Desdemona
Key Quotes:
→ ‘I do here a divided duty: I am hither to your daughter. But here’s my husband.”
→ “Let me go with him”
→ ‘I’ll intermingle everything he does with Cassio’s suit.”
→ ‘I say it is not lost”
→ ‘Nobody; I myself. Farewell. Commend me to my kind lord.’
Relationships with other characters:
→ In love with Othello - married - Fell in love with his stories about his past
→ Good friends with Cassio → tries to help him get his position back
→ Emilia - friend / lady in waiting
→ Brabantion - father - she deceives him by marrying Othello - chooses Othello over him
Motives:
→ Please Othello - be a good ‘obedient’ wife
→ Wants to help others (Cassio) - Iago uses this
→ Protects Othello - when dying she says it wasn’t him who killed her
Symbols:
→ Handkerchief - represents Othello’s love
→ She loses it - Othello interprets this as evidence of her infidelity
Development: stable, doesn’t change
→ Exposition: Married Othello in secret, Betrays her father, loyal to Othello and her role as his wife
→ Development: her kindness is used against her, not manipulated as much as others, remains loyal to Othello and is confused when he starts to change.
→ Climax: Othello kills her, truth comes out, she still defends him and is loyal to him
→ Resolution: She is dead, her virtue is honoured and her name is cleared. Othello is overcome with guilt
Language used to describe Desdemona
→ Brabantio: “Look to her Moor… she has deceived her father and may thee.”
→ Iago: “Out of her own goodness, name the net that shall enmesh them all.”
→ Othello: “ I think my wife be honest, and I think she is not.” “O devil, devil!” “Are you a strumpet?” “What, not whore”
Jealousy
→ She is a victim of jealousy
→ Desdemona was killed by Othello’s jealousy/ indirectly Iago’s
→ She is not jealous, but many people are jealous of her.
→ Roderigo is jealous that Desdemona is with Othello and not him
Appearance vs reality:
→ Brabantio thought she was too shy/ timid to marry anyone, especially a black man
→ She is trying to be kind and help Cassio, but due to Iago’s manipulation, Othello sees her as cheating.
→ Cassio sneaking around
→ She keeps talking about Cassio
→ Very transparent- doesn’t try hide anything'
Deception:
→ Hides her relationship from her father - ‘O she deceives me past thought’
→ Well intentioned manipulation - tries to subtly get Cassio his position back
→ Deceives by Emilia by not being told the handkerchief’s whereabouts
→ Othello believes she is deceiving him
→ Lies about losing the handkerchief
→ Indirectly deceived by Iago by helping Othello
Key Quotes:
→ ‘I do here a divided duty: I am hither to your daughter. But here’s my husband.”
→ “Let me go with him”
→ ‘I’ll intermingle everything he does with Cassio’s suit.”
→ ‘I say it is not lost”
→ ‘Nobody; I myself. Farewell. Commend me to my kind lord.’
Relationships with other characters:
→ In love with Othello - married - Fell in love with his stories about his past
→ Good friends with Cassio → tries to help him get his position back
→ Emilia - friend / lady in waiting
→ Brabantion - father - she deceives him by marrying Othello - chooses Othello over him
Motives:
→ Please Othello - be a good ‘obedient’ wife
→ Wants to help others (Cassio) - Iago uses this
→ Protects Othello - when dying she says it wasn’t him who killed her
Symbols:
→ Handkerchief - represents Othello’s love
→ She loses it - Othello interprets this as evidence of her infidelity
Development: stable, doesn’t change
→ Exposition: Married Othello in secret, Betrays her father, loyal to Othello and her role as his wife
→ Development: her kindness is used against her, not manipulated as much as others, remains loyal to Othello and is confused when he starts to change.
→ Climax: Othello kills her, truth comes out, she still defends him and is loyal to him
→ Resolution: She is dead, her virtue is honoured and her name is cleared. Othello is overcome with guilt
Language used to describe Desdemona
→ Brabantio: “Look to her Moor… she has deceived her father and may thee.”
→ Iago: “Out of her own goodness, name the net that shall enmesh them all.”
→ Othello: “ I think my wife be honest, and I think she is not.” “O devil, devil!” “Are you a strumpet?” “What, not whore”
Jealousy
→ She is a victim of jealousy
→ Desdemona was killed by Othello’s jealousy/ indirectly Iago’s
→ She is not jealous, but many people are jealous of her.
→ Roderigo is jealous that Desdemona is with Othello and not him
Appearance vs reality:
→ Brabantio thought she was too shy/ timid to marry anyone, especially a black man
→ She is trying to be kind and help Cassio, but due to Iago’s manipulation, Othello sees her as cheating.
→ Cassio sneaking around
→ She keeps talking about Cassio
→ Very transparent- doesn’t try hide anything'
Deception:
→ Hides her relationship from her father - ‘O she deceives me past thought’
→ Well intentioned manipulation - tries to subtly get Cassio his position back
→ Deceives by Emilia by not being told the handkerchief’s whereabouts
→ Othello believes she is deceiving him
→ Lies about losing the handkerchief
→ Indirectly deceived by Iago by helping Othello
