Oh, baby, I love your response. This is exactly what I hoped would happen when I wrote it. And I agree with many of your points, especially the bits about Iago and Xander as cockblockers, and Cordelia as Emilia.
The thing about Desdemona's defiance is that Othello seems to suggest that her contrary acts lead to her bad end. (If she'd never disobeyed her father, if she'd never attempted to manipulate her husband, etc, none of this would have happened . . .) Of course, for the period, that's incredibly in keeping with the social mores, but as we're viewing it now, it's not so empowering, even if she is a very empowered female character. Of course, this is in keeping with Buffy and Angel as Desdemona; when they defy their position as Other, things go badly for them. (The example that leaps immediately to mind is what happens to Angel in The Wish, but there's more, and probably better ones.)
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Date: 2008-08-01 03:03 am (UTC)Oh, baby, I love your response. This is exactly what I hoped would happen when I wrote it. And I agree with many of your points, especially the bits about Iago and Xander as cockblockers, and Cordelia as Emilia.
The thing about Desdemona's defiance is that Othello seems to suggest that her contrary acts lead to her bad end. (If she'd never disobeyed her father, if she'd never attempted to manipulate her husband, etc, none of this would have happened . . .) Of course, for the period, that's incredibly in keeping with the social mores, but as we're viewing it now, it's not so empowering, even if she is a very empowered female character. Of course, this is in keeping with Buffy and Angel as Desdemona; when they defy their position as Other, things go badly for them. (The example that leaps immediately to mind is what happens to Angel in The Wish, but there's more, and probably better ones.)
Thank you so much for responding!