In the character of Desdemona, Shakespeare shows us someone who is unwavering in their love. In the beginning of the play, her love lifts her spirits and liberates her. She says, “The heavens forbid / But that our loves and comforts should increase,” (Act 2 Scene 1); in the face of her society’s severe disapproval, oblivious of Iago’s conspiring, she feels invincible and optimistic for the future. Love empowers her. She explains to the Senate, “My heart’s subdued / Even to the very quality of my lord. / [...] To his honours and his valiant parts / Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate,” (Act 1 Scene 3), meaning their lives are linked forever. With religious imagery that evokes the wedding ceremony, Shakespeare shows her commitment herself entirely to her husband. This unconditional love endures to the end of the play, even when she knows Othello means to murder her: “His unkindness may defeat my life, / But never taint my love,” (Act 4 Scene 2). She is faithful to him in mind and body, rendering her as the ideal wife.
A consequence of Desdemona’s devotion, Shakespeare illustrates, is a loss of her individuality. She tells the Senate, “My heart’s subdued even to the quality of my lord,” (Act 1 Scene 3) and “To his honours and valiant parts / Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate,” (Act 1 Scene 3). These metaphors imply Desdemona takes instruction from Othello on what kind of person to be. Her identity is irreversibly enmeshed with his. Though at this stage in the play, this union of “soul[s]” appears romantic, Shakespeare reveals the dangers of such dependency. Now Desdemona has “consecrated” herself to him, she cannot leave; she must serve him as a religious follower serves their god. Subsequently, she tells her husband, “Whate’er you be, I am obedient,” (Act 3 Scene 3), implying blind loyalty and lost liberty. Desdemona is subjected to Othello’s capricious mood swings and identity change. The line “whate’er you be” implies the legal contract of marriage supersedes the love she feels for his “honours and valiant parts” (Act 1 Scene 3): he can lose the qualities she admires, and she must still obey him.