In Act 1 Scene 3 of Othello, Brabantio's attitude towards women is evidenced in his outrage towards Desdemona having married Othello. Brabantio says that his daughter has been "stol'n from [him]," suggesting that he regards Desdemona as his "property." Brabantio does not believe that Desdemona made a conscious choice to marry Othello, and he instead believes that Othello somehow tricked Desdemona into marrying him. Brabantio accuses Othello of "witchcraft," but Othello says that the only charms he has used to win Desdemona's love are the tales of his past. Even when Desdemona speaks for herself and tells her father that she perceives in the situation a "divided duty," Brabantio will not back down from his belief that Desdemona should regard him as the most important person (man) in her life. Thus, Brabantio's view that women are items of property that belong to men is evidenced in the play.
Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
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