In a story by Salman Rushdie (The New Yorker, July 2001), a character makes the following remarks about Othello:
"Othello doesn't love Desdemona....He says he does, but it can't be true. If he loves her, the murder makes no sense. For me, Desdemona is Othello's trophy wife, his most valuable and status-giving possession, the physical proof of his risen standing in a white-man's world. You see? He loves that about her, but not her. Desdemona's death is an "honor killing." She didn't have to be guilty; the accusation was enough. The attack on her virtue was incompatible with Othello's honor. She's not even a person to him. She's his Oscar-Barbie statuette. His doll."
Do you think this is a valuable commentary on the character? Why or why not? Support your thoughts with evidence from the text. The text is our best support for dealing with controversial topics like this.
Answer by Friday, April 16, 2010. Remember to sign your name so I know who earned credit for your post.
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I completely disagree with the character who said those things about Orthello. I believe he truely loved Desdemona. On page 26, Orthello has just got into the sea port in Cyprus. He says, "If I were now to die, 'T were now to be most happy". This shows he is truely in love with her. Another reason I believe Orthello loved her is because if he didn't, he would not have been so consumed in his jealousy. If he didn't love her, jealousy would not bother him. He truely loved Desdemona. He did kill her but it was because he was so upset because he believed she had cheated. I'm not saying his anger justified his murder, but I believe he loved her. A third reason I believe he loved her is because he didn't want to scar her skin by strangling her. He couldn't stop kissing her before he commited his crime. He had to convince himself it was justice that she died. He even tried to get her to pray so she would be sent to heaven instead of hell. The character who said those things obviously has not read the entire play.
ReplyDelete*kenzie renner
I do not agree with Mr. Rushdie's comment. For one, Othello has many comments that proves to me that he truly loves Desdemona. Even after he kills her, I can still tell that he loves her. On page 7 Othello says "But that i love the gentle Desdemona, I would not my unhoused free condition put into circumscription and confine for the sea's worth." In this statement, Othello is saying that he loves Desdemona so much that he would not have given up his freedom's to any person except Desdemona. Then on page 26, Othello says "If it were now to die, 'T were now to be most happy." Here he is saying that if he died now, he would die happy because Desdemona makes him so happy that not even death could ruin his happiness. Mr. Rushdie's article is his opinion and i do not agree with his opinion. Based on these statements by Othello, i believe that Othello truely does love Desdemona.
ReplyDelete-Matt Primetime Cucciarre
I completely agree with both Matt and Kenzie about Othello's feelings toward Desdemona. All through this book he expresses his love toward her. On page 26, he says that he would be contempt if he were to die right now and that no other feeling could compare to the way he loved her in that very instant. On page 43, he says that without her love, there would only be chaos in his life. Throughout the rest of the story, Othello plans to kill Desdemona for her "sins." Some would say that just the thought of him killing Desdemona shows that he doesn't love her, but it's the way he does it that shows his true love for her. On page 81, Othello keeps repeating, "It is the cause," trying to convince himself that this is the right thing to do. Why would someone have to think about this if they didn't have feelings for that person? On page 85, Desdemona says to lie and say that her death is on her terms, not Othello's. This is a turning point for Othello, in my opinion. He realized that even though he has just killed his wife, she is willing to take the blame for his mistake. He finally admits that it as himself who killed Desdemona, maybe in his mind thanking that he can "lighten" the situation maybe. On page 87, Othello is taking it all in and he is so upset over what he has just done that all he can do is sit there and cry. He obviously loved Desdemona, or he wouldn't have felt any of these feelings toward her.
ReplyDelete- Tyler Norman -
I disagree completely with the character who said these things. Othello most certainly loves Desdemona. On Page 26 he says" If it were now to die,'T were now to be most happy". He means that with Desdemona and all this love, if he died at that very moment, he would die a happy man. My second piece of evidence that Othello loves her is the simple fact that if he did not then why would jealousy bother him? If he did not love her like he says he does then he would be looking at other women and not care what she does. But he is deeply affected by even the whisper of doubt that she has been unfaithful. So much so, that it destroys the both of them. My last piece of solid proof is that right before Othello was going to kill Desdemona, he could not stop kissing her and he gave her a chance to confess. He didnt kill her out of spite. He truly thought this was the only way to solve everyone's problem and she deserved it. He still loved her to the moment she breathed her last breath and even after, it is fair to say he loved her even more.
