Othello: Algid crystals and red roses

This is a fundamental passage of Shakespeare’s tragedy “Othello”, where the protagonist is about to kill his wife Desdemona that he thinks unfaithful. The scene is characterized by Othello’s soliloquy, which is like an ode to Love and Justice. He has to decide whether to extinguish Desdemona’s vital light or let his love for her prevail thus allowing the shadows of Injustice to darken life’s harmony.

Literature is full of works in which the struggle between good and evil is shown through the opposition of light and darkness. An example of images of light and darkness can be found in the Italian writer Tasso in his “Gerusalemme liberata” (“Jerusalem delivered”) in the stanzas here he describes the battle between Clorinda and Tancredi. The night images are associated with fight and violence, whereas dawn is followed by the spiritual rebirth of Clorinda’s soul. Following my instinct I would say that light is linked to safety, positiveness and optimism, while darkness usually makes me feel insecure and afraid of the unknown. However I realize that some people prefer darkness to light because they consider it as a shield against anything that can harm them.

In this passage two contrasting colours emerge: white and red. White is linked to the words snow and alabaster, while red is suggested by the words blood, heat, light and rose. Even if white is usually the symbol of pureness, chastity and recalls a vital shine as it is a perfect colour, here it is used to create an image of cold death because both snow and alabaster are as gelid as a corpse. Inversely red keeps its usual symbolism as it represents some animated elements of life. However even a red living rose, if “plucked”, can die as a body drained of its blood. What can seem contradictory is justified by Othello’s urgent need to restore Justice which can be compared to something as perfect as an algid crystal of snow or a “smooth monumental” alabaster. For this reason the repeated word “cause” in Othello’s soliloquy has to be considered with its legal meaning. This is shown by his words: “Yet she must die else she’ll betray more men”. This momentary vacillation “to break” the sword of Justice is eventually overcome because he smothers Desdemona.