Preview

Examples Of Desdemona Being Weak In Othello

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
262 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Examples Of Desdemona Being Weak In Othello
The play reveals Desdemona to be weak because as Othello continues to accuse her of being unfaithful, she fails to strongly oppose his accusations. Near the end of the play, as Othello informs Desdemona he is going to murder her, she says, “Ay-but not yet to die!” (VI.i.59). It almost seems as if she is encouraging him to kill her, making her ultimately look weaker for wasting the last moments of her life taunting her husband of not being dead, instead of proving her innocence to justify the truth. Desdemona further proves to be weak as she accepts Othello’s new violent behaviour in front of others without speaking up for herself. When Othello slaps her in front of her cousin Lodovico, she fails to stand up for herself or even question the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Desdemona is young, sexual, and recently married. She is the daughter of the Venetian senator Brabanzio. Desdemona and Othello are secretly married before the play begins. While in many ways stereotypically pure and meek, Desdemona is also determined and self-possessed. She is equally capable of defending her marriage, jesting bawdily with Iago, and responding with dignity to Othello’s incomprehensible jealousy. Desdemona is at times a submissive character, most notably in her willingness to take credit for her own murder. The play, then, depicts Desdemona contradictorily as a self-effacing, faithful wife and as a bold, independent personality. This contradiction may be intentional, meant to portray the way Desdemona herself feels after defending her choice of marriage to her father in Act I, scene iii, and then almost immediately being put in the position of defending her fidelity to her husband. She begins the play as a supremely independent person, but midway through she must struggle against all odds to convince Othello that she is not too independent. The manner in which Desdemona is murdered, smothered by a pillow in a bed covered in her wedding sheets, is symbolic. She is literally suffocated beneath the demands put on her fidelity. Emilia is Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s attendant. A cynical, worldly woman, she is deeply attached to her mistress and distrustful of her husband (Shakespeare, 2005).…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Critical Lens

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Shakespeare uses characterization to show that Desdemona is fated to be destroyed. Desdemona is very passionate with her marriage and is good when her husband is abusive and accusatory. She is very naive and innocent. She is so naive and innocent that she doesn’t even believe that there are such women in the world that actually cheat on their husbands. Because she is so naive and innocent it is obvious that Desdemona’s fate…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    If school athletics were eliminated, we could help students avoid concussions and injuries that could play a great effect on their life. Concussions have nearly tripled in the last decade with middle and high school aged students (Report: Pressure on Teen Athletes Soars). This means that sports are becoming more and more intense and dangerous and playing negative effects on student’s lives. Playing sports comes with risk of very harmful injuries and limiting the sports played at school could make students much safer. Head injuries can take students out of the game for the rest of their lives, and make their lives different forever. Concussions are a big problem with sports today, but so is the amount of pressure put on these student athletes.…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Desdemona, the daughter of Venetian senator Brabantio, is captivated by Othello’s fables of bravery as a warrior and she falls in love with him. In view of the fact that Desdemona is a “fair” woman and Othello is “an old black ram”, commonly referred to as ‘the Moor’, their marriage indicates that her fate might be tragic. In ‘Othello’, Desdemona is portrayed as a courageous young woman whose character is used against her in plotting her death. The particularly unfortunate event is the irony that the very qualities of her personality that make her a good woman defeated her.…

    • 1489 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Degrees of Guilt in Othello

    • 2638 Words
    • 11 Pages

    have bad intentions, but he is somewhat accountable for the tragedy. Many of his negative attributes are exposed, although they are overshadowed by his admirable introduction. First of all, he is a foolish man. Othello trusts the word of a person who he did not even trust enough to make his lieutenant. Furthermore, he should gather more evidence of Desdemona's…

    • 2638 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Desdemona is Othello’s wife and the daughter of Senator. Whether Desdemona or Desi, they both unswerving in Othello(Odin)’s loyalty, never change until the death approaching. For instance, they both could believed that their boyfriend Othello(Odin) started suspect they had affair. In addition, they cannot believe the truth that they killed by him and without regret because trust is broken. On the other hand, Desdemona and Desi both to have a kind heart.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Desdemona is the last of the characters to evaluate, however she is also the most important. Desdemona is treated very unfairly because she is a faithful wife, who loves her husband very much. However, through the help of Iago, her husband, and Othello suspects Desdemona is cheating on him. This is not true, but still Othello believes his friend long before he would listen to the woman who loves him. Othello then, instead of treating Desdemona fairly in return for her love, argues with and makes fun of her.…

