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A section of my 'Othello character profiles' document, however this contains the character profile for Desdemona only.
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THE CHARACTER OF DESDEMONAKEY CHARACTERISTICS OF DESDEMONA
The ingenue:
• A prominent quality of Desdemona’s characterisation is her innocence and virtue. Shakespeare
highlights her kindness, loyalty, and sel essness, portraying her as the perfect ‘maiden’. At the
same time, he implies that her innocence exists largely in the perceptions of others: Brabantio
calls her ‘a maiden never bold’ (A1S3), Cassio; ‘a maid that paragons all description’ (A2S1),
and Othello describes her as an ‘excellent wretch’ (A3S3).
The mediator:
• This skill is demonstrated in her rst appearance on stage, as she appeals to her father, ‘I do
perceive here a divided duty’ (A1S3). Similarly, she appeals for Cassio’s case, telling him, ‘Thy
solicitor shall rather die than give thy cause away,' (A3S3).
• Shakespeare portrays her extreme altruism, sacri cing herself for the needs of others; this
reaches its crux as Desdemona is killed, in part, for her perseverance in representing Cassio.
The female protagonist:
• In her opening address, she openly de es her father: ‘I challenge that I may profess due to the
Moor my lord’ (A1S3). She ghts for her right to accompany Othello to Cyprus, revealing her
bravery and erce commitment.
• Her presence on stage is bookended with another de ant act, as she maintains her innocence
in the face of Othello’s lies and fury: ‘That death’s unnatural that kills for loving a guiltless death I
die’ (A5S2).
The doting wife:
• She explains to the Senate, ‘My heart’s subdued even to the very quality of my lord. To his
honours and his valiant parts did I my soul and fortunes consecrate’ (A1S3), meaning their lives
are linked forever.
• With religious imagery that evokes the wedding ceremony, Shakespeare shows her commitment
herself entirely to her husband.
The martyr:
• The ironic truth of her faithfulness turns her death into a call to arms for women; Othello
discovers her innocence when it is too late, exposing the aws in his judgement and in
patriarchal society as a whole: ‘this look of thine will hurl my soul from heaven’ (A5S2). In death,
Desdemona becomes a saint: ‘heavenly true’ (A5S2).
RELATIONSHIPS
Othello:
• When the play begins, Othello and Desdemona have eloped, unbeknownst to her father. They
fell in love during Othello’s visits to her house to speak with her father, as Othello entertained
Desdemona with tales of his life in foreign lands. While others disapprove of their union because
of Othello’s race and outsider status, it is one of the reasons Desdemona loves him.
• Othello’s love for Desdemona is usurped by his paranoia; all traces of his previous trust in her
are gone. His wife becomes a source of fury and humiliation for him, and he reduces their
marriage to the traditional dynamic of a man ghting for authority over his wife.
Emilia:
• Parallels are drawn between the two women’s marriages; their husbands, by the end of the play,
are driven by sexual jealousy and anger.
• Therefore, her unhappy marriage juxtaposes with Desdemona’s blissful union in the opening
acts, while acting as a prophecy for how Othello and Desdemona’s marriage will sour by the
play’s end.
• This is re ected in how Emilia’s grounded realism and cynicism contrasts with Desdemona’s
youthful, naive optimism. She acts as Desdemona’s counsel and guide, exposing her to the
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, harsh reality of marriage in a patriarchal society. Moreover, she purposefully de es tradition in
her views towards adultery, whereas Desdemona swears loyalty to her husband.
• The women pledge allegiance to each other over their husbands, and lay next to each other in
death. This shows the power of female solidarity. All of this means that the sororal bond
between Desdemona and Emilia is likely the truest, most honest relationship out of all those in
the play. Their conversations lack the mind games and ulterior motives of other exchanges.
• The only deceit comes when Emilia steals the handkerchief for Iago. She does this under the
in uence of her husband: it is his suggestion, and it is her duty to honour him. Therefore, one
can argue that the only treachery in their relationship is man-made. Shakespeare argues that
female solidarity is threatened only by external, male in uence, which taints the purity and love
of female friendship.
Brabantio:
• Just as the misogynistic custom of female ownership demeans the familial bond between these
two characters, Shakespeare implies that Brabantio loves an idealised version of his daughter,
rather than Desdemona herself.
• The ideals of a ‘pure maiden’ and an ‘obedient daughter’ create a barrier between them.
Brabantio dies of a broken heart as a result of Desdemona’s betrayal, but he may be mourning
the authority he has lost more than his daughter.
Iago:
• Iago’s false bond with Desdemona is perhaps the most tragic of the play. He pretends to be her
friend, even comforting her when Othello loses his temper with her. He impersonates a close ally
even while he plots her death, luring her into the path of Othello’s fury.
Cassio:
• Cassio and Desdemona’s relationship demonstrates her willingness to put others before herself;
she carries his burden with her and, in the end, sacri ces herself fully for him.
KEY THEMES
Love and marriage:
• In Desdemona, we see love to be something fearless, unyielding, and unapologetic. She
declares to the Senate, ‘That I did love the Moor to live with him, my downright violence and
storm of fortunes may trumpet to the world’ (A1S3), showing her refusal to back down.
• Subverting the customs of her time, she has chosen Othello to be her husband and demands
that her decision is respected. The argument that women have a right to choose their husbands
is typical of Shakespeare’s plays.
• The imagery in ‘downright violence’ and ‘storm of fortunes’ connote warfare and are typically
masculine, conveying the power of her love; the imagery also alludes to Othello’s heroism,
which she loves him for.
• Shakespeare presents marriage as perfect harmony between two people: Desdemona explains,
‘My heart’s subdued even to the very quality of my lord’ (A1S3), a metaphor that conveys solace
and union, even to the point of complete loss of the Self. The lines between Othello and
Desdemona have blurred, ful lling love’s goal to transcend all barriers.
Loyalty and devotion to men:
• Shakespeare explores the con icting loyalties women were expected to honour in society.
Addressing her father, Desdemona says, ‘I do perceive here a divided duty: to you I am bound
for life and education; you are lord of all my duty; but here’s my husband’ (A1S3).
• The duality of a ‘divided duty’ implies she is under immense pressure to please both parties;
also, it challenges the idea that marriage was a transaction between father and husband, as
Desdemona maintains she still feels a duty to her father. She is the one deciding who she will
serve.
• This ideal of female self-sacri ce extends beyond the husband. Desdemona comforts Cassio,
telling him, ‘Thy solicitor shall rather die than give thy cause away’ (A3S3), showing how women
had to serve all men above themselves. Desdemona sacri ces herself not just for her own love,
but for Cassio’s ‘cause’.
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