Desdemona is not the focal point of the play and therefore her character must be passive enough in order to facilitate the overarching plot of Othello’s tragic fall.

Desdemona constantly shows mixed signals, even though she shows signs of naivety but how are we to reconcile this naivety with the boldness that she displays in the senate scene. Thus, far from a passive response to the challenges that she faces, Desdemona actively chooses the more difficult path, ultimately sacrificing herself for the sake of trusting her husband. The female protagonist in the tragic play “Othello”, Desdemona is truly one rare character who astonishes the readers as much with her outer beauty as with her inner grace. In regards to her character, she is strong willed, and displays these qualities as the play permits.

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The women of the 17th century were most likely to surpass the norms of sexual morality set for Venetian woman of that time. The inaction that we observe is more properly viewed as a firm resolve to trust her husband despite the obstacles. She is too pure and kind hearted but lacks worldly wisdom. He is adored by Desdemona who must be aware of his goodness. Desdemona knows of her impending death, but she is too good and too devout to do anything about it. Further, the ability to see Othello for who he truly is, rather than focusing on the negative reputation that he has because he is a moor, reflect Desdemona’s own depth of character. Complex & Intriguing Villain In "Othello" By W. Shakespeare, Significance Of The Female Characters In Othello By William Shakespeare And A Doll’s House By Henrik Ibsen, The Concept Of Human Nature In “The Crucible” By Arthur Millar And “Othello” By William Shakespeare, Assessment of the Relationship between a Writer and Her Work as Depicted in Lorraine Hansberry’s Play, A Raisin in The Sun, A View of Compassion and Understanding as Demonstrated in William Shakespeare’s, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Evaluation of the First Act in Tennessee Williams’ Play, A Streetcar Named Desire, Review of Different Themes: The Dead, By James Joyce Vs. A Raisin in the Sun, By Lorraine Hansberry, Review of A Streetcar Named Desire, Based On the Vision of Blanche, A Look at Prejudice against Women in William Shakespeare’s, A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Desdemona became a passive victim, her account of her mother’s maid Barbara and her willow song proved her passivity. Deceptions plays a big part in this play, it also appears many times.

Othello displays a weakness of character though is jealousy and lack of trust, while Desdemona’s strength of character lies in her confidence in her marriage, and unwavering personality. New York: Longman, 2006. Most characters in the novel meet an undeserved fate. The pattern of strawberries on the kerchief had been printed with the dye from the hearts of mummified virgins and so it’s suggestive of a guarantee of virginity. She may be wise in her faith but not worldly-wise. The inactionthat critics observe with respects to Desdemona, is not truly inaction, so much as a decision to trust Othello, which at times presents itself as a type of inaction. Desdemona’s deception was done with only good hearted intentions. Desdemona is at times a submissive character, most notably in her willingness to take credit for her own murder. Desdemona unwittingly colludes in the preparation of the scene of her ritual demise, you see how she’s change from a young lade to a sexual alert, vivid person to a frozen body. The next person Desdemona deceits is her husband, and it’s this deception that helps Iago the Most, with his evil plans. Most of the time the dgree of deception is different. Potter, Nicholas. Othello knows Desdemona is wanted and desired by many, so every time she brings up the topic of cassio it makes him wonder why he’s so important to her that she keeps bringing up his name.

Would you like to have an original essay? Do you have a 2:1 degree or higher? Because Desdemona loves her husband to such a great extent, her murder has a greater impact on the reaction of the audience, and the tragedy is all the more forceful. Farewell. When she is accused of being infidel, her shock comes from coming close to the possibility of such an act that a grievous sin like betrayal can exist. She blames herself after being strangled by Othello to death. In Conclusion, we can observe that Desdemona is a strong and noble character through her various actions and speeches throughout the play while keeping a few things in mind. Even though deception is defined as trickery and malicious, deception can be through its intentions.

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For her, it marks Othello’s diligence and heroism. When Desdemona says “Dost thou in conscience think-tell me Emilia-that there be woman do abuse their husbands in such gross kind?”(4.3.1020).This is very naïve of her. Othello calls him not Cassio but by his Christian name which shows how truly fond of him he truly is. In her conversation with Emilia, she finds it hard to believe that any woman would cheat on her husband: I have heard it said so. If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help! This action breaksa venetian custom through interracial marriage, displaying Desdemona’s assertive personality and ability to choose her own path, over the pre-ascribed expectations of society. / Commend me to my kind lord. This critic is not well founded, as Desdemona, on the contrary, presents an image of a woman going against the cultural expectations that society has placed on her, and instead choosing to follow through on her own convictions which primarily concern loving her husband Othello, proving to be a great and resilient woman. Desdemona portrays to be such a good person she doesn’t even protest the injustice inflicted on her, but she is far from innocent. We've received widespread press coverage since 2003, Your UKEssays purchase is secure and we're rated 4.4/5 on reviews.co.uk.

