Desdemona's Lack Of Morality In Othello

    In William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello, the wife of the protagonist is Desdemona. She is a lovely, intelligent, wholesome and pious person. This essay will analyze her.

On the other hand, he sometimes made women seem vicious, spiteful, or malicious. It is believed that Shakespeare wrote about two types of women, virtuous subhuman or deceiving subhuman. He believed that a woman could go from virtuous to deceiving, but could never return to the virtuous status. Throughout the play, Desdemona is a very compliant and submissive wife to Othello. She believes that it is her duty to be a “good wife” and that it is her only role in life. When Othello abuses her, she blames herself, never thinking one negative thought about him. She thinks that she cannot exist without her husband, just as she did not exist without her father. Shakespeare’s diction describes Desdemona’s character when she says to Othello “And yet I fear you; for your fatal then when your eyes roll so. Why should I fear I know not, since guiltiness I know not, but yet I feel I fear” (5.2.37-38).She does not even know why she is afraid of him, as she did nothing to feel guilty about. She has nothing to be ashamed of, yet the sight of Othello, her husband, makes her scared of him. Desdemona was a strong, wealthy woman who was willing to stand up for what she wanted. The only thing she truly wanted, however, was Othello. In order to fight for him she would have hurt him, which she could not do. This creates a great internal conflict for Desdemona. When Othello finally confronts Desdemona about the so called affair with Cassio, Desdemona is shocked and tells Othello: “I never

Desdemona was a woman who tried to please everyone; he husband, father and town, a few rumor’s ruined everything for her and made her husband lose faith in her and their marriage, in the end, the pain and heartache of Othello lead to Desdemona’s death. Desdemona was nothing but good to Othello, but this goes to show that sometimes even the people closest to you can make you do something you will regret, because of jealousy. Othello realizes in the end that Iago was only doing things out of jealousy and nothing was true but Othello didn’t get to know that until it was too late.

Shakespeare’s Othello illustrates the tragic relationship of Desdemona, a tragedy brought on by her gender. Throughout the play, it is made clear that Desdemona’s own wants do not matter. As a woman, he opinion holds no weight. In this society, Desdemona is not more than a piece of property to be own by her father or her husband; males truly hold the power. Initially, the play begins as Desdemona’s father is alerted that she is not in her room. He is informed that she is away with her husband. Desdemona’s father, upon discovering she is truly absent, goes into a panic. He expressed his disappointment that his own daughter would betray him by getting married and leaving without his knowledge. Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, expresses his disdain in her choice of husband. He is

Desdemona was also a foil to the person she interacted with the most in the play; her husband, Othello. Othello and his newlywed Desdemona become opposites toward the end of the play. The main couple of the play is very different from each other which is easily seen by the audience because of how they interact with one another. Othello was filled with hate for Desdemona because he believed she had cuckolded him, and Desdemona never stopped loving him even though he accused her of things she did not do. Desdemona asks Emilia “That there be women do abuse their husbands In such gross kind?”(4.3) showing how truly innocent she is and when Emilia asks if she would cheat on Othello she is appalled at the idea. Desdemona would never cheat on the husband she works tirelessly to please. In this instance Desdemona does not only prove her innocence, but she also shows that she is virtually incorruptible making her different from her easily corruptible Othello. Iago only had to show Othello a little evidence for him to become corrupted with jealousy. It was not Othello’s fault that he was corruptible, but he was very quick to build hate for his wife, but slow to believe her pleas of innocence. The reason for this is related to the time in which the story

adultery. Because of this, she should have known that Othello might perceive her meetings with Cassio as suspicious. She should have also realized that not only were her secret meetings with Cassio obvious, but she exacerbated the problem by constantly bringing up conversations with Othello about reinstating his former lieutenant to his old position. She bothers Othello about the issue very frequently and persists even when she could tell that her husband was getting more irritated at the subject by the second. Could she really be that naïve? Desdemona should have considered the possibilities

In the Shakespearian play, Othello, the Moor of Venice, Desdemona is the daughter of the Venetian senator Brabanzio and is married to the heroic Othello. Her father believes that Othello has used witchcraft to captivate Desdemona, but she explains that her love for him is genuine. Emilia is Desdemona's attendant and married to Iago. She cherishes Desdemona deeply, but is constantly suspicious of her husband. Although Desdemona and Emilia both desire to please their husbands and gain acceptance, their opinions on love and faithfulness in marriage are strikingly different.

Desdemona has, therefore, some quite serious faults as a wife, including a will of her own, which was evident even before she was married. This does not mean that she merits the terrible accusations flung at her by Othello, nor does she in any way deserve

In this scene of Othello, Shakespeare explores the characterization of Desdemona and Emilia to portray their opposing views on fidelity. As Shakespeare reveals, Desdemona’s naivety makes her unsupportive of any form of disloyalty, however, Emilia’s wordly nature argues for the wife's right to sleep with someone else once their husband has already cheated. Not only does the two women’s traits present different perspectives to a problem but it brings them closer together. As Desdemona walks back to her room with Emilia, after Othello has commanded her to go to bed, she begins to think about fidelity.

