Bassani 1

Alessandra Bassani

Mr. Bless

Honors English Foundations II

18 May 2017

Othello and Desdemona: Power That Corrupted Their Happiness

Shakespeares tragedy Othello is set amidst the early 1500s in Venice, Italy, and the

newly conquered Venetian island of Cyprus, where a patriarchal society dominates the power of

the noble Moor Othello, and the daughter of a well respected senator, Desdemona. In this

society, Othello obtains complete control over his wife, and subjugates her power to minimize

her voice in their community. When their marriage first begins, Othello respects Desdemona and

he epitomizes the ideal husband; however, as Iagos furtive machinations trigger Othello to

question his relationship, he abuses his authority to degrade Desdemona and her real intentions.

Throughout the drama, Othello gains more power over Desdemona, which enables him to falsely

accuse her of having an affair with Cassio, and due to her inability to stand up for herself, it

inevitably leads to her own downfall.

In Act 3 Scene 3, Iago reveals his accusations of Cassio and Desdemona to Othello,

which is the first time Othello threatens Desdemonas character. At first Othello does not believe

it, and tries to reject the idea of Desdemona betraying him because he needs a living reason

shes disloyal (3.3.425). As Iago describes to Othello how he heard Cassio whisper sweet

Desdemona, Othello turns violent and threatens to tear her all to pieces (3.3.434,447).

Othello is easily persuaded by Cassios fabricated dream, and wants to use his own force to get

revenge on Desdemona. However, Othello does not discuss the rumor with Desdemona at first,
 Bassani 2

turning to his ancient instead of his wife, who he just newly married, because he is a male and

she is a female. This represents the disunity in their relationship and the gender inequality

present in their society. Instead of Othello talking to Desdemona about the accusations Iago is

making, he turns to violence and wants to eliminate her existence. Due to his prestige in society,

this is something Othello believes he can do to get revenge on Desdemona. It is revealed early on

in the book that Othello wishes to kill his new spouse, in order to get back at her for something

she did not do.

Following in Act 4 Scene 1, Othello arranges for both Desdemona and Cassios death,

which is to be committed by Iago and Othello himself. Othello declares that Desdemona should

rot, and perish, and be damned tonight, for she shall not live because she commits such a

terrible act by having an affair with Cassio (4.1.181-182). Since Othello has so much authority in

society, he feels like his name will be ruined if the people of Cyprus and Venice find out about

the incident. The only way to prevent this is to kill Desdemona before it becomes exposed, and

Othello sees this as a plausible solution. Being a male in society, Othello also has the ability to

take control of his wife, and because the respect he has for her vanishes, its leads him to want to

commit such a terrible act against her. He tells Iago to get [him] some poison so Desdemona

will have a silent death, but when Iago suggests he strangle her in her bed he chooses this

method instead (4.1.203,206). By strangling her, Othello is able to fully deprive Desdemona of

all her power, and this motivates him even more. The romantic connection that once exists

between Othello and Desdemona disappears, and Othello is only in the relationship to strengthen

his control in the patriarchy through the degradation of Desdemona.

 Bassani 3

Due to how respected Othello is in society, the noble Venetians have high expectations of

him, and become bewildered when he slaps Desdemona. After Othello completes this abusive

act, Lodovico exclaims my lord, this would not be believed in Venice, which exemplifies his

astonishment in the situation (4.1.245). The Venetians only see the warrior side of Othello when

he is fighting to defend the country, but they neglect to understand how he really acts with his

wife. This violent behavior has been brewing for quite some time, and Othello finally lashes out

when his power is put in jeopardy. This is because the Duke requests his presence in Venice, and

he has to leave Cassio in charge of the government. By doing so, Othello is giving Cassio even

more control, and since he believes Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona, this would

enable Cassio to grant Desdemona her voice back in society. Othello has been working to limit

Desdemonas power, and his plans will be ruined if he leaves Cassio in charge. Othellos thirst

for authority is revealed when he slaps Desdemona in front of the Venetian nobles, and this

creates tension, as well as damages his self image and the respect they once had for him.

