Characters


Desdemona


Devoted to Her Husband Despite Othello’s mistreatment of Desdemona, her loyalty to her husband is unwavering throughout the play. We first see her devotion to Othello as she helps to defend him against the charge of witchcraft and expresses her love for him: ‘My heart’s subdued


Even to the very quality of my lord. I saw Othello’s visage in his mind, And to his honour and his valiant parts Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate’ (Act 1, Sc 3).


Throughout the play she stoically forgives Othello his ill-humour and erratic behaviour. She


tells Iago that Othello’s mistreatment of her cannot undermine her love: ‘Unkindness may do much, / And his unkindness may defeat my life, / But never taint my love’ (Act 4, Sc 2). Similarly she tells Emilia: ‘My love doth so approve him, / That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns – / Prithee, unpin me – have grace and favour in them’ (Act 4, Sc 3). Desdemona’s devotion is most clearly revealed in her dying words. After Othello has smothered


her and she lies dying on their bed, she tries to exonerate her husband by falsely claiming that she committed suicide.


A Flawed Individual However, some commentators criticise Desdemona for her blind devotion. They argue that Desdemona has fallen in love with an idealised vision of Othello as a romantic figure and foolishly is unable to accept reality. This is evidenced in the first act when the audience learn that Desdemona fell in love with Othello because of his tales of adventure rather than for who he really is. As Othello says, ‘She loved me for the dangers I had passed, / And I loved her that she did pity them.’ This line of argument sees Desdemona’s devotion as naïve and self-deceiving. It is for this reason that Desdemona is unable to see Othello for all of his flaws and cannot even come to blame Othello for her own death.


Whether you accept this idea or not, Desdemona clearly makes mistakes in the play. Firstly, she


dishonours her father by deceiving him and eloping with Othello. This, however, may be forgiven as resulting from her overwhelming love for Othello. It does, though, undermine the notion of her as being completely virtuous. Secondly, Desdemona does lie to Othello about her handkerchief. Othello suspects that she


has given it to Cassio as a love token and questions her about it. Even though she cannot find it, Desdemona lies to Othello and insists she has not lost it. This fuels Othello’s suspicions. It could be argued that Desdemona is shocked by Othello’s insistence and aggressive manner but the fact that she lies does undermine the idea of her as being wholly angelic; like all of Shakespeare’s characters she is human and therefore flawed. Despite her flaws, it should be stressed that Desdemona is very much an innocent victim. She


is powerless in the face of Othello’s jealous violence and Iago’s malevolent scheming. In his final moments, Othello has the opportunity to give a speech that explain his actions. However, Desdemona is left voiceless and murdered in a violent patriarchal world.


Desdemona


§ Embodies purity and goodness § Devoted to her husband § Arguably a flawed individual


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