Do Othello and Desdemona Ever Consummate Their Marriage?
Shakespeare scholar Harold Bloom thinks that Desdemona’s virginity is the big driving question of the play. Bloom argues that Othello and Desdemona never had sex – that Desdemona actually dies a virgin. He points out that every time the newlyweds come close, something interrupts them – an order to come see the Duke, a war, or Cassio’s drunken brawl. When Desdemona and Othello first arrive in Cyprus, it’s clear they haven’t had sex yet. After all, Othello says it explicitly. What happens next – whether Cassio’s fight really prevents any sex at all that night – is less clear. But Bloom argues that what makes Othello’s jealousy so tortuous is that the only way he can figure out if Desdemona is actually cheating with him or not is to have sex with her. If she’s still a virgin, she’s been faithful. But, Bloom suggests, Othello just can’t take the pressure of sleeping with his wife and realizing in the act that she’s not a virgin, which would prove that she must have been sleeping around. Ot
Shakespeare scholar Harold Bloom thinks that Desdemona’s virginity is the big driving question of the play. Bloom argues that Othello and Desdemona never had sex – that Desdemona actually dies a virgin. He points out that every time the newlyweds come close, something interrupts them – an order to come see the Duke, a war, or Cassio’s drunken brawl. When Desdemona and Othello first arrive in Cyprus, it’s clear they haven’t had sex yet. After all, Othello says it explicitly. What happens next – whether Cassio’s fight really prevents any sex at all that night – is less clear. But Bloom argues that what makes Othello’s jealousy so tortuous is that the only way he can figure out if Desdemona is actually cheating with him or not is to have sex with her. If she’s still a virgin, she’s been faithful. But, Bloom suggests, Othello just can’t take the pressure of sleeping with his wife and realizing in the act that she’s not a virgin, which would prove that she must have been sleeping around. Ot
