She embodies "good" characteristics in order to be liked by the audience. She
appears sickly sweet to a modern 21st Century audience, but this was so a 17th
, Century audience could empathise with her, as the wife was a hard character to
sympathise with.
Despite her virtuous nature, she did marry without her father's consent, planting the
seed of doubt in Othello's mind that she could lie or be manipulative, or cheat. Her
faithfulness is shown by her refusual to tell Emilia that Othello killed her, she blames
herself.
She is a fairly consistent character throughout, her speeches are mature and
controlled. Her niavety allows her own faith to be corrupted.
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Characteristics of Desdemona
The action of this act leads the audience to the climax. It is common for complications
to arise, or for the protagonist to encounter obstacles. In the play, this is Othello
being sent to defend Cyprus, and Iago plotting.
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Act Two - The Rising Action
Othello is a combination of opposites. He is a "Black" character, but he has a perfect
soul, he is known as the "noble moor" thanks to his high status, breaking the
stereotypes that were held in the 17th century. By the end of the play, Othello
embodies most of the stereotypical traits given to him, thanks to Iago.
He doesn't get jealous easily, but when he does it is because of Iago's master
deception, and Othello loses it. Othello is a romantic figure, he has very poetic
language himself, which is often overlooked by Iago's speeches.
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