Preview

The Catalyst Of Desdemona In Shakespeare's Othello

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
294 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Catalyst Of Desdemona In Shakespeare's Othello
Hey Brenda, you appear correct in the assumption that Desdemona blamed herself for her murder (B. Bunch, personal communication, August 23, 2017). Moreover, Desdemona’s actions before her death speak to her love for Othello even his jealous state. For instance, consider the phrase, “My love doth so approve him[.] That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns-… unpin me-have grace and favor in them.” (Shakespeare, 2014, 4.3.20-22). However, the question remains would he have changed his mind, if she had separated herself from him for a while?

Secondly, the reference to her lie about the handkerchief being a catalyst of Desdemona undoing herself is interesting (B. Bunch, personal communication, August 23, 2017). Moreover, this ties in with

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Citizens of Venice, we are gathered here today to honor and remember Othello and Desdemona who even in death are still bound by their love that is everlasting. Othello, how can words even describe him. He was a valiant moor and an honorable general who fought and did everything in his power to protect Venice against the Ottomans. Oh how he loved Desdemona who loved him despite the color of his skin. I remember him telling me about how she used to listen to the stories of his life and his struggles. He loved her because of her ever radiant skin and beauty. There love is what led to his demise. I am so honored to of had been Othello’s Lieutenant and fought with him in battle. Othello was my best friend and my role model. He taught me everything…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Iago was very devil he lied to Othello so Othello’s' could leave his wife Desdemona. Othello tells Desdemona that she cheated, but she didn't.all that happened because of othello’s lies . his lies were kind powerful and believable. Othello was wise, but iago tried to make him look stupid by making lies about his wife Desdemona. Iago tried every kind trick to make Othello give divorce to his wife, but what Othello did was more than divorce which leaded Iago to a bad ending. Iago brought big conflict between Othello and…

    • 92 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Who Is Roderigo In Act 1

    • 1835 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Othello argues that he did not force Desdemona into marriage but rather married her out of their shared love. The Duke sends for Desdemona to confirm his account, while Othello says she fell in love with him after hearing his life story – a story filled with redemption, adventure, and danger. The Duke sides with Othello, especially after hearing Desdemona confirm Othello’s claims and say she owes the loyalty of marriage to him. Desdemona’s father accepts. The Duke decides to send Othello to Cyprus in light of the impending attack, because of his knowledge of the area.…

    • 1835 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Doomed from the start or unlucky beyond belief is what the name Desdemona means. If the readers looked this up, then this would be a hint as to what happens at the end of the play. Othello is a story that is filled with scandal and betrayal. Most of these topics are passed around each character, but they stand out between Desdemona and her new husband Othello. Othello and Desdemona are partly at fault for their failed marriage, but Iago is the main reason that their marriage ended.…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Desdemona after leaving her father to be with Othello and accompanying Othello on his voyage to Cyprus has had a similar motivation throughout the piece. Desdemona has wanted to prove that she is a good wife to Othello. By Act three Scene three Desdemona has noticed something is not quite right with Othello. However, she believes that it is just because of what is happening in Cyprus and because he has just been forced to fire his lieutenant for the time being. Desdemona wants to make Othello happy again and she believes by him making Cassio his lieutenant again he won’t be as stressed. Othello approaches Desdemona several times hinting at the “affair…

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    While Othello was manipulated into murdering Desdemona, he was the one that had the physical choice. Iago constantly agreed with Othello, saying that Othello should kill Desdemona. This influenced Othello’s decision, but it was ultimately Othello that chose why he should or shouldn’t kill Desdemona. His choice was based off of his own reputation. He loved Desdemona, but after one rumor he decided to murder her because of what others would think. He believes “she must die, else she’ll betray more men” [V, ii, 6] and he later admits that he is “almost persuade[d] justice to break her sword”…

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Othello believe that if he can’t have her no one can and that her death is for the better. The repercussions for his actions are that he loses what he treasured the most. He later admits that, “(he) threw away a pearl richer that all this tribe” (5.2.343-344). He loses all of his honor and dignity as he is replaced by the man he thought his wife loved over him and called a murderer. What he feared most has now gotten the best of his character. He was afraid about how people would see him the whole time that is why he was so anxious about Desdemona cheating because he didn’t want to look like a fool who was unloved. In actuality he brought on his fear upon…

    • 1335 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Othello’s path to obsession begins with Iago planting seeds of doubt into his mind, which convinces Othello that Desdemona is being unfaithful. He says to himself, “She is gone. I am abused, and my relief/Must be to loathe her” (3.3.283-84), and later claims that he “will withdraw/To furnish [him] with some swift means of death/For [Desdemona]” (3.3.492-94). These lines reveal that although there has not been any solid proof, Othello’s mind is already constantly occupied by the mere possibility of Desdemona being unfaithful to him. His obsession finally becomes clear when he says “In the due reverence of a sacred vow/I here engage my words,” (3.3.470-71). This line reveals that he is set on getting revenge for being betrayed and thus, has become a goal. It is his goal to get revenge so even when Desdemona after insists that she has done nothing wrong, Othello tells her to “confess thee freely of thy sin” (5.2.61) and that even if she denies it all, it will not change his mind, as he makes clear by telling her “Thou art to die” (5.2.65). Othello’s refusal to listen to Desdemona is what leads to his failure, for it was his goal to kill her no matter what she said and only after she is dead does he learn that she was actually innocent.…

