Getting Married · Chapter
Othello and Desdemona explained
Shaw uses Shakespeare's Othello and Antony to illustrate the proprietary view of spouses as property, comparing it to a woman's disgust at the idea of 'lending' her husband.
What happens
Shaw uses Shakespeare's Othello and Antony to illustrate the proprietary view of spouses as property, comparing it to a woman's disgust at the idea of 'lending' her husband. He argues that such views must be eradicated for a healthy public opinion on sex and marriage, and criticizes the hypocrisy that maintains the white slave trade while refusing sexual education.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This excerpt marks the dramatic climax because it delivers the story’s emotional and psychological peak by exp…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Property and Ownership in Marriage
Shaw analyzes Othello's and Antony's proprietary jealousy as evidence of viewing spouses as owned objects, not loved persons.
- Hypocrisy and Social Pretense
Exposes the hypocrisy of maintaining the white slave trade as a 'breakwater of marriage' while refusing to discuss sex openly.
Characters to notice
- Mrs. Bridgenorth
Referenced as the lady who compared lending a husband to lending a toothbrush, sparking Shaw's reflection on proprietary attitudes.
Key passages
“I found you, as a morsel cold upon dead Caesar's trencher.”
Antony reproaches Cleopatra as if she were leftover food from a previous owner.
Shaw uses this to illustrate the proprietary view of a partner as used property.
“keeping a corner in the thing he loves for others' uses.”
Othello's worst fear is that his wife might be sexually shared with other men.
Shaw argues this reveals ownership, not love.
“she would as soon think of lending her toothbrush to another woman as her husband.”
A lady expressed disgust at the idea of sharing her husband, equating him with a personal hygiene item.
Shaw uses this anecdote to show that women also hold proprietary views of spouses.
