Emilia and Desdemona in Othell

She is then disowned by Barbantio with no further words directed to her by him but is referenced as a liar and should be kept on watch for her conniving ways by him towards Othello. Which then begins Shakespeare’s in depth writing on Othello and Desdemona’s relationship where she is as “a child to chiding” (4.2.119-120). Not even a moment after her father leaves Othello commands Iago to tell his wife, Emilia, to tend to Desdemona as a babysitter. Irony occurs within (2.1.169-171) where Desdemona challenges Iago and stands as an independent woman for Emilia objecting to his conclusion, that women no matter how beautiful or intelligent play the same “foul pranks”. However, as Othello’s jealousy and rage arises throughout the play it seems as her character has to fight even harder to breathe under his control; symbolic for her death of suffocation. Desdemona is a gentle women living under her love’s control with no power to object even if she had opposed this type of controlling relationship. As a higher class woman she had more power and respect over other women characters such as Emilia or Bianca, but is this dominance enough to feel in control of oneself? It is believed that Shakespeare added the 2 other

The relationship between Desdemona and Othello in the play ‘Othello’ is used to express and observe the way that humans are selfish by nature. Although both Desdemona and Othello do sincerely love each other, both of them find great personal gain in their marriage, which clearly contributes to their feelings for one another. Othello, who is a black leader in an overwhelmingly white, Christian society, has come from a troubled and difficult background, being “sold to slavery” and working in the military all his life. In finding a good Christian wife in Desdemona, he finds someone to always support him in hard times, as evidenced in his summary of their romance, “she loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them”. This quote suggests that their love is more self-serving than he lets on; Desdemona loves Othello for the adventures he has been on and the stories he tells, and Othello loves Desdemona because she listens and devotes herself to what he has to say. When Desdemona gets a chance to explain their relationship herself, she is particularly proud of the fact that she “did love the Moor to live with him; my downright violence and storms of fortunes may trumpet to the world”. We note that she mentions her ‘violence’, the way she deliberately disobeyed her father and fled his company to secretly marry a man who is not one of her father’s approved suitors. This furthers the idea that Desdemona seems to be in love with Othello because of the adventures he has been on, and the excitement and liberty of her being with such a man; she is seeking her own freedom in a misogynistic society by defying her father to marry Othello. Their relationship is

In Othello, Desdemona has a relentless nature which allows her to love and care unconditionally. Throughout the play, Desdemona has a determined attitude towards her beliefs and she does not believe other’s opinions. This is shown when Desdemona and Emilia were having a conversation. Emilia tells Desdemona that Othello shows jealously but Desdemona immediately disagrees with Emilia telling her to “Believe me, I had rather have lost my purse/Full of crusadoes And but my noble Moor/ Is true of mind, and made of no such baseness/As jealous creatures are, it were enough/To put him to ill thinking” (3.4.24-29). Desdemona is relentless in her love for Othello and claims Othello to be too noble to be jealous. Her relentless nature makes her love for Othello so unconditional that she cannot see the clear jealousy Othello harbours. Desdemona then shows that she is not only relentless but determined when she makes a promise with Cassio. After being harshly fired, Desdemona promises Cassio that she will convince

Shakespeare's Desdemona is a sweet, naive victim. Othello does not have money, beauty or good manners, but to Desdemona, he is perfect. She loves him for what he is. She respects him, as well. Desdemona is a loyal spouse who will do absolutely anything for her husband. Emilia tries to teach the innocent Desdemona about the evils of life. Carefully watching over her, Emilia constantly tries to warn her that jealousy is a "monster." She is not at all afraid of men and does not think twice about defending Desdemona's honor to the raging Othello.

Othello believes that Desdemona is his possession, an object in his life which is supposed to show he honour and reputation as a man, therefore the belief that Desdemona has broken that honour and nobility forces Othello to destroy her.

Her death is therefore her punishment, furthermore making Emilia a tragic victim as she has died through no fault of her own. Like Emilia, Desdemona is also a tragic victim of the men in ‘Othello’. Her murder, like Emilia’s, is through no fault of her own is a result of Othello’s jealousy and Iago’s interference. What makes Desdemona even more tragic to the audience is the fact that even in death she tries to protect her husband, telling Emilia that she has killed herself, “nobody, I myself”, this further depicts to the audience that Desdemona is a good and pure character. Her devotion to her husband makes her a tragic victim in the play as she can not be blamed for her death.

Desdemona is portrayed as a very inquisitive women, whom loves to explore the things and people outside of her class. She fell in love with Othello because of her curious nature and being attracted to his acts of bravado. Her intentions are sincere; however her curiosity in this act is seen as folly. She asks her cousin Lodovico about his arrival and informs him of Cassio’s dismissal. This angers Othello as she is praising another man, taking a persona of being proactive about him. For Othello this concludes that she is disobedient and has dishonored him - to put her in place, he resorts to violence:

Othello and Desdemona have peculiar relationship to say the least. While the story of Othello does not give us many insights on their relationship, throughout the story, we begin to question the concept of their relationship as a whole. The audience mostly blame the story of Othello ending in a tragedy on Iago, but as critical thinkers, they should consider the flaws of Othello and Desdemona’s relationship. Along with flaws, Othello and Desdemona had relationship issues already in areas of behavior and backgrounds. It seems more likely that their relationship was going to fail regardless of the actions of Iago.

