Desdemona Flashcards
“I do ________ here a ______ duty” (1.3)
theme: patriarchy, love, selflessness
devices: alliteration, noun “duty”
- Othello has told the story of hiow Desdemona fell for him, and promised other characters that if they ask Desdemona, she will confirm that she loves him and married him willingly.
- The fact that Desdemona is questioned about her “duty” reveals that, in the world of the play, women are not considered as people, but only ever exist in relation to men – first their fathers and brothers, and then their husbands. Indeed, one reason why Desdemona and Othello’s marriage is considered so scandalous is because Desdemona has willingly chosen to marry a man her father did not choose for her.
int 2: Desdemona unfailingly performs submissive, dutiful role expected of women, as is evidenced In this quote. When asked about her marriage to Othello, Desdemona speaks of a “divided duty” between her husband and father, ignoring her own feelings
AO4: the idea of patriarchy is common in Shakespeare playwrights. For example, Juliet’s defiance against her father Lord Capulet leads him to call her a ‘young baggage’
AO5: defies her passive voice by standing up for justice
“Oh _____ ignorance! Thou praiest the _____ best.” (2.1)
themes: appearance vs reality, womanhood and sexuality
devices:
int 1: Desdemona + Iago have arrived in Cyprus, and while they wait for Othello’s ship to join they engage in flirtatious conversation. Iago has entertained Desdemona by telling her about “foul and foolish” women; she laughingly accuses him of “heavy ignorance” for praising such qualities.
int 2: This exchange could confirm her sweet and earnest nature, as she rebukes Iago for praising negative characteristics
alt 1: the decidedly flirtatious element of their conversation suggests that she isn’t morally innocent
alt 2: she might be fulfilling expectation that women should always behave in pleasant, agreeable manner, rather than expressing strong opinions. Such ambiguity highlights difficulty of adhering to strict, complex, and in some ways contradictory code of behaviour demanded of women.
int 2: fact that Desdemona is at least mildly flirting with Iago lends a hint of plausibility to Othello’s paranoia about her possible infidelity. A further layer of tension emerges from her accusation towards Iago “thou praiest the worst best”. Although she is referring to Iago’s banter, she has unknowingly made an accurate judgement of Iago’s fundamental personality. Iago is a Machiavellian who indeed values worst qualities (selfishness, duplicity, ruthlessness) – over moral attributes like fairness and honesty.
int 3: the fact that Iago can jokingly present himself this way without Desdemona catching on to his falsehood, demonstrates both her trusting innocence and Iago’s deceptive charisma.
AO4: Similar to Romeo and Juliet; both plays are arguably domestic tragedies. Circumstances are to blame for deaths in play, not individual people. Morality of murder and suicide.
AO5: Marilyn French: Desdemona accepts that because of society “she must be obedient to males”
- All women are destroyed by Iago
- another 20th century feminist Lisa Jardine would say: Desdemona is being punished for being “too-knowing” and “too-independent”
Upon my ___, what doth your speech ______? I understand a fury in your words
But not the words.”
(4.2)
Page Number: 4.2.37-39
Explanation and Analysis
Othello has interrogated Emilia about Desdemona and Cassio, but Emilia insisted that there is nothing between inappropriate about their relationship. Unsatisfied, Othello has dismissed Emilia and summoned Desdemona. Noticing her husband’s emotional state, Desdemona kneels before him and asks what’s wrong, saying she hears from his tone that he is angry but doesn’t understand why. Desdemona’s words here convey her total innocence, and emphasize that despite her husband’s irrational behavior she remains completely loyal and devoted to him. The fact that she kneels before him demonstrates how willing she is to play the role of a submissive and subservient wife, and highlights her honesty and vulnerability. Her enduring deference to Othello (which remains even after she knows he will murder her) makes her death at his hands even more tragic.
“th’essential vesture of creation,” (2.1)
“she is indeed perfection” (2.3)
“excels the quirks of blazoning pens,” (2.1)
themes: adoration, honesty, loyalty, respect, honour and manhood, womanhood and sexuality
AO2: the metaphor describing that Desdemona would exhaust whoever tried to do her justice while praising her. Terms of endearment
AO2: specifically, the noun “vesture” describes an item of clothing; a dress. While Cassio is complementing her, he seems to be fixated on the material quality of her - male stereotype of a woman. This could easily be misjudged as romanitc adoration and desire.
AO2: Here Cassio describes Desdemona as “essential”, which will later be a foreshadowing in his own tragic downfall, but also the fact that she is “essential” for keeping Othello’s correct judgement, without her, he is liable to fall into Iago’s manipulation which then causes him to murder her. Her being a necessity is further seen in act 3.3 where she says “wear your gloves”, “feed on nourishing dishes”.
