Desdemona

A detailed Summary of Desdemona

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as is virtue. Such is the case of the virtue of the character Desdemona, from the play The Tragedy of Othello, by William Shakespeare. Desdemona was shown as a low moral, virtue less female in the essay The Character of Desdemona by John Quincy Adams. Contrary to this, the modern reader can see that Shakespeare actually showed her to be a virtuous and loving person, whose own innocence lead to her demise.

Is Desdemona a virtuous character? Is there anyone who can be so self-sacrificing? Shakespeare is careful to give her a few minor flaws- her treatment of Brabantio, her stubborn persistence about Cassio, her lie about the handkerchief- to make her realistic. But the overall character of Desdemona is of high stature, it is her very innocence that makes her a victim of circumstance. As a young Venetian woman, Desdemona has lived a sheltered life in her father's home. This sheltering gave her an innate passion for all the things that she was denied. She was denied all things that a modern day women would be allowed to do, including the right to fall in love with someone free of social status, age or race. She then falls in love, probably for the first time, with a man several years old

However one person in time may see an event or character, another person in another time can perceive the same to be of completely different meanings. John Quincy Adams says that Desdemona lacks virtues and all she does is cause her father grief to his dying bed. He says that "the passion of Desdemona for Othello is unnatural, solely and exclusively because of his color." Which if looked at by today's standards would hold of no significance what the persons skin color is. Second he says that her elopement to him, and secret marriage with him, indicate a personal character not only very deficient in delicacy, but totally regardless of filial duty, of female modesty, and of ingenuous shame. Third he states, "her deficiency in delicacy is discernible in her conduct and discourse throughout the play." Altogether he thinks that she has done nothing but wrong when she ran away for her love, and that she has low morals and no virtues because she has wronged her father.

er than herself, from a faraway land, and of a different race. She is captivated by the man's stories and wishes she were a man so that she might also have an exciting life, the very life she was denied because of her being a women. Knowing that her father would disapprove of her marriage to such a man, she elopes with Othello. Desdemona is portrayed as a lovely, courageous, gentle woman, deeply i

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Approximate Word count = 921
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English