Othello of Shakespeare

Othello, the villain, Iago, is able to convince Othello that his wife, Desdemona has been unfaithful, with no substantial evidence to back up his claims. He is able to do so despite the fact that, prior to Iago's involvement with Othello, there is no evidence in the play that Othello has been an unreasonably jealous man. Therefore, one who is only familiar with the bare outline of the play might wonder how Iago is able to accomplish his treachery. However, reading or viewing the play, one comes to realize how the unique personalities of all of the involved characters all play a role in allowing Iago to convince Othello that Desdemona has been untrue. Othello, while not an unreasonably jealous man is insecure, not perceptive, vain and naive, which makes him a good candidate for manipulation. Desdemona is far too trusting. Cassio is so concerned about what other people think of him that he is a prime object for manipulation. Even though she does not admire her husband and he does not treat him well, Emilia is loyal to Iago and unknowingly provides him with physical he can use to prove that Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair. Finally, Iago lies easily and without regard to the pain it will cause other people. Combined with Iago's jealousy, which has caused him to seek revenge against Cassio, Iago's lies contribute to Othello's murder of Desdemona, even though it is clear that Iago's real issue with the promotion is with Cassio.

Generally in Shakespeare's tragedies, there is something heroic about the protagonist. However, while there are hints at heroic behavior in Othello's background, one would be hard-pressed to describe anything heroic in how Othello behaves during the course of the play.

When one examines Othello's character, what one finds rather than a hero is a man most notable for the contradictions in his character. Othello is considered an almost-noble hero of war, but is subject to the same frailties of character that beseech the common man, a possibility that the other characters seem to ignore, with the exception of Iago. First, Othello is naive; prior to Iago coming to Othello with suspicions that Desdemona has been unfaithful, it appears that Othello has not even contemplated the possibility that any of the people that he trusts will betray; therefore, when he is confronted with the idea of betrayal, it is simply as if it never seriously occurs to Othello that Iago may not be telling him the truth. In addition, Othello is basically imperceptive; he only pays attention to those things that Iago indicates deserve attention. Finally, Othello is vain; he fails to consider the possibility that he is fallible.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Othello is that he is naive. Given that Othello is a decorated war hero, one would expect him to be cynical and untrusting. However, he seems willing to accept information at face value. The first time this becomes apparent is when one sees Othello's relationship with Desdemona. Othello idealizes Desdemona, consistently referring to her in terms of purity. However, the information that he actually has about Desdemona's character belies such a characterization. Desdemona has deceived her father about her relationship with Othello, instead of being honest with him about that relationship. In fact, it is Brabantio who first warns Othello that Desdemona may be untrustworthy, when he cautions Othello, "Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see: / She has deceived her father, and may thee" (Othello, I.iii). However, at this time, Othello is convinced that Desdemona would never deceive him and responds, "Othello responds "My life upon her faith!" (Othello I.iii, 294). That statement makes it clear that Othello at least professes to believe that he would give his life rather than suspect Desdemona has been untrue, which is, in and of itself, a naive statement. To assume that he would not respond with jealousy and anger if confronted with suspicions that his wife had been unfaithful left him wholly unprepared to deal with that issue.

In fact, Othello's naivete about the nature of love leaves him very vulnerable to Iago's manipulation. From his statements and the descriptions given by the other characters in the play, it is clear that Othello is not romantically experienced. He seems to believe that love has some type of supernatural power, as evidenced by his telling Desdemona, "Perdition catch my soul / but I do love thee! And when I love the not, / Chaos is come again" (Othello, III.iii, 90-92). Othello seems to have the genuine belief that Desdemona's love is what is keeping him from descending into chaos. It is almost as if Othello, weary of the life of a soldier, found Desdemona's love to be the thing saving him from himself, and he simply cannot contemplate life without her. In fact, when confronted with Iago's evidence that Desdemona has been unfaithful, Othello does not act as a jealous man would. As pointed out by Bradley, "No doubt the thought of another man's possessing the woman he loves is intolerable to him; no doubt the sense of insult and the impulse of revenge are at times most violent; and these are the feelings of jealousy proper. But these are not the chief or the deepest source of Othello's suffering. It is the wreck of his faith and his love" (2004). Othello has made Desdemona into his salvation, so that when he thinks he has lost her love and fidelity, he also loses his sense of himself.

