Othello by William Shakespeare
In Othello by William Shakespeare, we see various characters who make mistakes that finally lead to their downfall. Characters like Othello, Desdemona, and Emilia exhibit personalities that lead them to failure. In essence, fault character exhibits traits that lead to their downfall; this trait includes but not limited to lack of proper judgment, being overprotective, and lack of self-knowledge, among many other tragic flaws. Desdemona, in the novel Othello, exhibit some of these traits, she is too kind, she lacks wisdom, and she is naïve. Therefore, in William Shakespeare’s Othello, Desdemona is at fault.
The first mistake that Desdemona made was to Marry Othello. This marriage should not have happened, and the society did not permit it at the time. Othello was a heathen who did not fit Desdemona’s complexion. Othello’s marriage with Desdemona sparked jealousy of Iago; in essence, the first fault that Desdemona made by marrying Othello formed the foundation of the predicaments that followed Desdemona. Besides, Desdemona loved Othello exaggeratedly.
Desdemona is unable to explain herself or defend herself; she makes mistakes by not explaining the whereabouts of Othello’s handkerchief. The truth is that she lost the handkerchief unknowingly, Iago poisoned Othello’s mind that Desdemona was wiping Cassio with the handkerchief. Desdemona fails to produce the handkerchief when Othello requests it. Thus Othello confirms what Iago said about the handkerchief, Othello believes Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. Desdemona’s biggest mistake is her inability to explain and say that truth that she had lost the handkerchief.
Desdemona is a fault in the sense that she endures suffering that is significantly out of proportion to her mistakes. She is too kind and friendly. Besides, she lacks the wisdom to see the dangers she is in. Desdemona wants Othello and Cassio to be friends, she takes much of her time with Cassio, and as a results, Othello starts to suspect her of cheating. Desdemona lacks self-knowledge, and this predisposes her to death, Othello suspects her of cheating, and she does not explain to Othello. Desdemona is also naïve, she found Othello in her bed, and Othello told her the plans that he could kill her, Desdemona had all the time to escape, but she did not. She is later smothered to death. Her faults cause her death, her first fault starts when she spends much of her time with Cassio unaware that Othello could be jealous, she knows about Othello’s plans to kill her, but she is not smart enough to think about escaping.
Forces of the world overcome Desdemona; she tries to make Othello and Cassio friends by spending much of her time with Cassio and saying good things about Othello. However, she is naïve; she doesn’t understand that she is fighting forces beyond her control. Ultimately, Othello is engulfed in a jealous rage that predisposes Desdemona to all sorts of suffering, abuses, and physical abuse under Othello. These suffering are out of her fault.
In conclusion, the suffering that Desdemona undergoes in the hands of Othello, as well as her death, is all caused by her inability to avoid mistakes in every situation. She makes mistakes in every situation, and this predisposed her to her untimely death. To sum up, Desdemona is faulty.