William Shakespeare’s Othello is a love gone sour kind of play and brought about by jealousy. The paper aims to explain whether the last words by Desdemona in Act 5 are true to her character or entirely out of character. It also aims to expound on one theme and how it has been highlighted in Act 5 of the play. To get a clear understanding, we need to understand what the game is about from Act(s) 1 to 5.
Rodrigo is jealous of Othello’s girlfriend, Desdemona, and tries to bring up all sorts of tumults to break the two up and finally have Desdemona to himself. He uses Iago, an officer under Othello, to tail the moves of Desdemona. The two even report Othello as abusive to Desdemona’s father. In the first Act Desdemona stands up for the love she has with Othello, and Othello is set free by the Duke to do his duties in Cypress as the army general.
In Act two, Iago plants a seed of doubt in Othello’s mind about the fidelity of his wife, Desdemona. He frames Cassio by getting him drunk and inciting a fight with Roderigo and Montano. The encounter ruins Cassio’s reputation, and he is demoted from being Othello’s lieutenant. Iago is bitter that Othello chose Cassio as his lieutenant instead of him. Iago’s wife, Emilia, collects a handkerchief that Desdemona dropped. It was Othello’s most precious gift to her.
The two try to place it in proximity to Cassio’s place to further prove to Othello that his wife, Desdemona, is indeed cheating on him. Othello’s fury and doubt are also increased by when Iago frames the situation to look like the handkerchief went from Desdemona to Cassio then to Bianca (Cassio’s mistress). It reaches a point where Othello and Iago contemplate killing Desdemona and Cassio, respectively.
Desdemona refutes the claims when Othello finally confronts her. When Lodovico announces the promotion of Cassio to be governor of Cypress, Desdemona seems to be joyful, and this infuriates Othello. Lodovico calms him down, and Desdemona is asked by Othello to wait for him in their bedroom. Emilia is their househelp. Desdemona sings a sad song wondering why Othello would believe that she was capable of infidelity.
Attempted murder of Cassio by Roderigo and Iago fails. When they are made, Iago feigns loyalty to Cassio as his ‘friend’ and stabs Roderigo to prove just that. In the end, Othello finally kills his wife, Desdemona, who utters her last words that she is innocent but guilty of what has happened to her. When Othello finds out that Iago had set Desdemona up, he kills himself out of shame and guilt. Iago stabs his wife, Emilia, after she confesses of his devious acts to break Othello’s marriage to Desdemona.
Cassio is put in charge of Iago as both a liar and murderer of Roderigo and Emilia. Lodovico leaves. So the question comes, did Desdemona act out of character, or was she right to her character, to the death?? The first thing to do to answer this question is to find out what her character traits are. First, she is loyal. Her man, Othello, is far away fighting a war, but she preserves her purity for him alone. She also defends their love in court in front of the Duke and Brabantio, her father.
Desdemona is also loving. She cares about the state of mind of Othello, her husband to the point that it makes her turn to sad songs (Willow Song), wondering why he is angry. If she were not faithful to Othello, then that would mean she did not love or respect him. Two things that a woman must feel for her husband if the marriage is to stay intact. It is quite clear Desdemona is innocent of the fact that she is upset about her husband’s anger. If she were cheating on him with Cassio, then she would probably not be genuinely affected by Othello’s mood.
Desdemona is also courageous. She gives a foreshadow of something terrible to happen—her death at the hands of Othello, her husband. Desdemona still sticks around because one only runs and hides in such a situation if they are guilty of wrongdoing. In the end, she is dies by the hand husband. Desdemona is also seen to be an open-minded and mature person. She celebrates the success of Cassio as next in line governor of Cypress. Othello, unfortunately, interprets this as a sign that she has feelings for Cassio.
Desdemona has proven to live up to her character as a faithful, loyal, loving, and all-submissive person. Her last words are an answer to Emilia’s question as to whom has brought this tragic end. She says that it is nobody but her and that the ones she leaves behind should commend the Lord to show her mercy after death. Desdemona is a symbol of the woman in society who is over-submissive to her spouse. To a point, she cannot recognize strange or threatening behavior that may bring harm to her—the cost of courage.
The Theme of Loyalty versus Obedience is seen in Act 5. Loyalty is of the essence if any sort of relationship is to thrive, even for success to be possible. But one has to draw the line between loyalty and obedience. Being loyal should not mean that one obeys every request by authority figures or partners. Blind loyalty is not the best strategy. At the same time, being disobedient can be a breach of loyalty.
The best thing is to strike a balance between loyalty and obedience. It is knowing the limits not to cross when it comes to the two. Desdemona is too submissive and complacent. Her devotion to Othello blinds her to the fact that something is wrong with Othello. It does not occur to her that it will take more than her words to reverse his murderous intentions. In the end, she ends up paying with her life and creating a fatal chain reaction where two more, Othello and Emilia die, one by his hand, another coincidentally at the hands of her husband.
In conclusion, the play, even though written by a 16th Century poet (Shakespeare), presents a picture of pertinent issues in society. How far-reaching the consequences of complacency and submissiveness can be. In the same respects, loyalty and obedience complement each other, but people should train their minds to recognize when both or either one is to be put aside or observed.