When Othello finally attempts to kill Desdemona in Act 5 Scene 2, he strengthens his

power beyond what he ever imagines. At first he is ambivalent about carrying out her death, but

once he reveals that Cassio is mortally wounded and Desdemona is affected by this, Othello

assumes that he has no other option. He questions why she weepst thou for him to [his] face

[sic] and then informs her that it is too late and he begins to strangle her (5.2.80,88).

Desdemona has done nothing, but no matter what she says, nothing can persuade Othello to

believe her, because she does not have the same authority in society that Iago has. Even though

Iago is making up the affair with Desdemona and Cassio, just being a male gives him the ability

to persuade Othello to accuse her, which signifies the gender inequality that exists in their
 Bassani 4

society. Othello chooses to believe his ancient instead of Desdemona who he pledges his life to,

because she is powerless compared to him. Due to this, Othello claims shes like a liar going to

burning hell, when really Iago is the one who is lying about the whole situation (5.2.132). Even

though Desdemona is telling the truth, Iago is a male so he is trusted more than she is, and this

empowers Othello to end Desdemonas life. By killing Desdemona, Othellos power increases

significantly, and Desdemona is unable to react due to the little authority she holds in the

patriarchal society.

Later on in Act 5 Scene 2, Othello describes how foul Desdemona was when Gratiano

looks at the body of his dead niece; however, once Iagos machinations are revealed, Othello

regrets how powerful he became. Emilia is trying to inform Othello that he has killed an innocent

person, but her voice is masked with his new clout. He explains to Gratiano how she was foul

and how his hands have newly stopped her breath (5.2.207,209). By killing Desdemona

himself, Othello feels like he is getting his revenge, and this empowers him and makes him more

confident than ever before. This is because he ends Desdemonas falseness to him, and this gives

him a feeling of joy. However, this happiness quickly ends when Emilia exposes Iago and his

scheme. Othello calls Iago a precious villain and later says if that thou best a devil, I cannot

kill thee [sic] (5.2.243,295). Iago ruins Othello and Desdemonas marriage, but Othello claims

he cannot kill him. He acknowledges that Iago is a villain, but instead of getting revenge on Iago,

Othello only wounds him. This conveys how Othello does not want to use his power to kill

anyone else, since it has already resulted in the death of his wife. Instead, Othello wonders why

the demi-devil has ensnared [his] soul and body (5.2.309-310). Othello sees Iago as a demon

who has taken over his life and makes him thirsty to gain more control, and this causes Othello
 Bassani 5

to regret everything he has done. The only thing that Othello can do to relieve his grief is to kill

himself, and this ends his power in Venice and in Cyprus. Othello acquires so much authority

from believing Iago and killing Desdemona, but once the true intentions of Iago are revealed,

Othello remains just as powerless as his wife, who he just has deprived of her life.

Shakespeare reveals the difficulties that arise from having both too much and too little

power in the patriarchal society in which his tragedy Othello takes place in. This is exemplified

with Othello, who gains more power than he ever dreamed of, and Desdemona who lacks any

voice in society and is powerless. In both cases, it leads to their downfall, because Othello abuses

his authority to kill Desdemona which he later regrets. Desdemona is unable to react to Othellos

accusations, leading to her death. This gender equality causes the marriage of two people to be

utterly destroyed, and it is greatly impacted by the villain Iago, who is thirsty to gain more power

as well. This causes Othello to believe him, because they both want to gain more control in the

patriarchal society they live in. Gender equality is still a prevalent issue today, and women still

fight to have an equal voice in society. Women are almost completely equal, but they face some

economic inequality when it comes to employment. Overall, the fight for equality has made

massive improvements from the English Renaissance in which Shakespeare wrote. However,

power leads to the downfall of both Othello and Desdemona in the patriarchal society that they

live in, and is still something that corrupts people today.