• Character of Desdemona in Othello
Character and role of Desdemona in Othello . Is Desdemona a pathetic character rather than tragic? Discuss. It is very easy, as several recent critics have noted, to canonize Desdemona, a fate rather common to a number of Shakespeare’s particularly appealing heroines. Desdemona, however, is made of stern stuff and not all her characteristics are quite so saintly. This is far from giving credence to Iago’s insinuations. It implies rather that she is human. It is a little too easy to consider Desdemona as not much more than the object of Othello’s love and the victim of the passion. This is ironic, for Desdemona’s chief quality is her independence, a characteristic not uncommon in a number of Shakespeare’s female characters. She is no shy, reticent creature when it comes to standing up for herself before the senators of Venice . We have to consider that she is brought at night to speak for herself and Othello before an angry and distressed father. Her language is firm, temper...