Brabantio's lines here are significant because this is the first timeis made to doubt
Desdemona's character. Brabantio is bitter about Desdemona's deception of him and Othello's
marrying his daughter without his blessing (which he never would have given since Othello is a
Moor) so he is trying to make their marriage begin on shaking ground by pointing out to Othello
that Desdemona does have the capability to be unfaithful to some degree.
These lines haunt Othello later in the play as Iago starts making the case that Desdemona is
violating her marriage vows. While Brabantio's words are the product of anger and perhaps even
hurt, Othello does not consider this. He begins to view them in a prophetic light. Desdemona's
willingness to break social mores (unquestioning obedience to the father) to be with the man she
loves ends up becoming a weapon against her: instead of proving that she loves Othello more than
anyone else, her actions instead paint her as wayward and duplicitous to...
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