So long as we can smile

By act 1, scene 3 of Othello, Brabantio's life is quite different than he probably imagined it would be when he had gone to bed that night. After waking up and finding out that his daughter had married without his knowledge, and now standing in front of the duke, trying to prove that his daughter must not have truly deserted him, Brabantio has many reasons to be pessimistic. And yet, when the duke brings up the idea of smiling in the face of something hard or tragic, Brabantio can't help but agree with him, saying, "We lose it not so long as we can smile" (1.3.242). This small exchange between the duke and Brabantio fascinates me, because both men are on the verge of losing something they value very much - the duke worries about losing to the Turks, and Brabantio worries about losing to Othello. However, despite their worry, both the duke and Brabantio agree that one who doesn't stop smiling is one who is not truly defeated. This is a lesson we hear over and over again: keep smiling, be grateful, don't let them get you down. And yet, this is always easier said than done. Life's unrelenting storms sometimes make me wonder how anyone could possibly keep smiling when it is so hard just to keep going. Although smiling won't chase our hardships away, I think it would a good idea to remember this exchange between Brabantio and the duke, and remember that life will be okay, "so long as we can smile."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

For she had eyes, and chose me

Before doubt creeps in. Before tragedy strikes. Before love is lost. Before any of the wreckage begins in Othello , we get one of the most beautiful lines from Othello about Desdemona: "For she had eyes, and chose me." I think this is what all of us want. We want to be seen , and not for our outward appearance, not for what makes us better or worse than other people, not for our accomplishments, but for what makes them human. We all yearn for somebody who will see us as we are and embrace and love all of it, and that's exactly what Desdemona did for Othello. She heard his tragic backstory, saw the scars on his skin, recognized the years of good and bad in his eyes, and fell in love with it all. I honestly like to picture Othello as somewhat unattractive. Not horribly ugly or repulsive, but also not somebody who would ever be expected to catch the eye of somebody as high-ranking as Desdemona. And yet, she looked past what she saw on the outside, and she chose him for what ...
Read more

But why should honor outlive honesty?

 In the middle of all of the chaos of the final scene of Othello , Othello says something that I found quite profound: "But why should honor outlive honesty?" (5.2.293). Despite the fact that Othello has just killed his wife, despite all of the disorder that is surrounding him at this very moment, Othello makes this interesting observation that people are often known for being honorable for much longer than they are actually honorable. Once again, this ties into the theme of outward appearances, though in a different way. I think that I often do good things to impress people or make a nice show of being a good person, rather than out of a desire to actually love those around me. This is a good thing for me to consider when I go about trying to serve: am I doing this for their sake, or for mine? Am I doing this to be an honorable person, or to have the reputation of being honorable? It's interesting that Othello makes this observation when it is too late; after he has kill...
Read more

Though She Be But Little

This quotation is one that I had heard before, but I didn't realize it was written by Shakespeare. Amid all of the confusion that occurs during A Midsummer's Night Dream , the conversation (and insults) turns to pointing out Hermia's shortness, and Helena makes the cautionary statement: "And though she be but little, she is fierce" ( A Midsummer's Night Dream , 3.2.342). I find it significant that I had heard this line numerous times without ever having read or seen this play, because that means that enough people have related to this line to popularize it. Hermia takes offense at the references to her short stature, and yet Helena tells us that there is more to Hermia than meets the eye. I think that so many people want to be viewed as fierce and strong, but perhaps people also wanted to be seen as vulnerable. It is hard  to open up and allow others to see who we are on the inside, and yet this is something that all human beings crave. Another meaning that I ...
Read more