She is considered the fairest but she chooses Othello who is prejudiced by the likes of Iago and Roderigo for both personal and cultural reason. Cassio is a character to be loved in the fashion of Desdemona. Her singing the willow song foreshadows her death, an proves she’s given up hope. Desdemona, of a Venetian origin, is the daughter of Brabantio (a senator) who elopes to marry a Moorish Army General, Othello. These actions display Desdemona as a character who is truly strong-willed, and actively chooses to love her husband, regardless of consequences. She tells him a flat out lie about its whereabouts. In life nobody is perfect and we are defined by our goodness and our flaws. The ways she tried to convince Othello to give cassio back his position was not the smartest way. Print. Something so dear and precious to her was carelessly lost. She undoubtedly possesses the characteristics of a truly good person.

The idea of Othello’s deep and immediate lack of trust is not given much thought, because for Desdemona it is not truly a possibility. If Desdemona could’ve just gave up trying to help cassio because it was clear Othello wasn’t listening to her about him she wouldn’t have giving him reasons to doubt her fidelity. Print. This is not an example of the work written by our professional essay writers. Print. This essay will analyze her. We use cookies to offer you the best experience. She knows who ever has betrayed cassio has also manipulated her husband against her because till the end she never blames Othello, because till the end she still refers to her husband as ‘my lord’. The fact that Desdemona is naïve is not her fault because in Venetian society wives and daughters were cloistered. Once there the two awaken him with loud … Like Emilia a battered wife who’s gone through much more in life, Desdemona abandons her ability to think for herself. Further, Desdemona’s apparent inaction in the play stems from her innocent nature, always believing the best of her husband, despite his often suspicious behavior.

Desdemona in Othello In William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello, the wife of the protagonist is Desdemona. The moment she lost the handkerchief it caused the exact opposite of the mystical powers of the handkerchief to worked it’s bad luck on Desdemona. Venetian society brain washed Desdemona’s mind due to how she was raised. She doesn’t defend herself but tells the truth in a simple manner.

The necessary function of unconditional love, the truest and purest form of love, is that it by definition knows no limits. Her role in the play itself only permits a certain amount of activity as a supporting character, yet in the few scenes that we observe, she proves to be strong-willed and active. Othello’s marriage to Desdemona empowers him to overcome his greatest adversity, his racial difference. But here’s my husband; To you, preferring you before her father. Let me go with him. With her character, Shakespeare reminds us of the vulnerability of being saint-like, of being unaware of the filth the world caries within itself. ‘Desdemona’ which means unfortunate becomes an apt symbol for herself. By marrying Othello, Desdemona was showing that she was strong enough and educated enough to break the societal confines of passivity for women.

In response to Emilia’s question, “O, who hath done this deed?” Desdemona’s final words are, “Nobody, I myself. Desdemona is extremely naïve, but we can believe that she has been faithful and has never thought of straying from her husband. If it’s bad intensions then the person is bad. Desdemona argues her case until she realizes that hope is lost when Othello tells her cassio is dead. She explains: The rites for which I love him are bereft me, By his dear absence. Constantly talking about another man to your husband would always bring questionably doubt to anyone even a devout good person like Desdemona. Desdemona, although an intelligent woman seeking liberation, fell into Iago’s trap because she loved Othello and was upset that he had considered her a “whore.” Desdemona’s naivety, deceptions with good intensions and her passivity all play parts in her downfall, with the help of iago’s evil schemes. Of course, it is not safe to accept everything Iago says, because his own point of view is so evil.
In Act 1 Scene1, Iago persuades the rejected suitor of Desdemona, Roderigo, to accompany him to the home of Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, in the middle of the night. If Desdemona had played as large of a role in the action as Othello, the balance of the play itself would be overthrown, and the plot could not be sustained.

Desdemonacorrectly chooses to be loyal to her husband even over her father, since being Othello’s wife, her loyalties lie primarily with him. In this action she mustalso ready to stand firm in her marriage, despite the onslaught of problems that may arise from this departure from established custom. It’s ironic that Desdemona has made the first deception, and it the end she is left with the worst faith of all.

Othello displays a weakness of character though is jealousy and lack of trust, while Desdemona’s strength of character lies in her confidence in her marriage, and unwavering personality. O, these men, these men! Most of the characters in the play use deception to get what they want, and they use deception through body language and verbally.

Iago does have a point when he accuses Desdemona of being a clever actress, for she has indeed managed to deceive her father completely, and to go absolutely against his wishes. She willfully goes against custom when she marries Othello because of the interracial nature of the marriage. This shows an extreme strength of character as she even now puts Othello before herself. Her honesty would never have been questions if she was completely honest, more open with her husband and lest careless about the things she said and did. I am hitherto your daughter. Both Desdemonas are believable.

She is virtuous and simple to an extent that it leads her to a catastrophic fate as she seems too innocent to be true. Her belief lies in unbreakable, strong relationships, whether it is her own marriage or it is the friendship between Othello and Cassio. Othello Character Studies. Both woman are portrayed as victims of venetian marriages. The power Desdemona and the handkerchief represent are killed when Desdemona …

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Iago is the only person who always had bad intentions in his deception while Desdemona’s deceptions were done with good intensions.

Good is all that she knows.