Question: Do we excuse or condemn Desdemona's dying assertion that she killed herself?
Answer: I think we excuse it rather; for if ever untruth were
told with pure motives, this is a time. And if ever falsehood were pious, it is here, when the dying wife sees the
agony of her husband, feels that he loves her perhaps better at this moment, when he feels that the "fair rose" is withering fast, and thinks to shield him, even for a moment though it be, from the external consequences of his deed. "He that loveth much to him much shall be forgiven."
How to cite this article:
Ragland, Fanny. Shakespeare Examinations. Ed. William Taylor Thom, M. A. Boston: Ginn and Co., 1888. Shakespeare Online. 10 Aug. 2010. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/othello/examqo/desdemonaend.html >.
Lectures on Othello: Play Construction and the Suffering and Murder of Desdemona