Othello’s reason he loved her in the first place proves to be her aura of chastity, instead of her more important and appraisable traits. Through the ceasing of Othello’s respect for Desdemona, the emphasis on a handkerchief that symbolizes her, as well as excerpts from an essay written by Professor Syed Anwarul Huq called “Desdemona’s Handkerchief: It’s Symbolic Significance” , the issue in this perspective becomes thoroughly evident. In the play Othello, the author Shakespeare vividly presents the notion that a woman’s merit is determined by her chastity, which embodies the sexist societal expectation that causes men and women of all ages to dismiss other attributes that indicate morality in favor of chastity.

Her innocence fuelled forgiveness, even to the end she forgave Othello for his misunderstandings of her loyalty. To the contrary, her father and many other Senators that stand before me would draw on wisdom in doing their duty; where they would advise punishment, she would administer forgiveness. Being oblivious to the emotions of the insecure souls that were bound so close to her, Desdemona lacked the judicious trait that her father once bared. Although gifted a fine lady’s regal, she was deluded by the Moor’s attractive life and noble achievements. No man of the Senate would ever leave the Venetian way for a foreigner. Desdemona was a woman beyond her time – a woman of empathy, grace and elegance – although she may have leaped beyond our noble society’s parameters of

Brabantio accuses Othello of bewitching Desdemona “with some mixtures powerful o’er the blood,” since Brabantio believes that his “still and quiet” (1.3.95) daughter could never fall in love with a man such as Othello.This introduction sets up a meek reputation for Desdemona prior to her arrival. Upon her arrival in the unfamiliar setting of the Duke of Venice’s Court, Desdemona shows surprising confidence and boldly addresses the men of the court directly. Although this is moving away from Brabantio’s expectations of her, Desdemona stays true to “[her] noble father” (1.3.179) and shows the utmost respect to him and the court while addressing the “most gracious Duke” (1.3.421). Desdemona’s confidence in an unknown situation develops respect and admiration from the Duke and Othello. Desdemona reveals more of her loyalty to Othello under the overwhelming pressure of the court by announcing that she refuses to “be left behind/ [a] moth of peace” (1.3.252-253) and requests the Duke to “let [her] go with him” to Cyprus (1.3.256). Desdemona’s actions in the unaccustomed settings of the court introduce her core values of directness and confidence, which she draws on in times of uncertainty. Desdemona’s initial introduction by Brabantio shows the deviation of her personality from what is expected of her, and reveals

Although at times throughout the play Desdemona appears to be submissive, she remains true to her convictions showcasing her inner strength. She tells her father and the Duke "My heart has been captured by my husband 's noble character. I saw Othello 's true appearance in his inner being, and I consecrated my soul and fortunes to his honor and his excellent qualities" (I.iii. 250-254). This statement is a testament to her true beauty and purity as the affection of all the wealthy and handsome suitors was rejected by Desdemona for she was not interested in their physical and worldly qualities, instead, she wished to spend her life with a husband that possessed the same moral conviction and noble character as her. Ironically, her innocence and unwavering convictions prevent her from understanding the evils that are present in the world; therefore she befriends a devil, believing that she can trust Lagos the same as her husband does.

After reading and studying Othello written by William Shakespeare I strongly believe that Desdemona was a faithful, loving wife who did not deserve to die. When Othello became jealous and abusive towards Desdemona and accusing her of sleeping with Cassio, Desdemona continued to express her love for Othello. Desdemona was astonished that her husband Othello could be so jealous and abusive, but she still remained only faithful and loyal to Othello right up until she died in the play. While researching this topic I have discovered a variety of different ideas on the character Desdemona. I have investigated this topic because I’m intrigued in discovering different ideas on Desdemona by a variety

From the outset Desdemona is treated as an object. In Act 1 Scene 1, Iago announces to Brabantio that his daughter is gone, “Zounds, sir, you’re robbed”. Immediately, the audience is given the impression that Desdemona is but an object to Brabantio and this is an reoccurring theme throughout. With regards to deterioration of identities, Desdemona is again one of the biggest victims. She begins the play as a confident young woman yet through Othello’s physical and emotional abuse she undergoes a transformation into a passive and obedient woman. Even on her deathbed she defends her husband by claiming that she had killed herself. This type of loyalty is common in the play and the female protagonists are used as tools in their husband’s game. For example, Emilia’s actually plays a role in Desdemona’s downfall by obeying her husband Iago and stealing the handkerchief. Emilia delivers one of the most important speeches of the play on the relationship between the typical venetian couple, “But I do think it is their husband’s faults If wives do fall...let them know, the ills we do, their ills instruct us so”. Professor Ryan provides us with an insightful analysis of this quote in his thesis “Shakespeare”(1989 3rd Edition 2002). Ryan writes, “Emilia’s argument leaves us no room to doubt that sexual deceit and vengeful jealousy...are the predictable products of organised inequality and oppression”. This quote is extremely profound and allows us to understand the true nature of the sexist society that the female characters have to