Desdemona Essay, Research Paper

Beauty is in the oculus of the perceiver, as is virtue. Such is the instance of the virtuousness of the character Desdemona, from the drama The Tragedy of Othello, by William Shakespeare. Desdemona was shown as a low moral, virtue less female in the essay The Character of Desdemona by John Quincy Adams. Contrary to this, the modern reader can see that Shakespeare really showed her to be a virtuous and loving individual, whose ain artlessness lead to her death.

Is Desdemona a virtuous character? Is at that place anyone who can be so self-denying? Shakespeare is careful to give her a few minor flaws- her intervention of Brabantio, her obstinate continuity about Cassio, her prevarication about the handkerchief- to do her realistic. But the overall character of Desdemona is of high stature, it is her really artlessness that makes her a victim of circumstance. As a immature Venetian adult female, Desdemona has lived a sheltered life in her male parent & # 8217 ; s place. This sheltering gave her an unconditioned passion for all the things that she was denied. She was denied all things that a modern twenty-four hours adult females would be allowed to make, including the right to fall in love with person free of societal position, age or race. She so falls in love, likely for the first clip, with a adult male several old ages older than herself, from a faraway land, and of a different race. She is captivated by the adult male & # 8217 ; s narratives and wants she were a adult male so that she might besides hold an exciting life, the really life she was denied because of her being a adult females. Knowing that her male parent would disapprove of her matrimony to such a adult male, she elopes with Othello. Desdemona is portrayed as a lovely, brave, soft adult female, profoundly in love with her hubby. However, she is non a perfect character but her ethical motives, and her virtuousnesss are still at that place. In the drama Desdemona says to her male parent Brabantio, & # 8220 ; ( I, iii ; 180 ) My baronial male parent, I do perceive here a divided responsibility: To you I am bound for life and instruction ; My life and instruction both do larn me How to esteem you ; you are the Godhead of responsibility & # 8221 ; . No affair what the fortunes may be, she ne’er stopped esteeming her male parent. Though still she had to follow her bosom. Her lover Othello says of her, & # 8220 ; She gave me for my strivings a universe of suspirations & # 8221 ; ( I, iii ; 168 )

However one individual in clip may see an event or character, another individual in another clip can comprehend the same to be of wholly different significances. John Quincy Adams says that Desdemona lacks virtuousnesss and all she does is do her male parent heartache to his deceasing bed. He says that & # 8220 ; the passion of Desdemona for Othello is unnatur

Al, entirely and entirely because of his color.” Which if looked at by today? s criterions would keep of no significance what the individuals skin colour is. Second he says that her elopement to him, and secret matrimony with him, indicate a personal character non merely really lacking in daintiness, but wholly irrespective of filial responsibility, of female modestness, and of artless shame. Third he states, “her lack in daintiness is discernable in her behavior and discourse throughout the play.” Wholly he thinks that she has done nil but incorrect when she ran off for her love, and that she has low ethical motives and no virtuousnesss because she has wronged her male parent.

In contrast to what John Quincy Adams said of the character of Desdemona, cogent evidence from the drama itself states otherwise. ? If virtue no delighted beauty deficiency, Your son-in-law is far more just than black? , John Quincy Adams uses that quotation mark to exemplify how the tegument colour love matter had shown Desdemona to be of low ethical motives, and that she had committed an unnatural thing. When as seen by today? s criterions it is absolutely all right for two people of different races, ages, sexes, nationality and faiths to be in love and to wed. Another quotation mark from the drama used by John Q. Adams is, & # 8220 ; With the Moor, say & # 8217 ; st thou? & # 8211 ; Who would be a male parent? ? that quotation mark helps to exemplify how the male parent was hurt by the actions of his girl. When in fact Desdemona meant no injury to her male parent, she merely wanted to make what? s right as is said by Iago, & # 8220 ; She that was of all time just and ne’er proud, Had lingua at will and yet was ne’er loud & # 8230 ; & # 8221 ; ( II, I ; 158 ) . Besides shown to us by Desdemona herself is how she felt towards her male parent all along, once more turn outing wrong the portraiture of her by John Q. Adams, & # 8220 ; ( I, iii ; 180 ) My baronial male parent, I do perceive here a divided responsibility: To you I am bound for life and instruction ; My life and instruction both do larn me How to esteem you ; you are the Godhead of responsibility & # 8221 ; . Desdemona was loved by many, including Othello, and truly so, & # 8220 ; But that I love the soft Desdemona & # 8221 ; ( I, ii ; 24 ) . Even John Q. Adams is quoted stating himself in his essay, & # 8220 ; Desdemona, & # 8230 ; is good-humored and lovely, & # 8221 ; towards the top of his last paragraph. Even he in the terminal admitted to the fact that Desdemona & # 8217 ; s character is good-humored, lovely, virtuous, and still retains its ethical motives.

Many people from separate clip periods can look at Desdemona in different ways. The modern reader will use the modern facets of life to the narrative and expression at it from that position, while person like John Quincy Adams looks at it from the vision of the clip period he lived in.