ReplyDelete*Tia Bowden*
I don't think this Rushdie person knows what he is talking about! I disagree with his views on this topic. In the beggining of Othello, Othello is portrayed as a respectible, honest, and loyal man. My thoughts of a person like this would definately not be a person who marries someone that He doesnt really love and calls her his "trophey wife." I find it harder to beleive this when in the story Othello finally makes it back from sea after the storm, he and Desdemona kiss a lot and Othello says "If I were to die now, I would die a happy man." Also, in the end of the book when Othello is about ready to kill Desdemona he talks to the stars trying to convice himself that this really needs to be done. If Othello really didnt love Desdemona then he would't try to think of a just reason of why he has to kill her. In the same scene Othello tells Desdemona to pray and repent so that she doesnt go to (the opposite place of heaven) when she dies. He also decides to smother he instead of strangle he because he deosn't want to harm her body or leave any marks. He says she is to beautiful to harm. To me, all of these reasons clearly show that Othello truly loves Desdemona.
ReplyDelete-Luke Bru.
I disagee with the characters comment about Othello. I believe that Othello does truely love Desdemona. At the beggining of Othello, Othello is talked up as being respectable and honorable. If he didn't love Desdemona I don't think he would have tied himself down to one person espcially with his time consuming job and having to go off to fight all the time. On page 7 Othello said "But i love the gentle Desdemona, I would not my unhoused free condition put into circumscription and confine for the sea's worth." He means that he loves her so much he would give up his freedom to be with her. If someone wasn't in love with the person they were about to marry i don't think that they would say they would give up everything they had to be with that someone. Also when othello was contemplating whether to go through with murdering Desdemona, he struggled with which way to do it because he didn't want to ruin her beautiful face. Also, he had to keep reassuring himself and reminding himself that he HAD to murder her because she betrayed him. If he was that jealous about her cheating i think he truely did love her.
ReplyDelete-Alex Morrow
I disagree with the character's remarks about Othello. Othello did love Desdemona very much. Othello was already a respected and noble man in Venice and Cyprus. He didn't need Desdemona to give him the respect, honor, and status that the character is talking about. He earned his status before he met Desdemona. Othello did honestly love Desdemona. He mentions many times that would be content if he died right then. An example of that would be on page 26 when he says, "If I were now to die, I were now to be most happy." This quote shows that he is content with his life and does love Desdemona. Another example would be on page 82 when Othello asks Desdemona if she has already prayed. This shows that he cared about her enough to want her to go to heaven. One last example would be when Othello says on page 91, "Of one that loved not wisely but too well." This quote shows that he honestly did love Desdemona, and he maybe even loved her too much. The character's remarks about Othello are not really how Othello felt about Desdemona.
ReplyDeleteMolly Gamble
I agree with everyone by disagreeing with Rushdie's view on the characters. I think that Desdemona and Othello truely were in love. If they really weren't I don't think they would have gone through all of that trouble in order to be together. Othello is all confused and has to seriously convince himself to go through with the murder and this is all the way up to until he is about to smother her "it is the cause, it is the cause, my soul: let me not name it to you, you chaste stars! It is the cause." He literllay is telling himself that this is what he has to do and that the stars are so pure and innocent that they shouldn't see this. He askes her if there is any last thing she wants to confess before she dies so he doesn't send her to hell! He doesn't want to send her there. If Othello truely didn't love her he won't get this upset and emotional about it Iago telling him of a supposed affair. If he was just married to her because of her skin color he wouldn't have gone through that much pain and thinking she was cheating as he did. He probably wouldn't have cared then. This just shows me how much he really cared for her and how he still loved her in the end for who she truely was.
