’s blood.
*kills wench*
Snag: Annabella! O, help, ho! Light! A surgeon!
O: I have no great devotion to the deed, and yet he has given me satisfying reasons; tis but a man gone: forth, my sword, he dies. *stabs snag*
S: O, I am slain!
I: There flies your ransom.
O: Now my revenge is perfect.
S: Moor, she was chaste. She loved thee, so come my soul to bliss as I speak true.
O: Iago, is this true?
I: *shifty look* Um.
O: Villainous whore! *stabs*
I: Oh Justice; I suffer now for what hath former bin. *dies*
S: O thou dull Moor, what should such a fool do with such a good woman?
O: My sister, O, my sister! There’s the cause on it. Whether by ambition, blood or lust, like diamonds we are cut with our own dust. *kills self*
S: Something... is rotten... in the state of Denmark!
D: You idiot, that’s Horatio from Hamlet! *dies again*
S: Oh, sorry. Um. *long pause* All that’s spoke is marr’d. *pause. Dies.*
A1: The end!
A3: But I wanted a happy ending!
D: It’s a tragedy!
A3: So?
D: Didn’t you read the plays?
A3: … It depends on what your definition of ‘reading’ is… So, happy ending? We could make it a musical! *falls to knees* IAAGOOOOO! *A1 and A2 do disco move*
D: ARGH. *storms off*
A3: What’s HER problem?
A1: You.
A2: Happy ending? Tragedy?
A3: So? It’s easy! Look, we could find out that Annabella isn’t really Othello’s sister, and that Antonio is actually her gay best friend who is in love with Iago. It turns out they were childhood sweethearts separated by cruel society, and reunited, they fall into each other’s arms! Both couples get married and have children, who grow up and fall in love, connecting the families together forever.
A1: It sounds like a soap opera.
A2: Slight problem- Antonio and Iago are both men. THEY CANNOT HAVE CHILDREN.
A3: *shrug* Just a minor issue.
A1: Yeah. We’ll chuck Antonio in a dress and it’ll all be FINE. *door closes after them*
Also I drew Sandy and Af when bored at work, but I'm too tired to put them up now. maybe tomorrow. *collapses*
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-10-28 06:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-28 06:55 am (UTC)Guess who also disobeyed herself? *was going to go to bed at 11*
no subject
Date: 2004-10-28 02:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-28 04:07 pm (UTC)Teacher laughed through the whole thing, so I think it went well. ^~