Shakespeares Othello - Othello and the Heroine, Desdemona :: Othello essays

Othello and the Heroine, Desdemona In William Shakespeares tragic play Othello we see a very exceptional woman in the person of Desdemona, wife of the general. She, as Cassio says, is a paragon of virtues, unlike the other female characters in the drama. H. S. Wilson in his book of literary criticism, On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy, discusses Desdemonas entree into the Moors life But Othello had not known Desdemona persistent he had little knowledge of women in any case his troops life had left scant time for cultivating their society or studying them, before he met Desdemona and there was a bitter modesty in the man, who thought it quite possible that, for all his greatness and his romantic past, a young girl like Desdemona might hold him but a passing fancy. (64) In Act 1 Scene1, Iago persuades the rejected suitor of Desdemona, Roderigo, to ensue him to the home of Brabantio, Desdemonas father, in the middle of the night. Once there the devil awaken him with lou d shouts about his daughters elopement with Othello. In answer to Iagos vulgar descriptions of Desdemonas involvement with the general, Brabantio arises from bed and, with Roderigos help, gathers a search party to go and find Desdemona and bring her home. Once that Brabantio has primed(p) Othello, the father presses charges publicly in order to have Desdemona returned To prison, till set(p) time Of law and course of direct session Call thee to answer. (1.2) The legal proceeding which take place before the Duke of Venice cause the father to permanently flake out his daughter, mostly due to Desdemonas own fluent presentation of her put of view in the city council chamber. This results in Brabantios virtual disinherit of her and not allowing her to live in his house while Othellos causal agent against the Turks in Cyprus is in progress. Thus it would seem that Desdemona has been living her life with a father who is primarily interested in self and less in daughter. Entru sted to the ancients care and that of his Emilia, Desdemona arrives at the seaport of Cyprus. Blanche Coles in Shakespeares Four Giants interprets the protagonists very meaningful four-word greeting to Desdemona which he utters upon disembarking in Cyprus Othellos four words, O, my souls joy, tell us that this beautiful Venetian girl has brought great joy, felicity, bliss to the very depths of his soul.