But for most of us, seeing a woman that does everything her husband commands of her is quite disturbing. If not her innocence, is it her obidience that she shows to Othello? Sure, if you are into that type of thing. No, I do not think that Desdemona’s innocence is what captures our attention. Keep in mind that Desdemona was not so innocent when she went behind her father’s back and eloped with Othello. True she may be seen as a soft spoken woman, and even through her claims of being christian and being naive to many of the sins that husbands and wifes committ in unhappy marriages, she is not altogether innocent. Walen, the undressing itself symbolizes Desdemona’s vulnerability and innocence. Remember the scene in which Emilia prepares her for bed? Well, according to Denise A. Is it because she portays innocence? Just take a look at some of her actions in the play. Now that we know of the roles Desdemona plays, we can now explore the characteristics of this wonderful character to find what it is that captivates us even today. So much so, that Othello in the end takes his own life. He had killed the one woman that truly loved him, and the pain of his actions become too unbearable for Othello. He now knows that he had been manipulated by Iago all along. The other part, in my opinion, is the guilt that Othello feels after he finds out the truth.
It is this last role, through her confessions of love and begging for her life to have it cruely taken away is what partly makes this play such a tragedy. Othello is so enraged in Act 5 scene 2, that even though Desdemona confesses her loyalty to him, he strangles her. Desdemona’s final role in this play is that of a murder victim. Othello mocks poor Desdemona every chance he gets, and in Act 4 scene 1 (page 189), Othello strikes Desdemona during a public display.
Due to his ever growing jealousy and anger from being manipulated by Iago, Othello begins to accuse Desdemona of being unfaithful. Unfortunately, this act leads to Desdemona’s role as a victim of abuse at the hands of the man she loves, Othello. Desdemona agrees to help Cassio and tries to smooth things over between Othello and Cassio. Cassio seeks Desdemona’s help in regaining his position. In Act 2 scene 3, Othello takes away Cassio’s rank as lieutenant due to a drunken brawl, which is actually schemed by Iago. Desdemona’s next role is acted out as a peace keeper of sorts. She married Othello because she loved him, not because she was ordered to do so. Desdemona acted on her own will and desires of becoming Othello’s wife. I, however, have to disagree with Hazlitt. In fact, according to English author and critic William Hazlitt, “Her whole character consists in having no will of her own, no prompter but her obedience.” (Kahn May 2008). In this role, Desdemona seems to live her life only for the will of her husband. She is very much in love with Othello, and over the course of the play, shows that she is very loyal and obedient to her new husband. In this role she shows her very passionate side. Which now leads us to her second role, being that of Othello’s wife. Brabantio is of course quite upset over this marriage, but after hearing from Othello and his vows of love for Desdemona as well as her passionate speech about her love and loyalty to her new husband, Brabantio relunctantly gives his daughter over to Othello. However, it seems that at this point in the play (Act 1, scene 1), Desdemona is a bit rebellious in that she secretly goes behind her father’s back and elopes with Othello. Being so young, beautiful and virtuous, Desdemona has many suitors in which her father approves of. Her first role in this play is that of being the Venetian daughter of senator Brabantio.
Most people would think that the first role that Desdemona plays is of course being that of Othello’s wife, right? Wrong. The first thing I would like to discuss is the roles that Desdemona plays in Shakespeare’s Othello. What is it about Shakespeare’s character Desdemona that makes the play Othello such a tragedy? Is it that she is the vision of innocence that captures our attention and our emotions? Or is it the role that she plays that draws us in? Or could it be that she is just the type of character that most men are attracted to when searching for a wife? In this article, I will explore these questions and give what I believe to be the reasons why Desdemona is so captivating to even today’s audiences.
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