You are right to focus on Brabantio. He is the only
father mentioned in Shakespeare's Othello, and he does show both love and a desire for
control in the first act of the play. Iago and Roderigo inform Brabantio that his
daughter Desdemona has eloped with Othello. Iago, of course, uses the crudest terms to
describe this elopement. In Act 1, scene 1, both Iago and Roderigo speak of Desdemona
as a possession, a jewel, that has been stolen from Brabantio. And, indeed, when
Brabantio finds out for himself that Desdemona is gone, he thinks he has been robbed. In
Act 1, scene 2, Brabantio calls Othello a "foul thief." The language is important here.
Brabantio is very hurt, broken-hearted, to find that his daugher has eloped. This
reaction shows his love for her. But he speaks of her as a possession, something that
once belonged to him, something over which he had control, an object that has been
stolen. In scene 3, before the duke, he declares that he is glad that he does not have
other daughters, because he would watch them much more closely than he did
Desdemona.
The reader can't help but wonder if much of
Brabantio's harsh reaction to the marriage of his daughter to Othello is not the result
of hurt pride rather than because of the love he has for his daughter. Brabantio's last
words in the play are as follows:
Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to
see.
She has deceiv'd her father, and may
thee.
Brabantio admits that
he has lost control of his daughter. According to him, Desdemona has tricked him and
deceived him. Brabantio does not respect his daughter enough to honor her decision to
marry Othello.
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