# Brabantio — Othello character guide

> Brabantio in Othello by William Shakespeare.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Signior Brabantio, Good Brabantio

**First appearance:** 0002-act-i-scene-i

## Snapshot

A Venetian senator who loses his daughter to the Moor he once welcomed into his house, and never forgives the theft.

## Who they are

Brabantio is a man of standing in Venice whose sense of order is shattered when Desdemona elopes with Othello. He cannot fathom that his daughter chose the Moor freely, insisting witchcraft must be at work, and his grief curdles into a public accusation before the Duke. His refusal to accept the marriage sets the play's central question in motion: whether love across boundaries can survive the suspicions it provokes.

## Relationships

### [Othello](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/othello_se/characters/othello)

_family_

Brabantio is Desdemona's father who opposes her marriage to Othello, accusing him of witchcraft and disowning her.

### [Othello](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/othello_se/characters/othello)

_family_

Brabantio is Desdemona's father who opposes her marriage to Othello, accusing him of witchcraft and disowning her.

## In the story

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/othello_se/chapters/act-i-scene-i)

Awakened by Iago and Roderigo; horrified to learn of Desdemona's elopement with Othello, which he views as betrayal and witchcraft.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/othello_se/chapters/act-i-scene-ii)

Confronts Othello with accusations of witchcraft and demands his arrest.

### [Scene III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/othello_se/chapters/act-i-scene-iii)

Accuses Othello of witchcraft but is overruled; warns Othello that Desdemona may deceive him as she deceived her father.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/othello_se/characters/brabantio
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/othello_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/othello_se/characters