Desdemona Flashcards
(3 cards)
How is Desdemona presented in the play?
Desdemona is the wife of Othello. She begins as a defiant woman and a role model for those wishing to break free from the chains of patriarchy. However, she develops into a feeble, submissive character and a victim of mysoginy.
“I do perceive here a divided duty”
Desdemona - Act 1, Scene 3
AO1: plosives in “divided duty”
AO2: creates a harsh feeling as Desdemona must confess her love for Othello publicly and tell her father she is now “Due to the Moor” (love should not be difficult to profess)
AO3: Black renaissance stereotypes and women’s role in society
“Her name, that was fresh as a Dian’s visage, is now begrimed and black as mine own face”
Othello: Act 3, Scene 3
AO1: Self-Deprecating Simile
AO2: Desdemona’s suspected infidelity will always affect hers and Othello’s reputations interchangeably, despite not being true.
AO2: Othello questions Desdemona’s loyalties based on a rumour and believes his reputation will in turn be affected negatively (being a woman means Desdemona is shackled to her husband’s reputation and drags him down with her)
AO5: Loomba - as Othello tries to break away from racial steryotypes, he becomes an agent of mysoginistic ones
