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Why Othello Killed Desdemona: A
Woman's Perspective (click here to read in Black on White) by Bernadine Fox Vancouver BC 2002
“... and I will kill thee/And love thee after.” (V. ii. )
Commonly,
Othello is described as a tragic
love story evoked from jealousy, racism, and/or the struggle between good
and evil. However, when
considered from a feminist perspective, what is immediately revealed is
that Othello provides a 16th-century example of domestic
violence which, unfortunately, remains pertinent to this day.
Othello does not kill Desdemona out of jealousy but for reasons
which are much more base and, sadly, commonplace. In 1604,
(at the very time Othello was
written) new marital laws were adopted by this Elizabethan society.
These included strict adherences to various procedures, including
the requirement for parental consent (Garber 118, 120).
Lack of the same was considered one of the gravest violations
because it “struck at the core of the entire social system... [M]arriages
were arranged... based upon... economic considerations, and without regard
to ties of affection or personal choice”(Garber 120).
Clearly, in Othello, Desdemona (more so than he) “threatens the basis of the
patriarchal social order”(Snow 240) by eloping with the Moor. Many view Desdemona’s character as saintly, pure, divine and of “bless’d condition”[1]. Outwardly, Desdemona is the faithful, obedient and a subservient 16th-century woman loyal to her husband. However, her behaviour leaves Brabantio[2] “scandalized” by the betrayal of her “female sexuality” and her “revolt against his authority” with her “independent will”(Snow 240). Certainly, “unruly,” “defiant,” “disobedient,” and “insubordinate” are all labels that could be applied to this Elizabethan and “feminist”[3] character. After marriage, instead of becoming Othello’s “admiring audience”(Garber 136), Desdemona demonstrates: “...nothing
like wifely subservience or docility.
Instead she is self-assured, spirited, free to speak in her own
voice, and confident in her ability to speak for Othello.”(Snow 236) Othello
is customarily characterized as an honourable man who is well-respected,
honest, noble, virtuous, and self-controlled.
The events of the final act, however, expose these labels as
incomplete. Othello, in the
very first act, reveals an over-inflated and unrealistic sense of self.
As Brabantio arrives to confront him, Othello responds to Iago’s
urging to vacate with, “Not I; I must be found:/My parts, my title and
my perfect soul,/Shall manifest me rightly”(Shakespeare 7). Characteristic
of wife-batterers shortly after the marital consummation, Othello
dramatically changes from demonstrative love to displaying intense
jealousy. He is physically
abusive (i.e., he strikes Desdemona in Act IV, Scene I), uncommunicative
(i.e., his disjointed, verbal jabs at her when Lodovico arrives with new
orders), and distrustful (i.e., he does not believe her explanation about
the handkerchief). Eventually,
he kills her. Othello is
perceived as (and asserts that) his actions are out of loving her (“lov’d
not wisely but too well”(Shakespeare 91, Snow 215)).
Despite all the ways that Othello holds responsibility (primarily
professionally), he abdicates responsible for killing Desdemona(Neely 94).
He blames Iago (and/ or some evil force) for his crime: “Will
you, I pray, demand that demi-devil/Why he hath thus ensnar’d my soul
and body” (Shakespeare 90,
Snow 215). In
addition, societal attitudes spin a martyr out of Othello’s suicide.
His former lieutenant, Cassio (who Othello has just wrongly
accused), expresses little concern over Desdemona’s death, but responds
with reverence over Othello’s, “For he was great of
heart”(Shakespeare 91). This
is a clear and contemporary example of how male
attitudes condone and, therefore, tacitly support men killing women
who are ultimately considered their possessions and/or extensions of
themselves. Edward
Snow in his article “Sexual Anxiety and the Male Order of Things in Othello,” postulates that Othello perceives “Desdemona’s
virginal blood [as] a lustful orgasmic discharge, the female equivalent of
his semen” and that he feels responsible for “transform[ing] her from
a chaste object of desire into a sexually demanding [and insatiable and,
therefore, dangerous] woman” (Snow
218, 227, 221). Thus, Snow
asserts that Othello kills Desdemona to “undo the breach her sexuality
has created in the stable male order of things”(Snow 240).
