Who Is The Innocent In The Crucible

Innocent To The Truth

There is nothing more grieving than the death of an innocent person who did not deserve their death. In William Shakespeare’s tragic play, Othello, two main characters fall in love and get married; Othello and Desdemona. Due to the jealousy of Iago over Othello, the lives of many innocent characters come in between. In Shakespeare’s tragic play, the evil schemes and cruel lies told by Iago, lead characters to die, unaware of the truth of what is going on around them. Thus, in the tragic play of Othello by William Shakespeare, the characters called Desdemona, Roderigo and Emilia die innocently due to their blindness towards the truth. To begin with, Desdemona is a tragic victim who is unaware of the horrific accusations

Later on, these accusations affect her, causing her to suffer and pay for the acts she had never committed. Despite her father not approving the Moor, Desdemona takes the right step and admits her love for Othello, but goes against her father’s will. She confesses to her father, “And so much duty as my mother showed/ to you preferring you before her father/ so much I challenge that I may profess/ due to the Moor my lord.” (1.3. 215-218). By telling her father this, Desdemona proves she is still a good loyal wife, if not an ideal daughter. She is well aware and obedient of her duties as expected from an ideal wife back in the Elizabethan era. Iago grips Othello in his schemes of making Desdemona seem deceitful and unloyal. Othello is seen telling Emilia, Iago’s wife, that, “I saw it in his hand. It was a handkerchief, an antique token/ My father gave my mother.” (5.2. 255-257). At this point, Iago has convinced Othello that Desdemona had been unfaithful to him with Cassio. In Iago’s schemes, the handkerchief is is the “proof” of Desdemona’s unfaithfulness which he uses to strongly convince Othello with. Othello starts to believe this second-hand lie and and is furious with jealousy, without

Although she fights to bring out the truth in the end of the play, her actions end in unfortunate results leading to her death. Emilia innocently steals Desdemona’s handkerchief, remembering that Iago had always asked for it. “I am glad I have found this napkin/ this was her first remembrance from the Moor/ My wayward husband hath a hundred times/ wooed me to steal it” (3.3. 334-337). Emilia had also fallen for Iago’s lies and schemes, unaware of the truth and the consequences for it. The handkerchief is seen as a powerful symbol, which represents betrayal and plays the role of “proof”. Iago uses this symbol to convince Othello of Desdemona’s unfaithfulness. Innocent Emilia did not the reason behind Iago’s desire for the handkerchief. This becomes Iago’s final step to his evil scheme, as Othello vows to kill Desdemona and Cassio with the contribution of Iago. After Desdemona’s heart-breaking murder, Emilia builds up the courage in herself to pour out all her feeling and emotions, pointing at Iago and Othello for their villainy, while defending the innocent Desdemona. She cries to Iago, “You told a lie, an odious, damned lie! / Upon my soul, a lie, a wicked lie!” (5,2, 216-217). Emilia exposes Iago’s venomous plot against Desdemona, as she is the only person to know the truth behind the handkerchief. Due to this, Emilia’s