    • 995 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Desdemona influences Othello’s life because she keeps him calm. She was a young, beautiful woman that fell in love with a black forty year old man 1.2.66, 2.3.18. He was amazed by her; someone that pretty had loved someone as ugly and old as he. He had so much love for her and respected her so much that he done everything she asked of him. He placed her on a pedestal higher than himself.…

    • 361 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Desdemona blames herself for her death to remain faithful and loyal to Othello. Desdemona takes the blame because she wants to protect him from suffering consequences of death. Although Othello has been treating Desdemona poorly, she requests Emilia to give Othello her love because she wants Othello to know how much she loves him. As she was dying, she calls her husband "Kind Lord"(Shakespeare 5.2.139) to Emilia. Desdemona calls Othello kind, as a result of her being a loyal wife. The love of Desdemona is faithful to Othello because she sees Othello for the man he was before his behaviour change. Desdemona also didn't regret meeting Othello. Instead, she admits the fact that she made her husband upset despite her unknowing what she has done…

    • 150 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    By stating that Desdemona “loved me [him] for the dangers I [he] had passed” and that he “loved her that she did pity them” corroborates Carol McGinnis Kay’s argument that the basis for Othello’s and Desdemona’s love “is the grand romantic picture of Othello that they both admire and pity” (265). Hence, Othello’s “love” for his wife derives from “the image of Othello that Desdemona reflects to him” (265), which is, I would argue, even more explicitly indicated by Shakespeare when he has Othello proclaim to Desdemona that he “does love thee [her]”, and “when I [he] love[s] thee not, chaos is come again” (1314). Although I would insist on approaching those hypothetical nature of the roots of the couple’s relationship with a non-absolutist attitude, considering the limited access the audience has to the two characters either in the form of revealing asides or an adequacy of mutual interaction in any of the acts, I concur with Kay’s point, in that Othello’s love for Desdemona is rather self-oriented, a mirror of his own desirable self-concept as a romantic warrior, contrary to Mose Durst’s rather simplistic perception of “Othello’s love for Desdemona”, namely as having “given his life its most profound meaning” merely…

    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Shakespeare ’s play Othello, Iago’s words and actions cause Othello to change and to stop loving Desdemona; as a result, Othello and the people around him plunge into chaos. After much manipulation from Iago, Othello, like a coin, flips sides and hates Desdemona. When Desdemona leaves with Emilia, Othello says that “when I love thee [Desdemona] not, / Chaos is come again” (3.3.91-92). This clearly shows that Othello is in love with Desdemona and has no doubt in her faithfulness. Little does Othello…

    • 562 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Desdemona had plenty of evidence that she was chaste and loved Othello, he was just too mad to see it. Their marriage was unfortunate to be doubted from the start which added extra pressure but if Othello truly loved his wife, they could have worked through it all. Iago really played the villain here as he sought revenge Othello and drove him crazy. Othello soon realizes how ignorant he was to have accused his beautiful bride of adultery when he had already smothered her to death and decided to take his own life as…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Desdemona is responsible for her own death, because she was cuckolding her husband, who found out and killed her. If Desdemona was loyal to her husband and was not seeing another man when Othello’s back was turned, he would have never killed her. She provoked and disrespected her husband who would bend over backwards for her. Desdemona’s death was justified one hundred percent in the play “Othello” by William…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Desdemona is probably the strongest willed character in the play, although she is a woman. Shakespeare takes no shame in making her this, considering the time this was written in. We first see her, defending her recent marriage surrounded by powerful men, whom of which include the duke, her husband, and her father, but shes is not ashamed to assert her belief in the validity of her desires and actions. Desdemona's forthrightness is her demise, because the brilliant Iago recognizes this and uses it against her. Using Cassio who becomes demoted in the play, Iago exploits her willingness to demand and justice, to make him her cause and simultaneously, Othello's enemy. As Iago's plan goes as planned, Desdemona asks Othello to forgive Cassio adding to Othello's suspicions created by his deceitful friend. She keeps pushing him in spite of her husbands growing rage until he declares, The handkerchief that Othello gave his wife at the beginning of the play, is stolen. Her courage is apparent in her refusal to search for it in Act III, scene iv; her willingness to have a voice and shout back at Othello as he abuses her in Act IV, scene i; and defending her innocence when accused Act V, scene ii. Since men have the ultimate power of women. Othello does not believe in, what he takes to be 'shameless lies'. Her courage convinces him all the more that she is remorseless in what he thinks to be her wrongdoing.…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays