He Love Me, He Loves Me Not

In my opinion, although she comes from a higher class, Othello clearly has more power in his marriage to Desdemona. She aims to please him and even pleads to him her unconditional love on her deathbed. It is evident that Desdemona loves Othello, but does Othello genuinely reciprocate her feelings? 

Othello loves Desdemona’s physical appearance. He loves her fair skin and innocence, they definitely have physical attraction and banter. He also loves how greatly she recognizes his story. She truly thinks of him as a hero, as someone who has conquered great faults and achieved considerable success. However, he could love his own honor even more. This is confirmed when he strangles her to protect his own image after hearing mere accusations of unloyalty. But does his love go beyond self-fulfillment?

I would argue that Othello’s love does go deeper than the surface level. He loves her heart and mind. He loves and respects that Desdemona could have had so much more if she married in her own social class, but chose him instead. He loves her rebelliousness: that she went against her father’s wishes to marry him. Furthermore, he deeply regrets his actions. We can’t blame him for being easily influenced, anyone in his position would have suspicions, but his honor and rashness caused him to act on them. Even after killing Desdemona, he reveals his love and deep regret, proving that his love probes beyond what is visible. It still doesn’t compensate for choking his love to death, though. 

Picking petals off of flowers, we are left wondering if one could justly murder the true love of their life…