    • 327 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    First of all, the relationship between Othello and Desdemona is weak because it is merely based on pity and not true love. Othello tells the Duke of Venice about how his love for Desdemona began after he was accused of eloping and marrying her without her consent.…

    • 858 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When the play begins she's portrayed as a brave women who's not afraid to speak her mind we see this when she stand up to his father (Brabantio) to marry the person that she loves "That I did love the moor to live with him (…) My heart's subdued even to the very quality of my lord (…) let me go with him" (I.3.245-256); however, as the play develops Desdemona character changes, she starts looing confidence in herself and stops being that strong women she was before her marriage. She's constantly silent and chooses to be submissive because that's what 'good wives' do. This is seen in multiple occasions through her lines in the play, for example "I am obedient" (iii.3.89) or when Othello tells her to go to bed she replies with "I will my lord"(iv.3.9). Although she seems the perfect stereotype wife, is her innocence and naiveness that ends with her life.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Othello's reputation as a serious and just military general plays a big role in this play. Without this reputation, he would have probably offered Desdemona a chance to explain what happened, and would have probably made the story have a happy ending. Because this is a tragedy, we need Othello to feel pity and fear for the hero, as he does not know what kind of a trap he is in.…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Turning Point in Othello

    • 1329 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Desdemona shows great determination and a kind heart in fighting for Cassio. Ironically it this kind heartedness that brings about her downfall and her death. It is her persistence that fuels Othello’s jealousy, filling his head with thoughts of her love for Cassio. It is known how strong Othello’s love for D is and that he cares for her more than his own life, however, this then amplifies Othello’s jealousy causing such tragic consequences.…

    • 1329 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Desdemona is responsible for her own death, because she was cuckolding her husband, who found out and killed her. If Desdemona was loyal to her husband and was not seeing another man when Othello’s back was turned, he would have never killed her. She provoked and disrespected her husband who would bend over backwards for her. Desdemona’s death was justified one hundred percent in the play “Othello” by William…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Desdemona is probably the strongest willed character in the play, although she is a woman. Shakespeare takes no shame in making her this, considering the time this was written in. We first see her, defending her recent marriage surrounded by powerful men, whom of which include the duke, her husband, and her father, but shes is not ashamed to assert her belief in the validity of her desires and actions. Desdemona's forthrightness is her demise, because the brilliant Iago recognizes this and uses it against her. Using Cassio who becomes demoted in the play, Iago exploits her willingness to demand and justice, to make him her cause and simultaneously, Othello's enemy. As Iago's plan goes as planned, Desdemona asks Othello to forgive Cassio adding to Othello's suspicions created by his deceitful friend. She keeps pushing him in spite of her husbands growing rage until he declares, The handkerchief that Othello gave his wife at the beginning of the play, is stolen. Her courage is apparent in her refusal to search for it in Act III, scene iv; her willingness to have a voice and shout back at Othello as he abuses her in Act IV, scene i; and defending her innocence when accused Act V, scene ii. Since men have the ultimate power of women. Othello does not believe in, what he takes to be 'shameless lies'. Her courage convinces him all the more that she is remorseless in what he thinks to be her wrongdoing.…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Femininity In Othello

    • 1264 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Initially, Othello falls in love with Desdemona because she is well spoken. For instance, she goes back and forth with Iago confidently while they await Othello’s arrival in Cyprus. But, when her relationship with Othello started to become progressively more abusive, she becomes the “Silent Woman”. She does not revert to this new-found character because she “she lacks verbal resources, but because she cannot understand words without reality to her.” (Corbett 12)…

    • 1264 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cosmetic Surgery

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Have you ever wanted something really bad? Like a pair of shoes, a new phone, or what about a new nose? Well Cosmetic surgery is not new, but the popularity of it has rapidly increased in the last few years. Not only adults but also teenagers want to do the cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic surgery before the age of eighteen is becoming increasingly more and more popular, and nobody can’t stop it. Many factors are influencing the thoughts of young people for doing cosmetic surgery such as their appearance. Many doctors believe that cosmetic surgery is a science to increase the beauty of a person. It is the process where they give finishing touches to the body parts for a physical defects, bad self-esteem, and surgery for men.…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics