A senator in Venice and Desdemona's father. At first enraged by Desdemona's elopement with Othello, he does eventually grant a grudging blessing to their marriage. But his blessing never seems heartfelt, and he dies of grief shortly after their departure for Cyprus (and before any of the tragedies of the play occur).
Brabantio Quotes in Othello
The Othello quotes below are all either spoken by Brabantio or refer to Brabantio. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Simon & Schuster edition of Othello published in 2015.
Act 1, scene 2
Quotes
"Damned as thou art, thou hast enchanted her!
For I'll refer me to all things of sense,
If she in chains of magic were not bound,
Whether a maid, so tender, fair, and happy,
So opposite to marriage that she shunned
The wealthy curled darlings of our nation,
Would ever have, t'incur a general mock,
Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom
Of such a thing as thou—to fear, not to delight."
For I'll refer me to all things of sense,
If she in chains of magic were not bound,
Whether a maid, so tender, fair, and happy,
So opposite to marriage that she shunned
The wealthy curled darlings of our nation,
Would ever have, t'incur a general mock,
Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom
Of such a thing as thou—to fear, not to delight."
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Brabantio Character Timeline in Othello
The timeline below shows where the character Brabantio appears in Othello. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1, scene 1
Iago and Roderigo go to the house of Brabantio, a senator and Desdemona's father. They shout from the street that Brabantio has been robbed....
(full context)
Brabantio goes to search his house for his daughter, worried because he has had a "dream"...
(full context)
Act 1, scene 2
...when he hears the things Roderigo was saying about Othello. He also warns Othello that Brabantio is likely to try to legally force a divorce between Othello and Desdemona. Othello seems...
(full context)
Just then, they see a group of men approaching. Iago says it must be Brabantio and advises Othello to go inside. Othello refuses, preferring to face them, saying he has...
(full context)
...Othello has married. But before he can say who Othello has wed, Roderigo along with Brabantio and his men arrive. Brabantio states that Othello must have enchanted Desdemona, or else why...
(full context)
Othello is unfazed, tells everyone on both sides to put up their arms, and informs Brabantio that he has been called to meet with the Duke on state business. Brabantio decides...
(full context)
Act 1, scene 3
Othello and Brabantio enter along with their men. Brabantio demands that they cease discussing state business and instead...
(full context)
...story. They send for her. As they wait for Desdemona to arrive, Othello says that Brabantio used to invite him to his house to hear his life story, with all its...
(full context)
Desdemona arrives. Brabantio asks his daughter to whom she owes obedience. Desdemona responds that just as her own...
(full context)
...defense. Though the Duke at first suggests that Desdemona stay in Venice with her father, Brabantio, Othello, and Desdemona all object, and the Duke says that she may go with Othello.
(full context)
Brabantio exits, but not before warning Othello to watch Desdemona—since she disobeyed her father, she might...
(full context)
Act 5, scene 1
Lodovico enters with Graziano (Brabantio's brother). They hear the cries of pain from Cassio and Roderigo, but it's so dark...
(full context)
Act 5, scene 2
...he smothered Desdemona. Graziano is shocked, and says that it is a good thing that Brabantio died from grief at Desdemona's marriage so that he did not live to see this.
(full context)
