Desdemona and Othello

Paper Summary:

The paper focuses on the character Desdemona, who defends her love for Othello. It explains that Desdemona's father felt she had been seduced by trickery, as he could not understand that she loved a black man. The writer explains that there have been different opinions as to whether Shakespeare was trying to make a moral statement casting Othello as a black man, or whether it was simply historical fact. The writer posits that one of the main themes of the play is Desdemona's defiance of tradition, and that race is coincidental. The paper explains that the play is usually described to be about jealousy. In conclusion, the writer posits that Shakespeare meant the jealousy as a personification of the irrational evil of hatred.

From the Paper:

"She closes by stating how much she will miss Othello if he must go and she must stay. Desdemona emerges in this act, through this speech and the one before (in which she explains how divided her loyalties are) as a mature and considerate woman with a depth of intelligence that goes beyond surface adolescent infatuation. She has clearly considered the significance of her marriage to Othello, and is confident in her choice. She has the courage of her convictions and makes no attempt to shy away from whatever unpleasant consequences may come from her marriage, whether it be physical danger or the emotional torment of a rift between her and her father. "She uses words that have great strength and depth to express her feelings, which are always presented as extreme, perhaps the only hint the playwright gives about her youth and a tendency toward the dramatic. Yet in this brief speech, she belies any accusation of melodrama and eloquently demonstrates that she has given full thought to her marriage."

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