‘Othello’s love of Desdemona is the love of possession. She is a prize, a spoil of war.’

Othello’s love for Desdemona can easily be recognised as the most important factor in the play’s tragic progression, and is the centre around which all of the plays characters orbit.

With this in mind, understanding the exact nature of their relationship is crucial in understanding the play as a whole. The strength of Othello’s feelings is made clear very early in the play, during his confrontation with Desdemona’s father; “She loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them” demonstrates not only that their love was born out of a mutual understanding for each other, but implies that Othello finds something in Desdemona that he is unable to find anywhere else. Her admiration of his past and acceptance of his identity stands out among the Venetian officials who treat Othello with suspicion and mistrust, and the intimacy that Othello claims to have with Desdemona is not shared with any other characters.

However, while the authenticity of Othello’s feelings cannot be questioned, the ways in which these feelings manifest themselves are less than ideal. There is ample evidence in the play to suggest that Othello sees Desdemona as an object to be possessed, another “spoil of war” who has no autonomy of her own, seen primarily in the way that the actions of the play unfold entirely without input from Desdemona herself, despite her supposed unfaithfulness being the motivating force of the play’s conflict.

While it is first and foremost an element of Shakespeare’s tragic storytelling, (being in this case unawareness, blindness, helplessness etc.), Desdemona’s voicelessness regarding conflicts that directly involve her is typical of an archetypal female object of desire. It could even be said that Desdemona’s importance to the play’s story relies on her voicelessness and her inability to act. Furthermore, it could easily be argued throughout Othello, Shakespeare presents love itself as something to be possessed, which is given to one person at the expense of another. This is represented primarily by Desdemona’s handkerchief, given to her as a symbol of Othello’s complete devotion, which upon being misplaced, leads Othello to believe that Desdemona has given her love away to Cassio, meaning that it no longer belongs to him. The use of the handkerchief is important as it illustrates the way in which Othello views love as something which is to be owned and protected, like a sacred object, and while this defensiveness isn’t uncommon in many romances, Othello’s love of Desdemona is presented as being intensely possessive.

The love present in Othello is not free or empowering, but is one of insecurity, ownership, and defensiveness.

The abundant love that Othello feels for Desdemona finds its foil in his crippling lack of certainty, transforming something pure and compassionate into a catalyst for destruction and chaos. The potency of Othello’s love is not diminished by its harmful expression, but is actually the prerequisite for the obsession that Drives Othello to madness. Ironically, Othello finds himself possessed by his own love for Desdemona, and is eventually destroyed by it.

With many thanks to BF – year 13 2022