ReplyDelete~Kaylee Meyers~
I would have to say that i agree with Rushdie's view of Othello's character. Othello may have said he loved Desdemona, and he may have been affectionate with her, but he did not truly love her. People don't murder people they love. Especially for their own selfish reasons. Most people believe that it was jealousy that consumed Othello and led him to killing Desdemona. I believe it was just pure anger. He couldn't stand the thought of Desdemona cheating on him because that ruins his reputation of a perfect life and a perfect wife. Even if it wasn't true, the rumor alone could ruin his social standing and pride. If Othello truly loved Desdemona, he would try his hardest to get to the bottom of the story. However, he chose to beleive the rumors, and I believe he had his mind set all along that he must kill her. After he kills Desdemona he describes himself as "an honourable murderer". This shows that he killed Desdemona because he didn't want her to ruin his pride and honor. Othello may have been a hero, but all heroes have their flaws. Othello's was he was too concerned with what other people thought about him. After all, he told the Senate members to speak well of him. This shows that even after he is dead he cares what people think about him and wants them to honor him. I beleive that is all Othello cared about, and he did not truly love Desdemona.
ReplyDelete-Danielle Hitchcock
I don not agree with Rushies comment because if Othello didnt love her then why is her stressing over her supposedly being with another man? If he didnt care about her or love her then why would spend so much time trying to believe whether or not she loved him? At the beginning he sadi if he were to die at the moment he would die happy. Its hard for someone eto love so meone so much and then just all of the sudden stop loving them. So i think Othello loved Desdamona the whole time.. he was just hurt.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree with Rushies comment because if Othello didnt love her then why is her stressing over her supposedly being with another man? If he didnt care about her or love her then why would spend so much time trying to believe whether or not she loved him? At the beginning he said if he were to die at the moment he would die happy. Its hard for someone to love someone so much and then just all of the sudden stop loving them. So i think Othello loved Desdamona the whole time.. he was just hurt.
ReplyDelete-laney ellzey
I do not agree with what the character said at all. I believe that Othello loved Desdemona with all of his heart. Desdemona meant the world to Othello and he tried to do all he could to make her happy. In Othello it is clear how much love Desdemona and Othello share. If anything Othello loved Desdemona too much he wanted her all for himself and got jealous very easily. Jealousy led to Othello wanting to kill Desdemona, he was very protective of her and wanted her only for himself. Othello only loved Desdemona, and because of this when Iago accused her and Cassio of cheating this made him very upset. Othello felt like Desdemona committed an awful crime even know she really didn’t. I believe if anything Othello loved Desdemona too much and this is what led him to want to kill her.
ReplyDeleteJack Moonshower
I also do not agree with Rushdie's comment. I believe that othello did really love Desdemona a great amount. He was so passionate and careing about her during the story. The quote that really makes me feel that Othello does love Desdemona is when he says "of one that loved not wisely but too well". This means that he loved Desdemona so much that he coulden't even bare to see her with another man. This is why he killed her not because he didn't love her but because he loved and cared about her to much and was not smart about his love for her. To me if you really care about someone a great amount and then they go and get with another man it does upset you so i can see why Othello was so upset. This is why i think that Othello loved desdemona a great amount, even if it did end up hurting him in the end.
ReplyDeleteJoe Moonshower:)
I also do not agree with Rushdie's comment. I belive that Othello di love Desdemona. I think that he loved Desdemona but when Iago told Othello that Desdemona was cheating on him this is the way he reacted. He was in love with her i think even when he told him that he was cheating on him because he did not belive it and needed proof. But when Iago gave him proof he was so upset that this was the only way he knew how to react. I also belive this because after he killed her and figured out that she was innocent he immediatly felt sorry and started crying and wanted her back and killed himself. So i do belive that Othello actually loved Desdemona but iago made him not love her.
