Desdemona Flashcards
‘I am hitherto your daughter but here’s my husband’ Theme
Marriage
‘I am hitherto your daughter but here’s my husband’ Meaning
Prevalence of deeply patriarchal power that women internalise seeing themselves as products of ownership.
‘Nobody I myself farewell’ Theme
Marriage
‘Nobody I myself farewell’ Meaning
Due to Othello’s abuse and mistreatment in their marriage she looses her assertiveness and identity.
Claude Levi Straus
‘Patriarchal society treats women as objects to be transferred from one dominant male to another’’
‘Moth of peace’ Theme
Naivety
‘Moth of peace’ Meaning
Metaphor used to describe her loss without Othello, unaware she’s disturbing his peace.
‘I saw Othello’s visage in my mind’ Theme
Love
‘I saw Othello’s visage in my mind’ Meaning
She fights for Othello and their marriage asserting her love for him.
‘His unkindness may defeat my life but never taint my love’ Theme
Loyalty
‘His unkindness may defeat my life but never taint my love’ Meaning
Despite the mistreatment Desdemona experiences she states she will always love him.
‘Thy solicitor rather die than give thy away’ Theme
Loyalty
‘Thy solicitor rather die than give thy away’ Meaning
Sacrifice Cassio before herself Serve men before herself. Situational Irony.
‘House, your daughters, your bags’ Theme
possession
‘House, your daughters, your bags’ Meaning
Listed among possessions
‘Loved me for the dangers I had passed’ Theme
Worship
‘Loved me for the dangers I had passed’ Meaning
Suggests she fell in love with his war stories rather than him.
‘The rites for which I love him are befret me’ Theme
Proximity and distance
‘The rites for which I love him are befret me’ Meaning
Attachment has to follow him to Cyprus
What does French say about Desdemona?
‘Desdemona accepts her culture dictum that she must be obedient to males’
What does Smith say about Desdemona?
‘Desdemona’s character turns from a spirited eloquent into a passive object’
