Disdemona in Cinzio’s tale and Desdemona in Shakespeare’s play: The etymology and allusive character of the name

The article deals with certain aspects of a tale (novella) by Giraldi Cinthio, an Italian author and humanist of the 16th century, of which the plot was developed by Shakespeare into his tragedy Othello. It is focused on the main female character of the tale named Disdemona. The examination of the etymology of the name and the consideration of the details to be found in the tale has made it possible to reveal that hers in not a proper name as it was believed earlier, but a nickname used by the author with the specific allusive intent. It has been revealed that the translation of the tale into Russian contains a number of disorienting mistakes, so that the information on the character contradicts the true circumstances of her life and destiny. The differences between the tale character of Cinthio and the heroine of Shakespeare’s play have been considered and the causes of the transformation of her name in the English text have been explained. Besides, it is sought to determine if Cinthio and Shakespeare were aware of the meaning of the name of their heroine. The article contains certain information on Cinthio, which is not available in the domestic works on literary history and theory: in particular, the origin of his literary pseudonym. The research methods include the survey and analysis of a wide range of studies in the field of Italian and English literature, the creative activities of Cinthio and Shakespeare, the systematisation and generalisation of data as well as the contextual analysis of the considered works.