CORINNENOTES
QUESTION 4.
HOW FAR DOES DESDEMONA SEAL HER OWN FATE?
In "Othello" Desdemona is a portrait of a woman trapped in a 'masculine', male dominated society. Can we really consider her to have "sealed her own fate" or would a better judgement be that her fate was "sealed" by the society in which she exists?
While Othello's role as the outsider can be easily recognised Desdemona is much less obviously seperated from those around her. She is, after all, the "the fair maiden" while Othello is the "black ram". Yet she is equally, if not more, misunderstood than Othello. To Brabantio she is a "maiden never bold" despite the fact that it was her rather than Othello who pursued their relationship. Both Cassio and Othello idealise her ( "she is indeed perfection" ), while Roderigo thinks that she can be bought with presents. Even Iago, who is the most aware of all of the characters of the difference between appearance and reality, has little understanding of the real Desdemona, thinking that "she must have change". These differing views of Desdemona mean that the audience has a lingering doubt over who the real Desdemona is. Is she the vision of innocence and perfection which Cassio and the early Othello would have us believe or is she the strong-willed female of the first Act who pushes her own desires too far? To take the vision of stereotyped feminine perfection though would be to underestimate both Desedmona and Shakespeare. Throughout "Othello" Shakespeare unravels stereotypes and preconceived ideas and to suggest that he adhered to these stereotypes in Desdemona would be to deminish the overall effect of the play. Even if Desdemona isn't the wide-eyed innocent can we really criticise her for her love of life and her desire to be with the man she loves? If we are to put any blame on her for her downfall then we have to balance it against this.
Can the failure of her relationship with Othello be attributed to Desdemona? She says that she saw Othello's "visage in his mind", which is a similar reaction to that of the audience. Yet she "pities" him and the age difference (and difference in life experience) cannot be ignored. She sees further past the stereotype of the "black Moor" than any of the other characters and yet since even Othello isn't aware of his true character it is doubtful that Desdemona could ever see the real Othello. Her "My lord is not my lord" is an accurate statement on the difference which has always existed between her picture of Othello and the real Othello - even if she is unable to recognise this. Her naivety compounds the problem in understanding Othello. This naivety is shown in her inability to believe that women commit adultery: "there be women do abuse their husbands/ In such gross kind?". It is difficult to be too critical of her naivety however as Desdemona is a product of her society and the real problem is not her actual naivety but the fact that Othello is equally naive. The meeting of innocence in a world full of brutality makes it an uncomfortable possibility that it will be corrupted whatever the actions of Othello and Desdemona.
At the start of the play Othello and Desdemona regard each other as equals ("my fair warrior" ), which undoubtedly gives Desdemona security in her relationship. When Othello withdraws this security it leaves Desdemona isolated and vulnerable. This causes her to push the issue of Cassio's reinstatement too far: "Pray you, let Cassio be received again". The fact that Desdemona lies about the loss of the handkercheif ( "it is not lost" ) adds to the demise of her relationship and yet it would be wrong to blame her for it. These lies are not the kind uttered by Iago but ones created through desperation. Othello's speech in Act 3 Scene 4 on the importance of the handkerchief means that Desdemona feels that she has no way out of the situation other than to repeatedly lie. She attempts to reveal the truth: "It is not lost but what an if it were?" but Othello's reaction prevents her from revealing it. In rejecting the handkerchief in the previous scene Othello is also rejecting the god-like creature he created in Desdemona. She undoubtedly recognises this rejection and this removes the security which she previously felt. Part of Desdemona's visable strength comes from the love between her and Othello and once this love is withdrawn Desdemona, outwardly, loses her strength.
After this point in the play it would be easy to criticise Desdemona's passiveness as she allows Othello to both ridicule and strike her and is only capable of meekly replying "I will not stay to offend you". Rather than actively trying to deal with the situation she instead resorts to blaming "my wretched fortune". Yet this is just a product of her despair and her inner strength reasserts itself in that she still loves Othello: "his unkindness may defeat my life/But never taint my love". In an ideal world Desdemona would be able to rise above the situation and actively defend herself. Shakespeare, however, did not create an ideal world in "Othello" and Desdemona is a psychologically real character who, in the circumstances, would have little chance of defending herself. Expecting any more would be to have a false impression of Desdemona and to underestimate the situation in which she finds herself. Yet it is Desdemona's quiet resistance to the evil of Iago which ultimately triumphs. Just as Iago influences Othello, Desdemona equally influences Emilia. The "feminine" values displayed in Act 4 Scene 3 are the ones which finally triumph over the "masculine" values of Iago.
If it is difficult to assert blame on Desdemona for her downfall then who is really responsible? Othello has to receive partial blame for his misunderstanding of Desdemona and their relationship, which is a greater factor in Desdemona's fate than her own false impressions. Othello however is just another pawn in Iago's game. It is Iago after all who states that he will untune their relationship and will turn Desdemona's "virtue into pitch/ And out of her own goodness make the net/ That shall enmesh them all". It is also important to see the wider implications of the society in which Desdemona exists. The false views of women, that they fit into either the angel Desdemona or devil Bianca mould, causes her downfall equally as much as Iago. Iago simply uses the predjudices of their society to exploit Desdemona and Othello's situation. This does not mean that Desdemona's fate is inevitable though. It simply means that it would be hard for Desdemona to exist in such a society without it suffocating her, both literally and metaphorically.
Ultimately blaming Desdemona for her fate would be to accept and agree with Iago's patriachal propaganda, ignoring the very part of her character which makes her human. None of the fates of the characters in "Othello" are inevitable due to their character, they are simply made more likely by the society in which they exist. Therefore it is the world in which Desdemona exists rather then herself which seals her fate.