Naivete is not Othello's only weakness; he is also painfully imperceptive. He fails to see the things that are actually occurring, but is, instead, busy looking for hidden meanings and secret subtext. After Cassio has lost his position as an officer, Desdemona intercedes on his behalf with Othello. Of course, Othello sees this as a sign that Desdemona has feelings for Cassio, instead of taking her words at face value. However, those words are important, because they reveal the truth. Othello knows that Cassio is, as Desdemona describes, "one that truly loves" (Othello, III.iii, 48). Instead of what he has personally seen or experienced, Othello substitutes Iago's judgment and perception for his own, which leaves him vulnerable to Iago's schemes.

Even the audience's introduction to Othello is not a flattering one. Rather than revealing Othello on the battlefield or during a tender moment with Desdemona, the audience sees that Othello is overly boastful, suggesting the insecurity that will contribute to his downfall. Brabantio, Desdemona's father, is coming to find Othello, having discovered that Desdemona and Othello are being intimate. Iago urges Othello to hide from Brabantio. Othello refuses, replying that, "My parts, my title and my perfect soul / Shall manifest me rightly" (Othello, I.ii, 35-36). This statement makes Othello appear very confident, but, when placed in the context of his later actions, reveal that he is actually very insecure. The initial impression of insecurity is bolstered by examining Othello's reasons for loving Desdemona. "She loved me for the dangers I had pass'd / and I loved her that she did pity them" (Othello, I.iii, 182-183).

In addition, Othello seems obsessed with the idea of Desdemona's purity. Rather than having fallen in love with a flesh and blood woman, Othello appears to have fallen in love with the idea of a perpetual virgin. In fact, while the play is not absolutely clear on the matter, there seems to be a suggestion that the marriage between Othello and Desdemona has never been consummated. Othello's statements about Desdemona's pity of him and her shock and fascination with his tales of bravery and tragedy make it clear that he has fallen in love with her because he perceives her as something pure and unsullied, while he perceives himself as something dirty. Part of this is, of course, attributable to the fact that, as a Moor, Othello is a racial minority who is viewed with contempt by many of his contemporaries, in spite of his success on the battlefield. Although a Moor could have Arabic or African, Othello would have been much darker than the other characters in the play; a black to Desdemona's white. What is the most interesting is that even when Othello is making his plans to kill Desdemona because of her infidelity, he continues to speak of her in terms of purity and whiteness, as if he is unable to view her as anything other than a foil to his image of himself.

Unfortunately, all of Othello's flaws would be merely incidental, if Desdemona were not so trusting. It is important to realize that, unlike most of the play's other characters, Desdemona absolutely recognizes that Iago is a villain who is up to no good. Upon witnessing Iago's horrible treatment of Emilia, Desdemona tells Emilia, "Do not learn / of him, Emilia, though he be thy husband" (Othello, II.i, 175-176). However, even though Desdemona knows that Iago is a villain, that Iago has gained Othello's confidence, and that Othello apparently suspects her of some type of wrongdoing, it never occurs to her that Iago is telling her husband negative things about her. Moreover, when Desdemona's handkerchief goes missing, and Othello approaches her about it, clearly thinking that she has given it to Cassio, Desdemona does not suspect that Emilia has taken the handkerchief from her.

Unfortunately for Desdemona, her trusting nature ends up being her fatal flaw. Othello becomes increasingly cruel to Desdemona throughout the course of the play. Although the audience is not aware of their entire romantic history, it appears that they have been involved in a platonic friendship for a substantial period of time, but only involved in an intimate relationship for a short period of time. The audience is certain that the marriage has been of a relatively short duration. However, despite the fact that there cannot be a long history of Othello treating Desdemona appropriately, Desdemona plays the role of obedient wife. At the end of the play, Othello orders Desdemona to stay in her bed. In light of Othello's increasing cruelty towards her, Desdemona seems aware that obeying his instructions may result in her death. In fact, Desdemona speaks of her possible death, going so far as to instruct Emilia to use one of her bed sheets as a death shroud, in the event of her death (Othello, IV. iii, 26-27). Of course, this instruction may have another meaning, one that demonstrates that Desdemona is trying to remind her husband of her faithfulness:

Othello is a Moor, one of the North Africans remaining in Spain after the overthrow of the Islamic governments there (note he possesses "a sword of Spain, the ice-brook's temper" (V.ii.250)). As such he might maintain one of the Muslim customs: the sheet from the wedding night was carefully preserved, the blood-stain on it serving as proof of the bride's virginity before marriage. Desdemona might hope for the mark on her wedding sheet to lend strength to her arguments of eternal faithfulness (Lockett,

In spite of her feelings, Desdemona decides to continue trusting her husband, somehow confident that the fact that she has done nothing inappropriate will protect her. Her trusting nature lasts until practically the last moment of her life. Near the end of the play, Othello comes to their bedchamber and begins speaking of killing her. He even instructs Desdemona to pray so that she does not die in sin. Rather than running away or trying to raise an alarm, Desdemona simply questions him about why he is upset (Othello, IV. iii, 45-51).

