YOU DON'T KNOW ME!

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"I saw Othello's visage in his mind." (Act 1, sc.3)

When Dr. Vanessa Corredera mentioned offhandedly this quote, we had not talked about it in class yet , but I paid attention for it. Immediately it bugged me.

Everyone acts as if they know and understand Othello: who he is, how his "type" acts, and what can be expected of him:  Constantly deriding his moral character for being a Moor, predicting the worst for his wife in their marriage, assuming his heart is full of "black vengeance, from hollow hell" (Act 3 sc.3), etc. When people do stick up for him, it is usually behind his back, with a concession-like tone, rather than an admittance that Othello is a good guy, that his actions disprove their stereotypes. Except for Desdemona: in a defense of her love for Othello and for his honor, she openly makes this statement: "I saw Othello's visage in his mind." (Act1, sc.3)

Now, does she mean that she sees Othello's interior and loves him for it rather than for his face, which others despise? Does she mean that she see's Othello as Othello sees himself? She has been talking about how much a part of him she has become (her heart, soul, fortune), but maybe it is him who she has made a part of her. In the second interpretation of her statement, Desdemona is awfully presumptious and patronizing in assuming she has the ability to understand how Othello sees the world (i.e. his reality). I'd be interested to know how other people interpreted it.

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