Jas Mudher English Mrs. Southwell 27/10/00
             This essay aims to explore the Elizabethan perception of the 'unnaturalness' of the marriage between Desdemona and Othello, through the eyes of William Shakespeare.
             The most obvious, and conspicuous issue that would emphasise the theme of unnaturalness would be the topic of race. Othello was a black Moor, portrayed throughout the play as a 'black ram' and 'beast with two backs' or simply as 'The Moor.'
             Shakespeare accentuates the quandary in Othello by making his hero an outsider, a man from a different race and from a different country, one who doesn't quite belong in the society in which he lives. Othello's sensitivity to the issue becomes clear when Iago uses it as proof that Desdemona couldn't be faithful to a man so foreign-such a match is 'unnatural' he says. Othello's self confidence, once so strong, is easily eroded by Iago's ability to convince him that he is inferior to the men of Venice.
             The fact that Othello is much older than Desdemona, and of a different race would allow any member of the audience to deem the situation as 'unnatural.' Even for those who were not racist (and the Venetians in the play were) would think it more likely and thus more "natural" that she would be attracted to a younger white man. Indeed that's one of the reason Othello falls for Iago's plot; it makes more sense to him that she should love Cassio than that she should love him
             I think that the Elizabethans would have been revolted by the idea of this old, (for the age difference between Othello and Desdemona was large) black Moor (the son of slaves) who was 'tupping' the beautiful, young, white Senator's daughter, Desdemona. Marriage was merely a convenience, in which women were traded off, in exchange for large dowries and sums of money. Desdemona with her beauty and innocent nature would have fetched a large sum. Therefore Brabantio was disappointed and angered that, as a consequence t...