In this post I am going to evaluate the nature of love between Desdemona and Othello. As we know from the beginning of the play, since this affection became known, it was characterized as an “attraction of bodies”, rather then “union of souls”, given to their passion only sexual characterization. We can see it right from the first act of the play, when Iago by using inflammatory language speaks about Othello’ and Desdemona’s first wedding night: “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram/Is tupping your white ewe.”(1.1.100) These words provide the suggestion of sodomy, dehumanize Othello and Desdemona, by relating them to the animals, and describe the interest between them only by lower physical motives.
But what’s ironic about that, we could not find any proof in the text throughout the whole play that Desdemona and Othello were able to consummate their marriage. Conversely, many hints in the plot of the story are suggesting that they never were physically close. For instance, the fact that Desdemona asks Emilia to put her wedding sheets on the bed, “Prithee, tonight/Lay on my bad my wedding sheets. Remember. And call my husband hither.”(4.2.120), right after Othello called her a “cunning whore of Venice” (4.2.105), suggests the idea, that Desdemona was a virgin, and she wants to prove to her husband her honesty (the virginal blood expected from the first sexual encounter would show up on the sheets verifying the chastity of the bride).
Therefore, taking this into account, we could assume that the nature of love between Othello and Desdemona is platonic; they love not tainted by the corruption of the flesh and the attraction between them is spiritual rather then physical. Desdemona makes a similar argument in act 1 scene 3 during her conversation with the Duke. She begins by admitting that her marriage to Othello has been controversial, “downright violence and storm of fortunes” (1.3.285). She explains that what attracted her to Othello was his mind, not necessarily his physical appearance: “I saw Othello’s visage in his mind.”(1.3.290) The attraction between these two people, according to Desdemona, is at a spiritual or mental level. She goes on to argue that if she is left behind when he goes to war, the” rites for why I love him are bereft me, “(ibid) We can see that for her love to Othello is her religion, her faith, and she argues that for the free exercise of her religion she has to be allowed to accompany him to war.
Likewise, the similar idea we could find in Othello’s monologues. In same act he is assuring the Duke that he doesn’t want to take his wife with him for sexual gratification, “To please the palate of my appetite,/ Nor to comply with heat (the young affects/ In [me] defunct)/and proper satisfaction”,(1.3.295), but rather “to be free and bounteous to her mind”(ibid). Similarly, for Othello Desdemona is his religion. He calls her “O my soul’s joy” (2.1.200), “ My soul hath her content so absolute / That not another comfort like to this / Succeeds in unknown fate.” (2.1.205), again we see the spiritual aspect of their love. He also understands that if he loses her, his world become chaos, since he loses his faith, his religion “Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul/But I do love thee! And when I love thee not, Chaos is come again”(3.3.100)
So, we could see that the union of Othello’ and Desdemona’s hearts is very spiritual. They truly love each other not for their outward appearance, but for their inner depths, tenderness and empathy to each other. Therefore, I can’t stop myself from raising the question: Why the marriage is so divine, saint and sublime, was so easily trampled in a mud? Why Othello was so easily deceived by Iago’s manipulation and believed in Desdemona’s infidelity without any substantial evidence? What was the reason of this sudden change of mood? To understand this we need to understand the nature of Othello, but this will be discussed in the next post.