In addition, it is proffered that Othello is the victim of
internalized racism and privately accepts that he “is the villain who
corrupts Desdemona and charms her into acting the part of a common
whore...”(Snow 227). Others theorize that Othello’s engagement in the Turkish
war brings forth a monstrous and murderous personality change (Beacon
School 2). A more commonly-held interpretation is that Iago’s poisoned words cause Othello to commit a crime-of-passion. However, this too does not hold up to scrutiny. This is a premeditated murder which Othello investigates (i.e., interrogates Emilia), plans, thinks out, discusses and then commits: Othello: Get me some poison, Iago; this night. ... Iago: Do it not with poison, strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated. Othello: Good, good: the justice of it pleases: very good.(Shakespeare 65) Othello’s
simple or “open nature”(Shakespeare 20) is not the reason he is
acquiesces to Iago’s manipulation.
Othello did not become the celebrated military man he is by being
easily induced by subordinate officers.
In addition, when Brabantio and Roderigo challenge Othello, in Act
1, Scene III, he responds with “Were it my cue to fight, I should have
known it/Without a prompter”(Shakespeare 9) indicating that he operates
(quite confidently) on his intuition and experience.
Therefore, for this theory to have merit, we must conclude that
Shakespeare had to oust “Othello” out of character to justify his
murderous behaviour. All of
these theories overlook the most obvious reason.
In my opinion, Othello’s conduct remains in character throughout
the play and the markers for the final act are consistently presented. Othello
is a man of war; a military man; a General.
His entire life and sense of himself (his stories, his wars, his
wounds) -- since the age of seven -- arise out of his military service.
Here he is a respected and honoured man.
Even in his personal relationships, he gains acceptance through his
war experiences. In my
opinion, despite all his proclamations of love, this reputation is more
important than Desdemona’s life or virtue. Shakespeare
quickly introduces and resolves the Turkish war indicating that this, in
and of itself, is irrelevant to the story-line.
However, it is the instrument which positions the play in Cyprus
and, consequently, in Othello’s work environment.
Now, his professional authority and reputation, is juxtaposed next
to his personal relationship with Desdemona.
As promised to the Senate when they agreed to allow her to
accompany him, Othello removed himself from their wedding bed twice to attend to work-related situations.
A clear marker that his military position took precedence over his
marriage. Their
wedding bed, in this specific milieu, brought into focus Othello’s
ultimate conflict. Unlike
with his troops (and yet, in full view of them) he found himself in the
perplexing position of needing to, but not being successful at controlling
his new wife. Her sexual enjoyment frightened him, “O curse of
marriage/That we can call these delicate creatures ours,/And not their
appetites!” (Shakespeare 48). Her
defiance of her father became a threat to his own authority, “Look to
her, Moor, if thou has eyes to see:/She has deceived her father, and may
thee” (Shakespeare 18). In
addition, when she subsequently appeals on Cassio’s behalf he finds
himself saying, “I will deny thee nothing” (Shakespeare 43).
In marriage, his ability to maintain authority and his reputation
as a man is now directly at stake. It
is this, more than anything, which overwhelms Othello. The
turning point for Othello is the moment he concedes to Iago that it is possible that Desdemona has been unfaithful, (“I think my wife be
honest, and think she is not;...Her name, that was as fresh/As Dian’s
visage, is now begrimed and black/As mine own face” (Shakespeare 52)).
The doubt alone is the fatal straw.
There is no return for Othello and no possible salvation for
Desdemona. That which is
perceived is often more damaging than what is known to be true. When
Othello “blow[s] to heaven”(Shakespeare 53) his love for Desdemona,
one of Iago’s responses is, “Witness that here Iago doth give up/The
execution of his wit, hands, heart,/To wrong’d Othello’s service!
(emphasis added)”(Shakespeare 54) Iago understands the impact of his
fiendish plan. By using
Cassio as Desdemona’s fictitious lover, who is not only a subordinate to
Othello but is his right-hand-man, Iago psychologically strikes at the
very heart of Othello: his honour as a man, his reputation as a military
General, his authority, and ultimately his entire sense of self.
Othello does not kill Desdemona because she has been unfaithful.
To protect his reputation and “occupation” he has to kill
Desdemona (and Cassio) because it has been perceived that she is
unfaithful. The murder of
Desdemona is an honor killing. “An
honourable murder, if you will;/For nought did I in hate, but all in
honour”(Shakespeare 90). When
Othello realizes this is a “murder” and not a “sacrifice,” the
taking of his own life is often mistaken as being motivated by
overwhelming remorse. However,
in my opinion, this too has little to do with Desdemona.