She begins the play as a independent and thoughtful person, but she must struggle against all odds to make Othello believe that she is not too independent. Desdemona is a symbol of innocence and helplessness. However in the beginning of the play, she seems to be mature and quite insightful of events around her. Iago often tells Othello that she is unfaithful. It seems that she refuses to accept what Iago is doing. She has a tendency to be sympathetic towards other people's situations, like Cassio. This also further inspired Othello's jealousy when Iago pointed out that Cassio and Desdemona were speaking in private. She often pays attention to other people’s thoughts, yet remains distrustful if they differ from her own. She has a loyalty to her husband in all aspects of life,

She gives this to her education and what she has been thought. So before we know anything about Desdemona all we know is that she is willing to disrespect her father for a strange man. Even when it is clear that her father does not like Othello, she stands her ground and defies what he says. Her father is not the only man she refuses to respect because she is constant in who she holds highest. It also shows that she respects Othello for who he is because it doesn’t matter if it is someone else’s husband she won’t respect him as much as Othello. Desdemona chides,“O, most lame and impotent conclusion!—Do not learn of him, Emilia, though he be thy

Desdemona was the daughter of a senator, a well regarded, upper class man. Othello was a General in the Venetian Military, and while that was a highly classed job, it was considered below Desdemona’s class. In the late sixteenth century, the man was generally from a higher class then the woman, hence why Desdemona and Othello’s relationship was objected to. Social position was an influence in Othello’s belief of Desdemona’s betrayal, as he thought that he wasn’t good enough for her.

When Emilia enters Desdemona and Othello’s bedroom upon hearing Desdemona’s voice, she finds a dying Desdemona. When Emilia questions her about who killed her, Desdemona responds, “Nobody; I myself. Farewell” (5.2.125). Despite the clear fact that Othello killed her, Desdemona refuses to sell him out even on her deathbed. In this scene, Desdemona seems desperate, as if she knows her fate but still wishes to save someone. The closest person to her is Othello and knowing that he will certainly be killed for murdering her, Desdemona shares her helping personality one more time and tries to spare Othello. Desdemona places the blame on herself as she dies as she will be unable to face any more consequences. Even though Othello was driven to hate Desdemona, going so far as hitting her and actually killing her, Desdemona is able to judge his character and knows he still loves her and is worthy of her loyalty. Desdemona’s focus on loyalty contrasts with how Emilia believes justice to be of more importance. After Othello kills Desdemona, Emilia, realizing she has proof of Iago’s guilt, knows she is the only one who can reveal the truth. Despite Iago’s knife to her throat, Emilia says, “I will speak as liberal as the north / Let heaven, and men, and devils, let them all, / all,

Desdemona defends herself and her actions by stating “I never did offend you in my life, never loved Cassio but with such general warranty of heaven as I might love. I never gave him token” (Othello

Her loyalty is portrayed by her love for Othello and the truth of not dismissing her marriage. Finally her generosity is easily comprehended after one is witness to her attempt to help Cassio after her husband stripped him of his rank. These virtues are long lived within Desdemona, and it does not take a Shakespearean critic to notice them. Doran continues his account of Desdemona by introducing Cassio as a believer of her virtuous personality. Cassio compares Desdemona to a divine member as he awaits her first steps off the ship, onto Cyprus, that she has arrived upon. While Cassio has no problem with comparing such a woman to God, Doran states that ?she is not quite so perfect as to be beyond compare, of course, or we could not believe in her as a human.? [148] With this statement, Doran?s point of view suddenly becomes more focused upon the use of hyperbole and the possibly disaster that it may cause. When asked about her handkerchief, Desdemona?s blind ignorance to the situation at hand, allows Othello to develop accusatory thoughts about the loyalty of his wife. However it is Desdemona?s tactlessness in her defense against Cassio that carves her doomed fate in stone. Doran takes account of this act and says, ?[n]o other faults are to be found in her,? [148] and that tactlessness is not a fault, not one of true character, possibly one of understanding. This is basically the end of the line for Desdemona, it is now that she awaits her doomed fate.

Shakespeare’s tragic play, Othello, gives insight to broken relationships and tragic deaths all caused by lies. But the main component of these lies is faults in relationships. Shakespeare explores the ideas of Othello’s actions toward Desdemona, their relationship, but forgets an important detail: her side of the story. Desdemona, along with the other women in the play contrast each other tremendously. All three women show victimization in their own way, but how far will each woman let it go? Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca all have very different viewpoints on society and how women should be treated.