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Goodnight Desdemona Essay

490 Words2 Pages

Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) immensely supports and enhances my understanding of Canadian culture through the intent of empowering women to become their own heroines and its accentuation of the importance of self-development. Through the author’s revampment of these tragedies and her unexpected use of comedic relief, we, either as the reader or viewer, are able to better understand and relate to those within the play.
Being a feminist herself, author Ann-Marie MacDonald’s objective of liberating Shakespeare's female characters from their supposedly unavoidable deaths is a clear example of our role as Canadians to empower the women around us to believe that they are in control of their own destinies for they can oppose the patriarchal …show more content…

Initially, Constance is an insecure and vulnerable character who seeks validation from Professor Night and is discontent with the progression of her essay thesis. As she enters the realm of the Bard, Constance’s association with Juliet and Desdemona leads to her realization of the exaggerated similarities between herself and the women; Desdemona and Juliet are paradigms of Constance. For instance, Desdemona represents a version of Constance that is tenacious and self-disciplinary while Juliet portrays a contrasting depiction who is willing to sacrifice herself for love. As Constance states, “...Desdemona, I thought you were different; I thought you were my friend, I worshipped you. But you’re just like Othello - gullible and violent. Juliet, if you really loved me, you wouldn’t want me to die. But you were more in love with death, ’cause death is easier to love.” (86, MacDonald) In the creation and recognition of her correlation with the women, Constance is finally able to reach stability, thus, coming to terms with herself and the unrequited love for Professor Night. Consequently, we are truly able to identify the growth of Constance’s individuality through the means of literature.
To reflect, the concept of fortifying women and allowing for character development greatly upholds the Canadian culture of acceptance

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