There is no doubt that Shakespeare’s Desdemona should be perceived as a good character. Her willingness to help others in need such as Cassio depicts her goodness beyond any doubt. When Cassio comes to see Desdemona to ask for her help, she immediately state she will do anything she can to help him. ‘Be thou assured, good Cassio, I will do all my abilities in thy behalf.’ Here the audience sees her dedication to Cassio. ‘thy solicitor shall rather die than give thy cause away.’ Her conversation after the stripping of Cassio’s rank depicts her true friendship as no other conversation between them could. She vows herself to help him in any way possible and will even nag at her new husband in order to do so. ‘My lord shall never rest, I’ll watch him tame and talk him out of patience; his bed shall seem a school’ portraying not only her true and honest friendship with Cassio but also her total belief in the love Othello has for her as she has complete trust in their relationship and is willing to put herself between Cassio and Othello to see them both happy.
In Shakespeare’s Othello the male dominated, patriarchal society of the Jacobean era is clearly depicted in the male characters interaction and domination of Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca. According to the feminist school Desdemona is bullied into submission by the male characters continuously throughout the short period of her life. She is seen by man of the males as a possession, as belonging to them as if some kind of trinket. This is alluded to in Act one scene one when Iago shouts to Brabantio about Desdemona’s elopement with Othello ‘Look to your house, your daughter and your bags! Thieves, thieves!’ and also when Brabantio shouts at Othello ‘O thou foul thief! Where hast thou stowed my daughter?’ This demonstrates the way in which in the Jacobean era women were seen as property throughout their lives; their father’s before they were married and their husbands after. When we look at these quotations at word level we can immediately see the connotations of possession in the verbs such as ‘stowed’. Shakespeare does this purposely so the audience will subconsciously think of treasure and possessions. However it is not just her father who views Desdemona as a piece of property. When Desdemona arrives in Cyprus Cassio idealises her to the men ‘The riches of the ship is come on shore!’ Although he is alluding to Desdemona’s beauty we can still see the undertones of a male dominated society where women were just possessions to be thrown around in any way deemed useful.
Throughout Othello many allusions are made to the innocence and purity of Desdemona. In the beginning of the play where Iago tells Brabantio of Desdemona’s elopement he uses phrases such as ‘white ewe’. Through the use of the colour white the audience immediately links Desdemona to that which we associate that colour, goodness, purity and innocence. In Iago’s conversation with Brabantio we are also shown the juxtaposition of Desdemona and Othello who is referred to as a ‘black ram.’ Another speech in which this is particularly obvious is in Act two scene one when Desdemona arrives safely in Cyprus. ‘You men of Cyprus let her have your knees. Hail to thee lady! And the grace of heaven before, behind thee, and on every hand, Enwheel around thee.’ Here Shakespeare is using Cassio’s absolute adoration of Desdemona to get across the ideal of her being pure and divine through his allusion to the heavens and God. There are many allusions to heaven and hell throughout the play mainly to depict the absolute contrast between Desdemona and Iago. During most of Iago’s soliloquies he makes reference to something hellish. ‘When devils will the blackest sin put on, they do suggest at first with heavenly shows As I do now,’ Through theses allusions to evil we are shown Iago is the epitome of evil which we are shown in the way his determined to exploit Desdemona’s goodness in his evil plot of revenge against her husband.
Many critics believe that any inconsistencies in Desdemona’s character are perfectly forgivable as everything she does is for the love of her husband. Throughout Shakespeare’s Othello we are shown time and time again the love the couple shares. The love between Desdemona and Othello is most evident in Act two scene one, at the high point of the play for Othello, when they are reunited after their separate journey to Cyprus. ‘My dear Othello... the heavens forbid but that our love and comforts should increase, even as our days do grow.’ It is unusual for Shakespearean plays to have many stage directions but here Shakespeare clearly states ‘they kiss’ connoting the importance Shakespeare placed on their public declaration of the relationship between Desdemona and Othello and emphasising the love between them as in the Jacobean era the love between a man and his wife was considered to be a private affair.
Many recent critics see Desdemona as almost a goddess, like the purely innocent victim of the rage and jealousy of men and therefore depicting the misogynistic society of the time. She is used and manipulated cruelly by Iago for no other reason than his jealousy of her husband’s friendship with another. Some critics believe the fact that Shakespeare chose smothering as the method of Desdemona’s death was depicting his knowledge of how the male dominated society of Jacobean England was smothering the educated daring women allowing them no way out of their predicaments. If this is true then it is possible that Shakespeare wanted to see a change in the patriarchal society and wanted women to have a larger role to play then just mother and wife.
The innocence of Desdemona’s character is depicted throughout the play in the contrasts between her and Emilia. In Emilia we see a self assured, intelligent woman who has seen the evil in the world through her complex and abusive relationship with her husband Iago. Emilia is worldly and experienced and understands the inequality in the society and unlike Desdemona can see the evil in the world around her clearly. We see the difference in the two women most clearly in their conversation about adultery in Act four scene three. ‘In troth, I think I should, and undo’t when I had done it.’ Desdemona’s obvious shock at Emilia’s open confession that she would commit the crime of adultery clearly depicts her innocence and her absolute devotion to Othello in the way she could never imagine how anyone would want to commit adultery therefore connoting Shakespeare’s juxtaposition of the two characters.
In conclusion Shakespeare’s Desdemona id a complicated character who throughout the play is used ashamedly by those who are supposed to love her. Through her innocence and devotion to Othello and refusing to see the evil in the world o r those around her Desdemona does in a way bring about her death. However does that make her in any way to blame? To me no, Desdemona is bullied cruelly throughout her short life by those men she held in highest regard. First by her father in his possessiveness and eventual rejection of her love, later by Iago, a man she perceives to be her friend, in his sickening plot for revenge and finally and most disgustingly by her own husband who refuses to believe her pleas of innocence and silences her forever in death. To me Shakespeare’s Desdemona is a victim of her inability to see the evil and possessive side of humanity.
Word count: 1733
Bibliography:
New Cambridge Shakespeare, Othello – edited by Norman Sanders
York notes advanced, Othello
Learn premium Othello notes
English review – Loving not too wisely but too well – Patsy Hall