AO2: Cassio continues to use hyperbolic imagery to praise Desdemona. The plural noun “quirks” could be a reference to her divine characteristics, yet, this term also defines an acute hollow in architecture. In this way, it could be conversely said that Cassio sees Desdemona as wholesome and better than himself. Because Cassio is a rather ‘hollow’ character built on a social construct of reputation, he has little else to be noticed for. The “blazoning pens” refer to Desdemona being divine and exquisite, artistic composition.
AO3: Patriarchy = male controlled and dominated society. Women had few legal rights, entitles to inherit property, but if they married, everything they owned passed to their husbands instead of them. Fathers chose husbands for their daughters. Intellectually woman were supposedly inferior to men, and incapable of rational thought. They were rarely educated past stitching, singing, and domestic work. Cassio is willing to give this up for the ‘divine Desdemona’ by putting her above himself
AO4: These lines are similar to that of Romeo, in Romeo and Juliet. He describes Juliet as ‘the sun’ and a ‘holy shrine’. In this way, it could be argued that Cassio is romantically adoring Desdemona here. The treatment of females is a tragic aspect that contributes to suspicion and envy in this play.
AO5: Critic to support Desdemona’s innocence:
A.C Bradley (20th century): Othello is “the most romantic” of all of Shakespeare’s characters, his intense emotions means he can’t think clearly about Desdemona. This is his downfall.
- New Historicist - Nicholas Marsh: Othello’s love for Desdemona is “courtly love” because of his blackness
“why then, tomorrow night, or Tuesday morn.” (3.3)
themes: persistence, loyalty, womanhood and sexuality.,control
AO2: Here Desdemona is trying to persuade Othello to reconsider Cassio as lieutenant.
AO2: the repeated commas in this line highlight an element of traction and control over Othello subverting the patriarchy which is of tragic magnificence as Desdemona is fated to be a subservient woman, typical of late 1500s Venice/Jacobean era.
AO2: Alternatively, the commas could bring an element of friction and disagreement between the couple, sparking conflict.
AO4; Interestingly, Desdemona’s influence on Othello in “I will deny thee nothing” shows similar independent qualities to that of Lady Macbeth (“what’s to be done?” (3.2)).
AO5: 20th century feminist Lisa Jardine: Desdemona is punished for being “too-knowing” and “too-independent”
- Desdemona’s death is her being taught a lesson in what happens if you go against the patriarchy.
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‘my noble Moor is true of mind, and made of no such baseness as jealous creatures are.’ (3.4)
theme: naivety, innocence, disconnection, womanhood, loyalty
AO2: the glorifying adjective “noble” exemplifies Desdemona’s loyalty and respect for her husband.
alt: in a Jacobean society, having “noble” to describe a “moor” would be rather oxymoronic, the subverted traditional values almost make it seem like there is a defiance of fate and the ‘stars’.
AO2: The fact that she declares Othello to be “true of mind” when Iago is successfully managing to “pour” “pestilence in his ear” and take advantage of his gullibility. This exemplifies the weak foundations of their relationship and how both characters do not truly understand one another making them tragically susceptible.
AO2: Further evidence that Desdemona fails to understand her husband when she contrasts him to the “baseness” of “jealous creatures”. This is perhaps a subtle ironic foreshadowing to Othello throwing his “pearl” away “like a base Indian” emphasising his damaged state.
AO3: 1600: a translation of John Leo’s/Leo Africanus’ ‘A Geographical Histoire of Africa’ is published in England. Very popular. Leo was a black man who had been brought up in Barbary. He spoke about how he and ‘his people’ would “rather lose their lives than put up any disgrace in the behalf of their women.” It is widely speculated that Shakespeare knew Leo, and that Othello is based off of him
AO4: The theme of Jealousy is a destructive force in this play similar to that of Macbeth. “upon my head they placed a fruitless crown” - he wants his son to be kings not Banquo’s.
- Sadly, Desdemona is tragically oblivious to her husband’s flaws and insecurities. She is unable to see past the superficial mimesis of Othello.
AO5: William Hazlitt (Romanticist) = Othello has great “depth of passion”, evokes a lot of PATHOS. Sympathises with Othello, says he’s “noble”. Iago is only evil because he knows how to exercise his intellect more than anyone else.
- 20th century feminist - Valerie Traub: Iago is successful in manipulating Othello because he taps into temporal concerns about women
