A maiden never bold;
Of spirit so still and quiet, that her motion
Blush’d at herself.
– William Shakespeare
Othello, Act 1, Scene 3. Brabantio describes daughter Desdemona as conforming to his idea of what the perfect Elizabethan woman was expected to be by men like him. That means having a virtuous reputation, being a virgin, pure and innocent, weak and submissive. But Brabantio’s idealization of his daughter in this way does not correspondent with reality. The real Desdemona proves to be an assertive woman willing to go against what her father wants and what is socially expected of her when choosing a husband.