Many inquire into the question of why Othello killed Desdemona and centralize the tragedy around Othello, this tragic hero. However, my personal context has forced me to focus on why Desdemona had to die. In saying this, I believe her death to be outrageous and thus begin to make judgments and question Othello’s actions. These largely reflect how women were seen in the patriarchal society which are difficult to understand with a 21st century mindset where gender inequality is not so prominent.
The play seems to also be showing us that profane love is sure to fail. Profane love in the Elizabethan society was largely derived from how love was portrayed and the way women were seen. It is already apparent in the early stages of the play that women were not valued very much. They were seen as property, passed from man to man such as from, father to husband. Iago clarifies this whilst notifying Brobantio of his missing daughter, “look to your house, your daughter, and your bags!” We see that the daughter goes between the house and the bag, simply as another item or possession. Even though we see Desdemona eloping with Othello, breaching the norms of the society by which a father hands over his daughter, she readily falls back into the typical view of an obedient wife after the marriage which ultimately causes her death. We will further see how women were viewed as we look into the issue of love. Let us then, start by looking at the love between Othello and Desdemona. The problem in the relationship was how love was perceived by both parties. What had their society said about love and how much did either of them know? One being sheltered all her life, only just hitting her adult years and the other knowing little other than warfare. As some of us could probably relate to, the beginning of a relationship is always filled with thrilling feelings if you like, which easily blinds ones rational thoughts, this was probably how Othello felt. However well that goes, if the...