ReplyDeleteThat last one was by Tyler Coll
ReplyDeleteI dont believe that Othello loved her because in my optionion if someone told me my gf cheated on me i wouldnt go out and kill her even with that little bit of evidence that he was shown. A simple handkercheif and some lies wouldnt prove anything to me i would instantly think it was lies to mess things up for me. The jealousy he had in my opinion was nothing but infatuation and it seemed more like anger than jealousy. At times he calls her a "whore" he has no actual evidence that she even cheated on him. Now some people would say why would he kill himself then? Well that would be because he was so infatuated with her that he couldnt stand the thought that he actually killed her for something that wasn't even true and he would end up facing the consequences so death was the easy way out for him. Love is not a simple thing but you wouldn't kill your wife if you THOUGHT she was cheating but rather find out whether its the truth or just lies.
ReplyDelete-Bart thee Barthels
I don't agree with what Rushdie said about Othello not loving Desdemona. In Act II when he said, “If it were now to die, ‘T were now to be most happy,” that is how he truly felt about her. He just let his emotions get the better of him when he heard Iago say that Desdemona has been with Cassio. I think he thought that since he wasn’t perfect he needed to find something wrong with Desdemona and he actually believed what he was thinking instead of following what his heart said.
ReplyDeleteAlso I think he truely cared and loved her because in the final scene he was still trying to convince himself that it was the right thing to do. Someone who didn't care or love someone would have just killed her like Iago did to Emilia.
Samantha Heppeard
i completely disagree with the statements made about Othello. When i read the book there was many things that made me realize that he truely did love Desdemona. Such as, in the book when he says, "if i were to die now i would die happy." By this he means if he were to die he would die happy because he is with Desdemona. Also if he didnt love her he would not of been jealous when Iago was telling him she was cheating on him with Cassio. He would of not cared at all when Iago told him all thoses stories but instead he really did care. which then again shows that he really did love Desdemona and it hurt him hearing she cheated on him with another man. Yes, at the end of the book he did kill her but i think he killed her because he loved her and it really did scare him that she was gonna leave him for another man. He didnt want that at all so he killed her so he knew she could never be with another man if she didnt wanna be with him. Also i no he loved her because when he finally found out she didnt cheat on him he killed his self so he could be with her in the end. This all shows that Othello really did love Desdemona
ReplyDeletei forgot to write my name that last one is by Tiffany Pierce
ReplyDeleteI belive that Othello really does love Desdamona. I belive this because Othello showed passion for Desdamoina in many ways throughtout the play. Desdamona's father gave her the choice of him or Othello. Desdamona chose Othello. Desdemona said that she was in .love with Othello. Othello made sure when he was to go away for war that Desdamiona wwould be well taken care of. When Othello was told the supposives sstory of Desdamona cheating on him he because very upset and angry. If Othello didn't love Desdamona Othello wouldn't have cared that she cheated on him and would have just went and found someone else to be with. Since Othello cared so much that he killed Desdamona that is saying he loves her because he wouldn't just go and kill her for no reason.
ReplyDeleteRicki
I completely disagree with those comments about Othello. I truley think that Othello does love Desdmeno. Othello says over and over in the play how much he loves Desdemona. I think that the only reason Othello kills her is because he kept hearing lies over and over. Once he heard them so many times, he began to believe them. Othello was seeing Desdemona with Cassio, so he began to believe all of the lies he was hearing. He really did truly love her. In the play, he said he loved her, but he loved to wisely. He loved her too much because he couldn't possibly see her with other men. He was so mad when he heard the lies about Desdemona from Iago. He just continued believing them. I think Othello did love Desdemona, but with all of the lies being repeated, he started believing them. After he killed her, he realized what he did wrong, and he wished he wouldn't have done it. When Othello killed himself, that showed he really did love her and he realized he made a huge mistake.
ReplyDeleteBy Ashley Schnipke
I strongly disagree with the statement above. Yes, Othello was in a state where he made rash decisions and did not thoroughly think through things before he made his decision to kill Desdemona, but he still loved her. An example would be when he kept repaeting that it was the cause before he went in to kill her. This showed that Othello atleast sub-conciously cared for Desdemona still if he had to convince himself that it was justifiable to kill her. Othello also said that he would not strangle her becasue he did not want to bruise are scar her skin, so he decided that he would stiffle her. It was not okay at all that Othello killed Desdemona, but he did love her to the most. He didn't just think of her as a trophy wife.
ReplyDelete[Kearsten C.]*