Othello - Desdemona Key Quotes Flashcards
Two quotes from Brabantio in A1, S2 and A1, S3 before Desdemona first appears. The quotes present Desdemona as innocent and girlish, the idealised stereotype of a placid and submitting Renaissance woman, a presentation immediately refuted when she appears shortly afterward when sent for in the council chamber. It is horribly ironic that, due to Othello’s abuse, she conforms to this presentation by the end of the play, her final role being a sacrifice to masculine pride
“A maid so tender, fair and happy, / So opposite to marriage that she shunned / The wealthy, curled darlings of our nation” (A1, S2)
“A maiden never bold, / Of spirit so still and quiet that her motion / Blushed at herself” (A1, S3)
A quote from A1,S3 as she is brought before the Duke by Brabantio to testify for her love for Othello, suggesting Desdemona to be from the very opening of the play entirely devoted to her husband, willing to violently rupture convention in order to live a life with him
“My downright violence and scorn of fortunes [with conventional behaviour] / May trumpet to the world. My heart’s subdued / Even to the very quality of my lord”
A quote from A4,S2 as Othello repeatedly accuses Desdemona of being a “whore” and a “strumpet”. Desdemona, in a juxtaposatory fashion, continues to refer to Othello in respectful and intensely loyal terms, despite his abuse of her. It comes after Othello asks Desdemona, “who art thou?”, her response of “your wife” suggesting a complete lack of autonomy beyond this as her only identity. Note that “your” suggests possession of her by Othello, “lord” is respectful, and adjectives “true” and “loyal” suggest the remaining of absolute devotion
“Your wife, my lord: your true and loyal wife”
A quote from A4, S2 after Othello hits Desdemona. The quote shows Desdemona to be not entirely passive as she asserts her righteousness and virtue, refusing to submit to her husband in the face of violence as is the cultural expectation. However, her assertiveness may be said to come at a price, with this assertiveness potentially prefiguring her death - Othello refers to heaven prior to his suffocation of her
“By heaven, you do me wrong”
A quote from A4,S3 as Desdemona is undressed by Emilia. The quote demonstrates Desdemona’s diminishing of Othello’s aggression toward her, “stubbornness”, “checks” and “frowns” being reflective of childish sulking as opposed to emotionally abusive and jealous behaviour
“I doth so approve him / That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns […] have grace and favour”
A quote from the song of Willow in A4,S3. The Willow Song was sung by Desdemona’s mother’s maid Barbary, whose husband went mad and left her, Barbary singing the song before she died. “Willow” or the weeping willow has connotations of sadness and, in Shakespeare, of unrequited love. The quote reflects Desdemona’s passivity in the face of her husband’s aggression, again diminishing his aggression as mere “scorn” which should be “approve[d]” without “blame”
“Let nobody blame him, his scorn I approve”
A quote from A5,S2 in the final moments of Desdemona as she lies on her deathbed. “Guiltless” suggests an acknowledgement of her virtue in her death, while personal pronoun “I” suggests autonomy in her death - she brought about her own death through choosing Othello. The phrase is short and succinct, giving a tone of finality
“A guiltless death I die”
A quote from A5,S2, Desdemona’s final words as she dies. She suggests herself to be wholly responsible for her death, suggesting a stance of ultimate passivity, even in death. Her desire to be commended to her “lord” suggests her death for his love
“Nobody. I myself. Farewell. / Commend me to my kind lord”
