Desdemona, Character In Shakespeare’s Play Othello

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When William Shakespeare wrote this play in the sixteenth century, there were very strict customs to be followed regarding the sex, gender, and race of an individual. Desdemona had a major role in the play Othello. She goes against traditional customs by marrying an outsider, a black man named Othello. She was expected to marry one of the rich Venetian men. Throughout the play, several people say that she is a pawn. Desdemona deception was done with only good-hearted intentions. In the play, Desdemona is portrayed as a strong and an honest young woman, who is accused of unfaithful love for her husband Othello.

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Desdemona is a victim of both Othello’s jealousy and Iago’s malevolence. Desdemona shows bravery and manly behavior, in which Othello falls in love with, and it becomes a faithful wife to him. She explains her “divided duty” as a daughter and a wife but tradition dictates and the allegiance will be to her husband. She is no longer close with her father, as she was before she and Othello married.

Desdemona says to Othello, “God willing, our love and our happiness will only increase as we get older.” She is inflexible in that she would remain loyal to her husband, and would not betray him no matter the circumstances. Desdemona explains to Emilia that she would never consider being unfaithful to Othello, “I’d never do such a bad thing, not for the whole world.” When Desdemona says her final words, which clearly states her loyalty to Othello, she refuses to confess cheating with Cassio, because it did not happen.

Desdemona states, towards Othello “And you have mercy on me too! I never did anything wrong to you in my life. I never loved Cassio, except with pure love that I feel for humankind. I never gave him any token of romantic love.” This woman’s final act of loyalty towards her husband was to condemn herself to go to hell as she lies on her death bed. Desdemona refuses to identify Othello as her murder and blames herself for her own death. Before Othello kills her, Desdemona’s words are as followed and she says them to Emilia “No one. I did it myself. Give my love to my kind husband. Oh, goodbye!” . Desdemona is a faithful and loving wife to Othello and no one should have accused her of cheating. Overall, Desdemona loved Othello for who he was and not his color.

The society in which Othello takes place is a patriarchal one, where men had complete control over women. At the very beginning of Othello, Desdemona’s goodness and virtue serve as a prelude to her density. She exudes strength and independence in deviating from the Venetian norms and beliefs. Shakespeare portrays women who cannot refuse and are to accept the arranged marriages that their fathers make for them. Desdemona is a profound, strong, and independent young lady, whom makes her own decisions. Desdemona is a central character in William Shakespeare's popular play Othello. She is young, beautiful, Venetian woman who is adored by her father, Brabantio. She goes against traditional Venetian custom by marrying an outsider, a black man named Othello, instead of a rich Venetian man she is expected to marry. Desdemona never really gets mad at Othello and she allows him to overrule her. Desdemona is the most direct and honest speaker. She refuses the rich, handsome, and white young man that her father wants her to many. She is a high-class woman, to whom people respect over the other women in Venetian especially Emilia or Bianca. Desdemona's death symbolizes the corruption of innocence in the play since she is the only pure figure in Othello. Throughout the entire story, Desdemona has been described as an independent and obedient wife. Desdemona is preparing for bed, afraid that Othello is wrongly angry with her for being unfaithful. Moments leading up to her death Desdemona sings an old song and she calls it, (The Song of Willow). The song merges into her own story, although she has no awareness that she will die soon because of Othello's jealous love. So, the song functions as foreshadowing. The willow tree is a popular symbol of sadness and also known as a weeping willow. As Desdemona says to Emilia, “…. I can’t get that song out of my head tonight. It’s all I can do to keep myself from hanging my head down in despair and singing it like a poor Barbary. Please, hurry up.” The quote is foreshadowing that Desdemona is going to die later in the night. Over all, Desdemona is a strong-willed character who believes in her beliefs, and she is faithful to her love, Othello. Desdemona is a faithful and loving wife to Othello, who believes in her beliefs.

Shakespeare wrote this play, when men were deemed to be more important than women. Desdemona has a relentless nature which allows her to love and care unconditionally. Throughout the play, Desdemona has a determined attitude toward her beliefs and does not believe in others opinion. This shows when she is having a conversation with Emilia. Emilia tells Desdemona about Othello’s jealousy but Desdemona immediately disagrees with her. The quotes states, “Believe me, I’d rather have lost a purse full of gold coins. This would be enough to make my husband suspect me, if he hasn’t so free of jealousy.” Desdemona is relentless in her love for Othello and claims that Othello is too noble to be jealous. Othello insults and strikes Desdemona in public and Desdemona, being horrified by these actions, says, “I haven’t deserved this!”.Desdemona finds Othello to be incorrect in his actions and she expresses her feelings to Othello. This proves Desdemona to be ahead of the time the play was written. Unlike other women Desdemona defends herself and her beliefs strongly. Therefore, Desdemona is shown as an all-around powerful woman. In Othello, she is weak in the sense that she is unable to defend herself against her husband’s claims or his anger at the end of her life. She is also unable to realize that it is her behavior towards Cassio which is further contributes to Othello’s anger. She does not seem to think about her actions; instead she simply behaves exactly how Iago, thinks she will be based off her predictable nature.

In the play, Desdemona is accused of unfaithful love for Othello, she is portrayed as a strong character, and an honest young woman. She is a woman of intelligence. Desdemona is the main character in Othello. Desdemona is a faithful wife to Othello in Shakespeare’s play. Othello explains that Desdemona is marrying him because he is adventurous, loves his stories, and his lifestyle. Modern day relationships show connections from the story of Othello because even in modern times there are abusive relationships. The relationship between Desdemona and Othello would be considered this type. Racism is also a big part in the play Othello. In today’s society race stills plays a very important part on how people treat each other. Overall, Desdemona is a strong and well round character in the play Othello.