How far would you agree that Desdemona is established as a tragic victim in Act 4 scene 3?

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Olivia Clinton

How far would you agree that Desdemona is established as a tragic victim in Act 4 scene 3?

In 4.3 Desdemona is sent to bed by Othello with the instructions to dismiss Emilia and wait for his arrival. Desdemona is depicted by Shakespeare as both passive by being naive and also strong minded by being able to go against her father and make her own decisions.  There is no doubt that Desdemona is a victim in ‘Othello’, but whether she is a tragic victim is a matter of contention.

In the scene, the brief appearance of Lodovico presents Desdemona with the type of man that she could have been happy and content with, and not endured the hardships she has suffered with Othello. Emilia and Desdemona have an age-old gossip about the “very handsome man”[1] and Emilia knows “a lady in Venice that would have walked barefoot to Palestine// for a touch of his nether lip.”[2] This suggests that a woman would do anything for this man. Because she specifies “lady” the woman could be a lady of high status. It also highlights that Desdemona is almost a fool for disregarding Lodovico and marrying an ‘improper’ man; a black moor, Othello. Because of her family’s high status in Venice, she could have easily been suited with Lodovico. Because Desdemona is confident enough to question and contradict situations, she is very aware of it. Shakespeare has made the ladies conversation about Lodovico light-hearted and carefree, a way in which they never speak about Othello, perhaps proving that Lodovico is the better man for Desdemona. The fact that Desdemona could have had a completely different life (and death) if she married Lodovico, shows that she is a victim of her love for Othello. However, because she is aware that Othello is not her most suitable match, it could be argued that she was willing to take the risk of a potential unstable partner and is fatuous for doing so.  This could contradict the idea that ‘Othello’ is a tragedy as it implies that Othello is not a protagonist as there are many people of higher status than himself.

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Desdemona is in utter denial to the accusation of being a “whore”. She is so outraged that a woman could “abuse their husbands//In such a gross kind”[3] in respect to adultery. It is “gross” because Desdemona believes that no woman could do such a thing, it repulses her to even think of it. However, it does prove that she has been bought up in a privileged background where such sins would never reach her knowledge. This is why earlier in the play; she wants Othello to reinstate Cassio as lieutenant as she sees no harm in using “All my abilities”[4] to convince ...

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