While the play has always been described as a tragedy, the dark turn took me by surprise. I wanted to like Othello, but I find him to be an extremely dislikable character. He blindly trusts the lies of Iago and the others. I genuinely feel for Desdemona, and cannot help but wonder how or if she will escape this. Her life with Othello is pitiful compared to her life with her father: both accuse her of lying, but the violence pushes it to another level. Undeniably, Desdemona is in grave danger, mostly due to a lack of proper communication between her and her husband. It seems Brabantio’s warning about Desdemona’s lies in the beginning of the play have finally taken their toll on Othello.

I think the general attitude of the males in this play toward the women reflect something about society, and how women should be imagined complexly and not in black and white terms. There is more that matters than loyalty and faithfulness, and they do not seem to understand that. They only care about who Desdemona seems to be sleeping with. Furthermore, it seems that Emilia is hinting to Desdemona that she should become what Othello and others think she is — and that she should indeed embrace the infidelity accusations and satisfy her needs with someone else, possibly reflecting Emilia’s own marriage. Desdemona will not take that into consideration, because she is very concerned with being seen as innocent. However, I highly doubt that she will make it out alive due to Othello’s toxic attitude and behavior.