Desdemona as a Symbol of Christian Virtues

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
Desdemona
Restraint and Temperance
Courage and Fortitude
Faith
Hope
Prudence
Conclusion

Abstract

Desdemona, a character of the 17^th Century tragedy “Othello”, comes across as a Symbol of Christian virtues and values. We see her in her brightest every time she makes an appearance and appears an example of prudence and justice. Her decisions are guided by her ability to confront fear as she continues to hold strong in her faith, expecting good and loving selflessly.

Introduction

Othello, The Moor of Venice is a 17^th century tragedy by William Shakespeare. With an Italian backdrop, the tragedy centers on Othello and the plans of the villains Rodrigo and Iago as they conspire to get what they want. Besides Othello, Rodrigo and Iago some of the chief characters of this tragedy include Barbantio, Cassio, Emilia and Desdemona.

Desdemona

This paper concentrates on Desdemona. Being a woman we would expect Desdemona to be a character that cries over the hardships she is dealt with. Desdemona was one of the most brave and most loyal of characters of this tragedy. Not only this, but we find Desdemona to be a symbol of Christian Virtues in her actions. Through the course of the tragedy, Desdemona distragedys a number of Christian Virtues such as Prudence, Restraint, Courage, Faith and Hope. Desdemona distragedys the ideals of Christian values in the following ways.

Restraint and Temperance

She chooses to stay patient when the very light of her life, Othello, accuses her of being a woman of foul character and strikes her. She does not choose to violate the boundaries of abstention and stays loyal to her husband even after being degraded in public by the man she loves. We see that she feels saddened and hurt but does not resort to any form of vengeance against Othello for mistaking her. We see her as a perfect example of temperance and self-control. Even though she is in a position from where she can avenge all of Othello’s actions against her, she chooses to be patient and exercise restraint and remains loyal to the man she loves, and in turn, loyal to the love she has in her heart.

Courage and Fortitude

Through the tragedy, we see Desdemona as a character that reflects strength of character. In fact, we do not even have to follow Desdemona a distance through the tragedy as we are introduced to her while she distragedys steadfast courage. The very first time we see her in the tragedy, we see Desdemona stand in front of the grand council and openly accept that she is in love with Othello.

“My downright violence, and storm of fortunes, May trumpet to the world. My heart’s subdu’d Even to the very quality of my lord. I saw Othello’s visage in his mind, And to his honors and his valiant parts Did I my soul and fortune consecrate”

We see Desdemona exercise courage in the truest sense of the word as she stands her ground against her father’s denial to give his blessings to her decision of becoming Othello’s wife. Through the course of the tragedy, never once does she show fear in defending the love that she holds faith in never once does she choose to compromise on her principles.

We never see her strength of will falter even once. Her desire to be true and loving to the very extreme remains unwavering even when she arrives in Cyprus after having survived the shipwreck, her first thought is not of her safety or of any other person but of her love Othello as she says:

“What tidings can you tell me of my lord?”

Faith

She stays strong in the faith she holds in her love and continues to strive to make her husband happy and the scenario around her a more calmer and peaceful one. Desdemona exercises the sacred virtue of faith as she is dealt with the hardship of being accused by the very man she loves. She observes faith in herself and her love as she loves Othello even after being falsely accused of being dishonest to him. The degree of faith she possesses can be seen to be nothing less than monumental. This can be inferred by the fact that we see her choose to love her husband and to ask Emilia, her attendant, to forgive him for his mistake when she walks into the room after Othello suffocates Desdemona to her last breaths. She frees Othello of any accusation as she speaks with her last few breaths:

“O, falsely, falsely murdered…a guiltless death I die”

Hope

Perhaps one of Desdemona’s most praiseworthy of traits is the hope that she chooses to instill in the eventuality of her beliefs and the strength with which she defends them. Desdemona does not let the hope in her heart weaken in the face of the hardships she is faced with and bestows her destiny on that same hope through the course of the tragedy.

Desdemona becomes very upset at the ruthlessness that her husband adopts but she continues to be loyal to him and stays patient through her suffering. But with the hope that her husband will see the error of his ways, she continues to love Othello with the same sincerity and honesty with which she set out with him for the Island of Cyprus in the beginning. She continues to remain perplexed about Othello’s changing behavior but continues to love him the same way all the same as she says:

“Alas the heavy day! Why do you weep? Am I the motive of these tears, my lord?…I hope my noble lord esteems me honest…Alas, what ignorant sin have I committed?”

Prudence

Desdemona is seen to be a religious observer of prudence in her judgment of the series of events that she finds herself in. Desdemona, the symbol of Christian virtue, remains loyal to her husband as she suffers from confusion and stays by her husband’s side as she ponders upon why her husband has undergone a sudden change of behavior towards her when she becomes a victim to the conspiring circles of Iago’s plan. She chooses to be understanding about her husband’s mistaken perception and judges the situation her husband is in to be one in which her husband is not at fault.

Conclusion

Even as she passes on from life to death, she chooses to love her husband as she has always loved him from the beginning of the tragedy when we were introduced to her character. She dies refusing to accuse her husband of having committed a crime as she says:

“Commend me to my kind lord: O, farewell!”

She continues to love Othello with all her heart and all her sincerity and continues to do so until she breaths her last.

Desdemona goes through an incredible degree of hardship and becomes the center piece of the villains plot, yet she continues to remain true and honest in her principles and beliefs. She stays strong and patient in her opinions and resolute in her beliefs.

In light of the example of sincerity that we have observed to exist in Desdemona’s character and the Christian values that she has been shown to be a follower of, we can infer that she is truly a symbol of pure Christian virtues as she strives to stay loyal to her love every time we witness her presence in the tragedy. In light of the this tragedy of Prudence, Restraint, Courage, Faith and Hope that we observe in her character, it would not be wrong for us to conclude that she is indeed, a symbol of Christian Virtues.

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