Desdemona

Desdemona

4
    Othello
Photo Credit: Everett Collection

Character Analysis

(Avoiding Spoilers)

Grew up…privileged. The daughter of a Venetian senator, Desdemona has everything a girl could want: a doting father, plenty of money, and the love of half the young men in Venice. When she meets dashing captain Othello, however, Desdemona quickly gives all that up for true love.

Living…away from home. After what was essentially the 16th-century equivalent of a shotgun wedding, Desdemona has followed her new husband to his new assignment in Cyprus. It's a gorgeous island, and with her disapproving father no longer around, Desdemona is looking forward to a very enjoyable honeymoon.

Profession…wife. As a wealthy woman in pre-modern Venice, Desdemona isn't expected to do much besides find a suitable husband. Accomplished and respected, Othello would be a perfect match—if he wasn't a Moor.  

Interests…living vicariously through her husband. Having lived all her life in Venice, it's no surprise that Desdemona was wooed by Othello's tales of foreign lands and exotic cities. Now that they're married, she's ready to make her fantasy of adventure a reality.  

Relationship Status…happily married—or at least, Desdemona thought she was. Desdemona clearly thinks the world of her husband, describing him as, "true of mind and made of no such baseness/as jealous creatures are." It turns out, however, that Othello is a jealous man—especially when rumors start to circulate about his wife's infidelity.

Challenge…proving her innocence. Desdemona knows she's not an adulteress—she can't think of doing "such a wrong/For the whole world"—but Othello is being oddly stubborn in his allegations. And try as she might, Desdemona can't seem to shake his suspicions.

Personality…loving, idealistic, and honest. A headstrong girl, Desdemona didn't blink when her marriage to a Moor scandalized Venice—but when Othello begins to doubt her love, Desdemona finds herself unsure of what to do. What is she supposed to do, after all, when true love turns out to be not so true after all?

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