Brabantio

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Brabantio is a character in the play Othello by William Shakespeare.

Shakespeare calls Brabantio a "senator of Venice"; that is, he is a member of the Venetian Senate. He is the father of Desdemona and brother of Gratiano. At the beginning of the play Iago and Roderigo inform him of Othello's marriage with his daughter.

Upon learning of his daughter's marriage to Othello, Brabantio accuses the Moor of using magic to bewitch his daughter into loving him. He brings Othello to trial in front of the Duke and the Senate. After Desdemona arrives, she tells her father that she respects him only because they are related, and that Othello is whom she truly loves. Brabantio grudgingly accepts what she says, but not without complaining to the senators in an attempt at having Othello stripped of his title; when this is unsuccessful, he disowns his daughter. Though bitter, he advises Othello that, "She has deceived her father, and may thee."^[1] In the last scene, Gratiano, Brabantio's brother, reveals that Brabantio died of grief because of his daughter's perceived betrayal.

He is a minor character, but provides the backdrop for Othello and Desdemona's relationship. In the play, Iago brings to point to Othello that because Desdemona was able to keep their relationship a secret from her father, she may be able to do the same with him in regards to a relationship with a lover.

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