essay: relationship between othello n desdemona

INTRO - main points: shakespeare initially presents the relationship between othello and desdemona as ostensibly durable, yet over the course of the play, the insufficient foundations that their relationship has been built upon comes to light; othello’s genuine nature is revealed to be completely opposite to desdemona’s. Desdemona is determined to make it work regardless whilst Othello acts on impulse.

AO1: P1: othello and desdemona believe that their love is impenetrable and find it copiously satisfactory.

AO2: Evidence (+analyse) :

  • “to you i am bound for life and education…you are the lord of duty” (1.3.182)

    • despite clearly having a will of her own

    • AO3: In Elizabethan England, once a man and a woman became married, the woman was essentially bound to the man, entering a life of servitude; here Desdemona acknowledges this, gleefully.

  • “if it were now to die/’twere now to be most happy” (2.1.187) - othello

    • prophetic

    • this is the last time they are happy, due to iago’s meddling

AO4: Link to other text: sonnet 116 (written before othello)

  • “it is an ever fixed marke/That lookes on tempests and is never shaken”

  • “Lov’s not Times foole”

  • “But beares it out even to the edge of doome”

AO5: According to the Puritan doctrine of conscience, wives were not merely an extension of the husband but had their own independent identity. - - Des not simply excited over the love she supposedly has for Othello and the unconventional marriage it has led to, but rather that she is societally secure, yet not obliged to obey her husband.

AO1 AGAIN

P2: othello and desdemona are revealed to be incompatible with each other (ironic, because she fell in love with his violent war narratives, whilst the incompatible quality of his nature is his temper).

AO2: Evidence (+analyse) :

  • “she loved me for the dangers i had passed/and i loved her that she did pity them” (1.3.168) - othello

  • “I'll tear her all to pieces!” (3.3.434) - othello

  • “i have not deserved this” (4.1.240) - desdemona

  • “hath she forsook so many noble matches…To be called whore? would it not make one weep?” (4.2.127) - emilia

AO3: It was generally considered foolish to marry for love in Elizabethan England, although love may have inadvertently occurred marriage. « although desd n oth claim to love each other, did they rather play into the trope of marriage for societal gains, despite the disadvantages that came with interracial marriage?

AO4: Link to other text:

AO5: although desdemona is initially perceived as being independent, via her successful attempt at marrying othello, a feminist reading may argue that it is eventually apparent that she was simply blindsided by othello’s traditionally-masculine achievements

AO1 AGAIN

P3: desdemona is determined to move past the primary incident of the play, believing there is more to othello than how he treats her.

AO2: Evidence:

  • “my noble Moor/Is true of mind, and made of no such baseness/As jealous creatures are” (3.4.26) - des

  • “good, good, the justice of it pleases; very good!” (4.1.206)

    • finality of death, justice implies consequence over forgiveness

  • “and his unkindness may defeat my life/but never taint my love” (4.2.162) - des

AO3: Historical Context: 1of2: [desdemona truly loves othello and wishes to make it work], 2of2: divorce and separation were extremely difficult to obtain in elizabeth England | Protestant England upheld the Catholic belief that marriage was largely indissoluble except by death.

AO4:

AO5: a feminist reading would likely highlight desdemona’s desperation to remain within the supposed security of her marriage to othello, despite his substandard treatment of her

AO1 AGAIN

extra AO3: A man was able to chastise his wife if he felt the need, as long as he was not cruel and did not inflict bodily harm, but a woman was never allowed to chastise her husband