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Desdemona's Death. Act 5 Scene 2 – Key Scene. In this scene, Othello goes to Desdemona, convinced she must die. He tells her to pray to God and confess her sins before he kills her. She insists she has done nothing wrong. She denies giving Cassio the handkerchief but Othello assumes she is lying.
- Analysis
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- Key Scenes
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- Setting
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- Relationships
Desdemona and Othello’s relationship is strained by the end...
- Analysis
For starters, Desdemona seems to die twice—Othello smothers her once, then smothers her again after mistaking Emilia’s screams from outside for his wife’s. Astonishingly, Desdemona finds breath again to speak four final lines after Emilia enters the bedroom.
DESDEMONA: And yet I fear you; for you are fatal then: When your eyes roll so: why I should fear I know not, Since guiltiness I know not; but yet I feel I fear. OTHELLO: Think on thy sins. DESDEMONA: They are loves I bear to you. OTHELLO: Ay, and for that thou diest. DESDEMONA: That death's unnatural that kills for loving. Alas, why gnaw you so ...
Eventually, Othello learns of Desdemona's faithfulness after Emilia exposes Iago's true nature before being stabbed to death by Iago, and out of complete remorse, Othello commits suicide, but only after angrily stabbing Iago (though not fatally) as retribution for his lies against Desdemona.
- Emilia, attendant and confidante
Tragically, Desdemona is apparently aware of her imminent death. She, not Othello, asks Emilia to put her wedding sheets on the bed, and she asks Emilia to bury her in these sheets should she die first.
Desdemona died as she lived, with love and fidelity for Othello despite his awful treatment of her. Emilia did betray Iago, but her betrayal was the opposite of deceitful—it was heroic. She put herself in mortal danger by putting her loyalty to Desdemona and to the truth above her loyalty to her duplicitous husband.
Desdemona's final moments are both heartbreaking and inspiring. As she faces her impending death, she remains steadfast in her love for Othello. She defends her innocence until the very end, refusing to succumb to the false accusations brought against her.