Unlike Othello and Desdemona, who demonstrate their flaws from the beginning of the play, Cassio's flaw is hidden through the first part of the play. Some would suggest that Cassio's flaw is that he cannot hold his liquor, because it was his drunken behavior that placed him in a position of vulnerability to Iago. However, it is not Cassio's behavior while intoxicated that really damaged him. Cassio was well aware that he was unable to drink, but is so concerned about how others view him that he allows Iago to goad him into drinking (Othello, II. iii). Iago is also aware of how Cassio handles liquor, and has planned the occasion so that he can demonstrate to Montano that Cassio is a drunk, something that Iago has already told Montano. The incident leads to a fight between Montano and Cassio, in which Cassio becomes unreasonably violent. This violence is the direct result of Cassio being overly concerned with his reputation, because he could have walked away from the dispute, simply permitting Montano to believe the worst of him. The fight places Cassio in Othello's disfavor and leaves Cassio in a position of using Othello's trusted people, Desdemona and Iago, to try to curry favor with Othello. This position is a perfect one for Iago, who can then manipulate Cassio in such a manner that it appears he is in love with Desdemona.

Of course, Cassio's tendency to be boastful and extravagant have also contributed to the idea that he and Desdemona could be having an affair. For example, in the beginning of the play, Cassio seems overly concerned about what Montano will think of Othello's new bride. Not only does Cassio worry about what people will think of him, but also about what people will think of those to whom Cassio is loyal. As a result, when Cassio first describes Desdemona to Montano, he does so glowing terms, which could lead an observer to believe that Cassio has romantic feelings for Desdemona (Othello, II. i, 79-89). The reality is that, at that point in the play, there is little to suggest that Cassio has any real knowledge of Desdemona, and even less to suggest that his feelings for her are anything more than platonic.

While the other characters have weaknesses that makes them vulnerable to Iago's exploitation, the whole scenario would have been impossible without Emilia's loyalty to Iago. It is difficult for the audience to understand why Emilia would be loyal to Iago, since Iago seems to delight in mistreating his wife. It is clear to the audience that Iago believes that his wife has been unfaithful, even if it is difficult to determine who he believes has been her lover. Emilia makes it clear that she is willing to do almost anything, even betray Iago, in order to put Iago in a better position. Desdemona, like most newlywed women, effusively declares that she could never be unfaithful to Othello. Emilia disagrees with her, asking, "why, who would / not make her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch? I should venture purgatory for't" (Othello, IV.iii, 81-83). With this statement, Emilia makes it clear that she is willing to do just about any harm to herself, in order to further Iago's goals. During the play, Iago repeatedly asks Emilia to do things that she knows are wrong. While she does not know how Iago plans to use these small actions to contribute to a great tragedy, she is aware that he is doing something inappropriate. However, despite her misgivings, she does as Iago requests her to do. For example, Emilia is the one who steals Desdemona's handkerchief, which is the one item of physical proof that Iago uses to demonstrate that Desdemona is being unfaithful to Othello.

Given that the theft results in Desdemona's death, it would be easy to damn Emilia for stealing the handkerchief. However, one must consider the unique circumstances of the play before doing so. There is absolutely nothing inherently sinister in another man possessing a woman's handkerchief. In fact, of the many thousands of ways that Cassio could have come into possession of Desdemona's handkerchief, only a handful of them would signal wrongdoing on the part of Desdemona. Even though the handkerchief is one that Othello gave to Desdemona, it would seem probable to a logical person that she gave it to Cassio in friendship or misplaced it, not that she gave it to him as a token of affection. After all, how likely is it that a woman is going to give her lover a love token that was originally given to her by her husband. Therefore, Cassio's possession of the handkerchief is not the significant event; it is Desdemona's ignorance that Cassio has the handkerchief that becomes important, which is why Iago had Emilia steal the handkerchief, rather than borrow it. Because Desdemona does not know that the handkerchief is missing, she is bewildered when Othello begins to question her about it, and, her answers about its whereabouts, which are unknowingly false, give Othello support for the idea that she is being dishonest with him, which, in turn, supports the idea that she has been unfaithful.