Desdemona

• Desdemona: Pre-Marriage

  Although Desdemona is usually performed by a mature actress, she was actually conceived by Shakespeare to be a young woman; perhaps still in her teens (and probably played by a boy or young man).
• Naïvety

  • Desdemona is almost child-like in her naïvety about the adult world, but also about marriage and relationships.
  • As the play proceeds, it seems that more and more, she is unable to cope with the world she has been thrust into, and maybe this supports her father Brabantio’s fears for her.
• Othello

  • The audience sees her behaving most naturally when she is speaking about how she fell in love with Othello.
  • She was particularly impressed by his tales of travel and responded to this with a ‘world of sighs’.
• Brabantio

  • You could argue that she acted in an adolescent way by deceiving her father about her relationship with Othello.
  • The comment Brabantio makes: ‘Look to her, Moor if thou hast eyes to see; / She has deceived her father, and may thee’, looks later to carry much truth.
  • She seems to have no conceptualisation that her father will be devastated by the decision she has made.
• Desdemona: Post-Marriage

  In Cyprus, Desdemona has to now become Othello’s wife and partner. She is the lady governess there and she is keen to help him with his duties.
• Immaturity

  • Without Iago’s intervention, everything might have gone well in Cyprus.
  • Instead, you could argue that she reverts back to being a frightened child, mistakenly putting her faith in Iago when Othello starts to rage.
• Emilia

  • Desdemona sometimes seems unable to act to resolve the dispute with Othello or to find out what is truly wrong.
  • She contrasts markedly with the more world-weary and experienced Emilia.
• Fate

  • Towards the end of the play, Desdemona seems to accept death as if it is her natural fate, and many observers have commented on this being somewhat unrealistic.
• Love and innocence

  • Desdemona appears to believe Othello will somehow see sense but does not do much to convince him.
  • Her innocence is what makes her killing by her husband so tragic.