The evidence of this is in Cassio’s declaration, “O, I have
lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of
myself...”(Shakespeare 36). Here,
Cassio weeps the words that “honorable” Othello can only think when he
realizes that his rash actions will, in fact, strip him of service and
imprison him. Othello kills
himself not for the love of Desdemona, but because he does not know how to
live without his reputation and occupation.
Upon arriving at Desdemona’s death bed, Lodovico asks who has
done this “rash” action Othello responds referring to himself in past
tense, “That’s he that was
Othello: here I am” (emphasis added)(Shakespeare 89). Shakespeare created a play where both primary female characters (one defiant, one submissive) are silenced. Othello smothers his wife both physically and emotionally (she will not speak against him even in the end). Emilia stands up to Iago when she says, “Let heaven and men and devils, let them all,/All, all cry shame against me, yet I’ll speak” (Shakespeare 87), and then Iago stabs her. Shakespeare depicts the male environment so sound and yet so fragile that the introduction of Desdemona shakes it at its very foundation. Either men had to change, or these women had to die (Snow 222). Snow offers an adept interpretation: “Instead of being forced to confront the predicament of every woman caught within a patriarchal society, we can indulge in “the pity of it” and regard Desdemona as the unfortunate victim of Othello’s `tragic’ misconception and Iago’s `motiveless malignity.’(Snow 216) Desdemona’s
feeble comments are a reflection of those made today by battered woman who
are beaten and/or threatened with death.
When a battering husband is attempting to kill his wife, the only
course of action for her to please him, be obedient and/or be loyal is to
die and accept full responsibility for her own death.
Desdemona’s last words reflect this attitude, i.e., “Nobody; I
myself [have done this]”(Shakespeare 85, Snow 238). Shakespeare
aptly protrays social denial around violence against women, i.e., “Look
on the tragic loading of this bed;/This is thy work: the object poisons
sight;/Let it be hid” (Shakespeare 91, Snow 214).
“Tis better as it is” (Shakespeare 6).
Up until a few years ago, services for battered women were
difficult to attain. In the
‘male order of things,’ authorities (often headed by men) did little
to assist women. Now services are available, albeit limited, and the
authorities still struggle to adequately fund what has been established by
women for women. Women still
struggle to maintain control over the operation and philosophy of these
services. So the question begs to be answered. Did Shakespeare set in motion centuries of copycat Othellos? Atlanta,
Georgia:
A man, distraught over losing $100,000 through day-trading, kills
his wife and two small children before killing several other individuals
and then himself. The notes he left pinned to his families’ dead bodies
indicated that he killed them because of his overwhelming love for them. Has Shakespeare provided a long surviving Othellean role model for men who kill their wives under the guise of love? 60%
of female homocides are committed by the men
who profess to love them the most. Or, is the battering of women so ingrained in our society that its roots go back to the 16th century and little has changed? Vancouver,
BC: A
teenage boy upset about a breakup with his girlfriend stalks her and then
kills her, leaving her body in an alley.
“If I can’t have her, no one can.” What is clear is that Desdemona was murdered to protect Othello’s honor. Pakistan, India, (and other Muslim countries): Women, suspected of adulteress behavior, are being stabbed, shot and burned to death in what is called “honor killings.” Even if it is discovered that there is no violation, or no apparent responsibility on her part (i.e., rape) she is still killed to preserve the family’s honor. The murder of Desdemona was just this type of “honor killing.”
An Aside
- Iago’s Motive To further support this theory, I contend that Iago’s rage at being passed over for a promotion motivated him to devise a means of destroying Othello, professionally and personally. Iago’s plan worked. Even Cassio’s survival of Roderigo’s attack and the latter’s death were strategically planned by Iago. With Roderigo dead, Iago was not accountable for the theft of jewelry and money. Keeping Cassio alive was the only way that Othello would eventually learn that he had killed the woman he loved in error -- a personal grenade. The exposure of Othello’s dishonorable deed -- the professional demise -- was orchestrated by sending Emilia to the bedchamber at the right moment to discover Desdemona’s death. Here Iago states, “This is the night/That either makes me or fordoes me quite.” (81). Up to this point, Iago’s plan had worked perfectly. And then, it fell apart. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Work
Cited Garger,
Marjorie. Coming of Age in
Shakespeare. New York: Methuen & Co. 1981. Neely, Carol Thomas. “Women and Men in Othello .” In William Shakespeare’s Othello (Modern Critical Interpretations). Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
@ 2010 bernadinefox.ca
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