Norms of the Society in Othello, The Moor of Venice - Essay Example

 Literary Analysis “Othello and Don Quixote – the one Black, the other white, but both doomed to live through epochs of homelessness (Sertima 274).” The enchanting Dulcinea and the exquisite Desdemona, the former an imaginary inspiration for the valorous quests of Don Quixote, and the latter a living, breathing, companion of Othello; both were initially fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of a chivalrous man’s intense admiration, and then gradually became victims of the same male’s prejudices regarding what constitutes perfection among a woman. The Othello, an older black man, and Don Quixote, a middle aged spinster, were both men without a sense of place or roots, and they tried to create, in the form of a woman, whether real or make-believe, a feeling of belonging. However, the same romantic fascination blurred their hold on reality, and resulted in disastrous ends. The Shakespeare’s Othello, and Cervantes’ Don Quixote, both insecure male protagonists, where one was severely obsessed with Desdemona and the other gripped by the delusion of Dulcinea, causing them to create, in their disillusioned minds, an ideal version of their mate, ignore the real women with their many perfections and flaws, and gradually distorts the actual personality of their counterparts, by forcing them to become passive participants of their ruinous acts. Desdemona, a fair maiden, was the daughter of a nobleman, who chose to defy the norms of the society, by eloping with an African warrior, whereas, Dulcinea, simply a figment of imagination of Don Quixote, was an inspiration from a plain peasant woman named Aldonza Lorenzo, who was absolutely unaware of the expeditions carried out in her name. In the minds’ of their male counterparts, these women were epitome of their gallant conception of what a flawless woman should be. These women were considered as exotic creatures with beauty that surpasses everything else in this world, and free of any physical or characteristic flaws, few examples from the texts will be, Desdemona’s whiter skin of hers than snow, and smooth as monumental alabaster (Shakespeare 145), and Dulcinea’s eyes must be rather like green emeralds, arched over with two celestial rainbows (Cervantes 58). Their outer beauty is portrayed to reflect their pure and beautiful souls. However, it must be noted that Desdemona was initially a fierce personality who was wooed by the valiant stories of Othello, and was courageous enough to take a stand regarding her personal choice. However, Dulcinea did not partake in any daring actions for her lover; instead it was only the thought of achieving her affections that drove Don Quixote towards the brink of madness. During the course of the Shakespearean text, we observe a gradual but obvious change in the personality of Desdemona, beginning from a feisty and sometimes bawdy persona, and slowly turning, because of Othello’s aggressive behavior, into a submissive creature, who even believes in the end that Othello’s abusive nature was her fault. She turns from fair warrior to a victim of abuse. Her innocence attracts the lethal eyes and due to the inexperience with the poisonous real world makes her a victim of her own demise. She was a wife with unlimited and unconditional love and loyalty for her husband. Her faithfulness and devotion towards her husband was so boundless that even the idea that women cheat on their husbands was unthinkable for her. Her naïve and innocent nature blinded her from seeing the cunning nature of people around her. It was this nature that failed to make her realize the transformation of her husband from loving and caring to abusive and insulting. Yet, his cruelty was dear to him that she found grace and favor in them (4:3, 18-58). Due to the insecure nature of Othello and distrust in the relationship, Desdemona transforms in her husband’s eyes from “Sweet Desdemona” to “fair devil” (Longman). The jealousy that Othello had bred in himself lead Desdemona to die a guiltless death. Dulcinea, an imaginary soul, represents an ideal of early Spain. She was the object of Don Quixote’s affection, embodying all the virtues and spirituality prevalent in that era of Spain. His obsession for turning the wrongs of his world into right created an image of a soul so pure, that no worldly thing place spot on her perfection. Dulcinea was a creation of Don Quixote’s faith, a sign of everlasting magnificence. The perception of her goes in Don Quixote’s mind beyond materialistic gains, and she becomes a source of inspiration for him towards spirituality. The mere idea of Dulcinea was godly to him and his love for her helped him attain a whole new level of chastity and chivalry (Herrero). She was the reason for all of the expeditions of Don Quixote – his struggles, his victories, his defeats. She held so much esteem in his eyes, that to defend her honor and to serve her became the aim of his life. But when the quest for his Dulcinea was not proving to be fruitful and his illusion of hers was not turning into reality, his mind turned into a whole new level of imagination and he declared that Dulcinea has been turned into an ugly girl by the enchanters. Dejected, he blames himself for the misfortune and ill fate he caused her for being enchanted into a vile maiden. So, we see that both ladies, Desdemona and Dulcinea, who were the epitomes of perfection and magnificence, were driven to their downfall by the sheer change in vision of their men. But there is a difference in the way their personalities ended. Desdemona had an actual essence of perfection in love and loyalty with her husband, but her demise was due to the harsh illusion of infidelity to her husband. Her reality was defeated through the lies and delusions of the world around her. On the other hand, we see that Dulcinea, a symbol of excellence and majesty, was an utter impression of her male counterpart. Her downfall was through the realization of truth and reality that such perfection was unobtainable. Works Cited Herrero, Javier S. Dulcinea and Her Critics, The Cervantes Society of America. 1982. Web. 7 December 2011. http://www.h-net.org/~cervant/csa/artics82/herrero.htm Damrosch, David and Pike, David L. Instructor’s Manual to Accompany the Longman Anthology of World Literature, Volume 1( A,B,C), Edition 2. Pearson Education Inc. 2009. Web. 7 December 2011. http://wps.ablongman.com/wps/media/objects/7082/7252683/LAWL_V1_IM.pdf Saavedra, Miguel de Cervantes. The History and Adventures of the Renowned Don Quixote, Volume 2. London: A Millar, 1755. Web. 5 December 2011. Sertima, Ivan Van. Golden Age of the Moor, Volume 11. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1992. Print. Shakespeare, William. Othello, The Moor of Venice. Charlestown: Forgotten Books, 2008. Print. Read More