In the play Othello, Shakespeare instills the gender rules for women, but toys with the idea of women breaking the rules. Desdemona becomes the victim of her own decision in disobeying the rules. Desdemona suffers before she dies consequently for her actions. Desdemona appears to follow the gender rules, but she makes the fatal decision of breaking one rule, which lead to more broken rules. Desdemona's mistakes in breaking the gender rules cause her to lose everything she has.
             Desdemona is often overlooked as the average person who obeys the rules instead of the true nature inside of her. The Desdemona's true nature is revealed early in the play when she says, "I am hitherto your daughter: but here's my husband, and so much duty as my mother showed to you, preferring you before her father, so much I challenge that I may profess" (I.iii.203-205). Desdemona's defiance of not just an elder, but her father Brabantio causes her to break the rule. The protection and love shown by Brabantio are all tossed away by Desdemona as if they meant nothing to her. Although Desdemona mentions Brabantio as a "noble father" (I.iii.198) and how she "respects" (I.iii.202) him, she makes up her mind and relinquishes her father. Desdemona tries to justify her actions despite everything her father does for her when she says, "Nor would I reside, to put my father in impatient thoughts bye being in his eye" (I.iii.263-265). Although Desdemona tries to comfort Brabantio, she only makes things worse by refusing to stay with him and going with Othello. The grief of betrayal leads to Brabantio's death later in the play when Gratiano says, "I am glad thy father's dead. The match was mortal to him" (V.ii.241-242). The broken gender rules come back to haunt Desdemona when she tries to help Cassio recover his position.
             The decision to go with Othello violates more gender rules than the disobedience of Brabantio and leads to the death of Desdemona. Oth...