The Role Of Desdemona In Shakespeare

’s Othello Essay, Research Paper

The Role of Desdemona in Shakespeare.s Othello

The character of Desdemona represents a woman of the 17th century who surpassed the norms of sexual morality set for Venetian women of that time. When Desdemona left the house of her father, Brabantio, to wed the Moor, Othello, it was the first step in redefining her role as a woman. Desdemona, instead of asking her father.s permission, decided on her own to marry Othello. It seems as though Desdemona was breaking away from the strictness imposed by Brabantio. She denied her father any right in choosing or granting allowance to Othello to marry her. Instead she chose the man who she wanted to marry and felt it unnecessary that her father intervene in their relationship. This act of independence by Desdemona tore away the gender barriers of the Venetian patriarchal society and posed a threat to male authority. The other aspect of Desdemona.s mutiny was the miscegenation in Desdemona and Othello.s marriage. 1The choice of mate made by Desdemona further deviated from the role in which Venetian society would cast her. The traditions of the Venetian society are discovered when Iago speaks to Brabantio and plants both the ideas of miscegeny and loss of power into Brabantio.s mind. Iago cautions Brabantio:

Your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul;

Even now, now, very now, an old black ram

Is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise!

(Oth I. i. 88-90)

These lines highlight the fact that in Elizabethan society, Brabantio, like other fathers, considered Desdemona.s body to be his possession while also tapping into the fear of miscegenation that existed in Venice at that time.

2In his book .Sex in History,. Rattray Taylor describes patriarchal societies in which the power was placed in the hands of men, to be based on father-identifier schemes (77). Taylor explains that children who are father-identifiers, model themselves after their fathers because of their interest in authority and in an attempt to acquire power as their fathers have (314). This can be applied to Desdemona.s rebelliousness. Because Brabantio had such immense power over her, Desdemona may have wanted to gain this kind of power herself. Thus she decided to take her relationship into her own hands and ignored the tradition of receiving her father.s approval. Desdemona was striving to play an equal role with the men in the Venetian society.

The aspect of playing the same role as the men in the Venetian society also explains Desdemona.s marriage to Othello. Instead of Brabantio taking the initiative in the marriage, Desdemona took the initiative in the courtship because she envied the power that her father had over her and the power of Othello.s bravery and masculinity. 3She wished to be a man as brave and as noble as Othello (Holland 253). Desdemona.s actions were not necessarily based on the desire to be a man, but more so a desire to have the equal powers of men. By marrying Othello, Desdemona was showing that she was strong enough and educated enough to break the societal confines of passivity for women (Walker 2). However, we must not assume that Desdemona did not love Othello or that she married him only to define herself as a liberated woman.

Desdemona.s concise statement about her love was revealed with balance and health when she said:

I saw Othello.s visage in his mind,

And to his honours and his valiant parts

Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate.

(Oth. III. iii. 250-252)

We can see that she loved Othello for his body and mind, for his reputation and actions, and she consecrated herself to him spiritually and practically and she continued to love him throughout all the events and accusations. Race was not an issue to Desdemona and this was a result of her intelligence and determination to become liberated.

Othello, however, may have been frightened by Desdemona.s aggressiveness as a woman. This, along with the misperceptions brought on by Iago, could have led to his changing views of Desdemona. When Othello and Desdemona are first married, Othello spoke nothing but love for Desdemona. Robert Burns. poem, .A Red, Red Rose. best represents Othello.s feelings toward Desdemona. The lines: .As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, / So deep in luve am I / And I will luve thee still, my dear, / Til a. the seas gang dry. (Burns 531), represent hope, faith, and experience. Othello.s love for Desdemona at the beginning of the play was based on this hope, faith and experience. Unfortunately, after Iago.s manipulation, Othello.s love turned to despair, pain, and anger. After Iago led Othello to believe that Desdemona and Cassio were having an affair, Othello then considered Desdemona to be a . lewd minx. (Oth. III. iii. 475). Othello did not have enough faith in his wife to disregard the accusations made by Iago.

Emilia, however, had a better understanding of Desdemona.s actions than did Othello. As a woman, Emilia was not threatened by Desdemona, but instead felt admiration toward her. 4With no family or friends, Desdemona and Emilia were alone in a military camp, where masculine conceptions of honor defined what women were (McKewin 128). Because both women were aware of their oppression, they both could relate to one another on a level of understanding. Naturally Emilia looked up to Desdemona be

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