Othello

In literature, symbols play a significant role in developing a theme. The play Goodnight
Desdemona by Ann-Marie MacDonalds depicts various symbols that allow readers to understand
Constance. The play portrays Constance as a weak character whose only strength is the ability to
write. However, her character changes drastically after meeting Desdemona and Juliet.
Constance and her pen undergo alchemy, which involves changing something of a lesser value to
something of a greater value. The color green portrays Constance’s new beginnings in life
throughout the play (Sassi, 2021). The author uses the symbols of the fountain pen and the color
green to develop the theme of personal transformation and self-awareness.
The fountain pen represents alchemy. When her pen is still green at the beginning of the
play, Constance is treated with lesser value by Professor Claude, and she does not speak up for
herself. She perceives herself as worthless and less important. At the end of the play, Constance
becomes stronger after meeting Desdemona and Juliet. She finally speaks up after realizing that
the only person she should please is herself. At this time, Constance’s green fountain pen
undergoes alchemy and turns into gold. Also, she undergoes the process of becoming a more
valuable version of herself, understanding her worth. Therefore, the author has used the color
green symbolically to depict growth, renewal, and rebirth (Sassi, 2021). Green is a symbol of
freshness and new beginnings. Therefore, writing in green ink shows that her ideas are fresh and
that no one has ever thought of them before. Besides, just like the transformation of her green
pen into gold, Constance has also undergone an alchemical change, resulting in her self-
awareness and actualization.

3

References

Sassi, I. (2021). “My skin is not me”: The transformations of William Shakespeare’s Othello in
Ann-Marie MacDonald’s Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) and Djanet
Sears’s Harlem Duet. Journal of Contemporary Drama in English, 9(2), 215-232.