Essay On Desdemona Character Analysis In Othello By Shakespeare

📌Category: Othello, William Shakespeare, Writers
📌Words: 1269
📌Pages: 5
📌Published: 02 April 2022

The sweet Desdemona, forever loyal to Othello. In the play "Othello", written by William Shakespeare, the experiences of Desdemona were crucial in helping me make comments on society, as we are able to see the mistreatment of women during the Elizabethan era. This essay will analyse how the tragic experiences of Desdemona allow us to gain a deeper insight into the sexist "rules" and expectations of women formed by society.

Desdemona’s experiences of betrayal by Othello helped me understand her character in greater depth. In "Othello", Desdemona's character was always viewed as innocent and pure. One who wouldn’t dare do anything against the words of a man. Before Desdemona was able to come forwards about her marriage to the black general, Othello, Iago had told her father, Brabantio, that "An old black ram is having sex with your little white lamb". Not only did Iago use animal imagery to compare Desdemona to an animal, he also used light and dark imagery to symbolise the purity of Desdemona. Not only was Brabantio infuriated, he was shocked to think that his "pure" daughter would do such a thing as marry someone like Othello. This was not the only time Desdemona was referred to as such, as she constantly faced the words of others describing her in ways such as gentle, loving, pure, etc. Although she had been viewed in such a way, even during her marriage with Othello, a quote by Othello read, "I love the gentle desdemona". Desdemona always conformed to sexist stereotypes of women; she continued to love and treat Othello as her brave husband and was always inferior to him and other characters, only abiding by the rules of society. Her love for Othello ended up betraying her as Iago plotted a plan to use Desdemona to get back at Othello through jealousy. Desdemona’s character, being the defenceless character she is, was taken for granted. Iago convinced Othello that the sweet Desdemona, who she once was, had grown sick of him and cheated. Iago had Othello wrapped around his finger following the arrival of this news. When Othello grew overly jealous and faced Desdemona about the situation, he not only used crude language such as "whore" multiple times to address her, but also degraded her, making her extremely inferior to him by saying things such as, "Was this fair paper, this most goodly book, Made to write "whore" upon? What committed?" Despite Desdemona being his loving wife, It is very evident that the characters in the play view Desdemona in a very sexist sense, which may have been the case in the Elizabethan era itself. In the end, Iago was able to use Desdemona as he knew that she wasn’t capable of defending herself, whilst Othello was manipulated to make assumptions about his own wife. This was because Desdemona was constantly held to the expectations of women by men and society, which we were able to observe throughout the entire play. In today's society, the experiences that Desdemona faced in "Othello" back in the Elizabethan era are still prevalent today and women still face these stereotypes on a daily basis, despite it being centuries later. As women, we are still considered to keep our thoughts to ourselves, to be inferior when in the presence of a man, and are constantly referred to in very degrading ways if we were to act against the "rules" of society.

The experiences of Desdemona's character in the play helped me make comments on society during the Elizabethan era. Following the experiences of Desdemona, both the characters of Emilia and Desdemona were able to show contrasting views on women in society. After Desdemona had been accused by Othello of adultery, she shared her views on women, whilst Emilia also shared hers in response to the accusations made. When Othello first questioned who the "new" Desdemona was after she had supposedly cheated, Desdemona did nothing but answer with "Your wife, my lord. Your true and loyal wife." Even after having been accused of such an act, Desdemona, rather than referring to herself as a woman who would not dare do such a thing, reassured Othello that she hadn't committed adultery by referring to herself as his loving wife. Her answer to Othello helped us understand that in the Elizabethan era, like Desdemona, many women tended to degrade themselves to be inferior to those of men. After having been accused by Othello, Desdemona asks Emilia, "That there be women do abuse their husbands, In such gross kind?", which she then follows with, "Wouldst thou do such a deed for all the world?" Desdemona, being the character she is, is astounded that there would be women in the world who would dare go against their loyalty to their husbands by committing such a repulsive act. From the use of these questions, we are able to see the true beliefs of Desdemona, and how in the Elizabethan era, it would be rather rare for a woman to do such a thing, despite the fact that men committing adultery isn’t an uncommon sight. So much so that Desdemona was in disbelief that Othello had accused her of doing so. Emilia replies to Desdemona with, "Why, we have galls, and though we have some grace, Yet have we some revenge." In contrast to Desdemona's views on women in society, Emilia considers not only the loyalty of wives and women, but also their feelings, something Desdemona had not taken into consideration. Emilia’s viewpoint was definitely ahead of her time; rather than subsiding to the societal views on women, she shared her true views against the norm. She then goes on to say, "Their wives have sense like them. They see and smell And have their palates both for sweet and sour, As husbands have." Emilia believes that women too have feelings that are just as valid as those of men. However, after listening to Emilia’s opinions on the rights of a woman’s feelings, Desdemona is still in disbelief that there could be women who cheat and are unloyal to their husbands. Staying true to her beliefs until the end, Desdemona murmurs her last words, "Nobody. I myself. Farewell. Commend me to my kind lord. Oh, farewell!" Even up until her last moments, Desdemona remains faithful to her husband by blaming herself for the accusations made against her, leading to her death. From this entire experience of how Desdemona had been treated throughout the play, as well as how she was accused of cheating on Othello, we were able to catch a glimpse of her inner thoughts on women as well as the societal expectations of women back in the Elizabethan era. Desdemona believes that the role of a woman is solely to be loyal and obey men, especially her husband. This was predominantly shown throughout the play, as Desdemona was always treated as inferior to other characters who were men.

To conclude, through the experiences that Desdemona faced in the play "Othello," written by William Shakespeare, I was able to come to conclusions that allowed me to make comments on society back in the Elizabethan era. Desdemona’s unfortunate death had been caused by the jealousy of her very own husband, towards whom she gave nothing but love. This, however, was one of her many flaws. Desdemona was blinded from seeing how she had been used in a cynical plan against Othello in which she had been framed for cheating because she had devoted everything to her husband. Despite her being wrongfully accused, Desdemona still took the blame for the motives of Othello's actions. From all of Desdemona's experiences, I was able to see that Desdemona’s character was terribly flawed, which could have been influenced by the norms of society back in the Elizabethan era. It is safe to assume that women in the Elizabethan era were consistently held to the expectations of being obedient and conforming to the views of others, especially men, without being able to have a voice for themselves. Though times have changed and we are now in the 21st century, women in today’s society are still faced with sexist expectations on a daily basis. However, we will no longer stay silent and fight every day to make a change and have a voice.

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