Desdemona of Othello
Desdemona is a
fictional character in the
play Othello by
William Shakespeare. She is Othello's wife, and the daughter of Senator Brabantonio. She is a lightskinned and innocent and Shakespeare uses her as a symbol of purity to contrast malevolent
Iago and his worldy wife, Emily.
Desdemona's love for her husband lasts to her dying breath and she dies loving and trusting.
Desdemona is a self-sacrificing Christ figure somewhat like Cordelia from Shakespeare's play, King Lear.