Author Archives: evelynoconnor

Desdemona – a saint?

Posted on February 23, 2014 | 1 comment

Desdemona has been criticised as a two dimensional character who is simply too good to be true; a paragon of virtue who embodies everything that is pure and true in humanity. Personally, I think this portrayal doesn’t do her justice.

Let’s have a look at her main appearances in the play and attempt to establish if there might be a psychological complexity lurking beneath the surface of her squeaky clean exterior. Here’s everything you never wanted to know about her. It’s 4,500 words long – an exam length essay is between 1000 and 1200 words so bear in mind that this is four times more detailed than any discussion of Desdemona you need to offer!

ACT ONE

  • Her reputation: before we ever meet Desdemona we learn that she is desirable yet rebellious. Roderigo, who is in love with her, is horrified that against her father she “hath made a gross revolt, tying her beauty, wit and fortunes in an extravagant and wheeling stranger“. Her father is even more horrified and finds it impossible to believe that “a maid so tender, fair and happy, so opposite to marriage that she shunned the wealthy curled darlings of our nation” would choose Othello as a husband. She is immediately associated with lust in our minds, but only because of Iago’s vivid descriptions of her and Othello having sex (“an old black ram is tupping your white ewe” “you daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs“) and these descriptions (from Iago, who we cannot trust) suggest that she is an innocent being taken advantage of by an older, domineering beast of a man. Brabantio accuses Othello of having drugged her (“she is abused, stol’n from me and corrupted by spells and medicines“); this is the only explanation in his mind which can explain how “a maiden never bold, of spirit so still and quiet, that her motion blush’d at herself” could “fall in love with what she fear’d to look at“.  There is a contradiction going on here between the idealised version of Desdemona that her father and stalker offer to us, and the fact that she has secretly married a dark-skinned soldier who is ‘beneath’ her socially. She knows her father won’t approve of him but she falls in love with him anyway. Evidently, she’s not racist, despite her father’s assertion that Othello’s very skin colour would frighten her so he doesn’t know his daughter as well as he thinks he does. There’s obviously more to her than meets the eye and we look forward to meeting her so we can judge for ourselves.
  • Othello and Desdemona’s love: Othello proclaims “I love the gentle Desdemona” and says he would otherwise never have given up his bachelor lifestyle. He clearly sees her as a calming presence in his life. However, unlike Brabantio, who only sees a meek obedient child, Othello sees another side to Desdemona. He sees her desire for adventure, her dissatisfaction with her dull uneventful existence  (as an aristocratic lady, she was expected to marry well and live out her days bearing children, pleasing her husband and most likely never stepping outside the four walls of her city of birth) evident in her obsession with Othello’s dramatic tales of his travels, battles, sieges, floods, being sold into slavery and multiple hair breath escapes from danger. The fact that she arranges for him to tell her these tales in full (without telling her father what she was up to) and her reaction to his stories reveals the dual nature of her personality. She is deeply compassionate and is obviously a very good listener (“she loved me for the dangers I had passed and I loved her that she did pity them“) but she also wants more from life: “My story being done, she gave me for my pains a world of sighs: she swore, in faith, ’twas strange, ’twas passing strange, ’twas pitiful, ’twas wondrous pitiful: she wish’d she had not heard it, yet she wish’d that heaven had made her such a man; she thank’d me, and bade me, if I had a friend that loved her, I should but teach him how to tell my story, and that would woo her. Upon this hint I spake…“. In other words, she was the one who first suggested that a relationship between them might be a possibility. She made the first move as it were, albeit a very tentative one. This, along with all the time they spent together secretly in order to fall in love, conflicts with her father’s sense of her as “a maiden never bold“.
  • Desdemona speaks to the Senate: Othello treats Desdemona as an equal. Rather than speaking for her, he asks that she be given the opportunity to speak for herself “I do beseech you, send for the lady”… “Let her speak of me before her father” (however, he may also just be saving his own skin here because he’s being accused of quite a serious crime here, yet he knows that they’re truly in love and that he hasn’t tricked her into anything: “If you do find me foul in her report…let your sentence even fall upon my life“). When she arrives, her speech reveals a deep respect for her father, a profound intelligence and a beautiful way with words “My noble father, I do perceive here a divided duty; to you I am bound for life and education… but here’s my husband: and so much duty as my mother show’d to you, preferring you before her father, so much I challenge that I may profess due to the Moor my lord”. We also see a determination to shape her own future, to control her own destiny. When the question arises of where she will go now that Othello is off to Cyprus, she respectfully refuses to go back to her father’s house “I would not there reside to put my father in impatient thoughts by being in his eye“. The life of adventure she dreamt of is now at her fingertips and she is not about to be prevented from going with Othello to Cyprus, boldly stating “I did love the Moor to live with him…I saw Othello’s visage in his mind and to his honours and his valiant parts did I my soul and fortunes consecrate. So that, dear lords, if I be left behind…I a heavy interim shall support by his dear absence. Let me go with him”. At the end of this scene, we hear Iago associate Desdemona with fickleness (“it cannot be that Desdemona should long continue her love to the Moor“) and insatiable lust (“when she is sated with her body she will find the error of her choice“) but there is no truth in Iago’s assessment of her character, a fact which Iago himself later admits. He’s simply telling lies to convince Roderigo that there’s still a possibility of Roderigo hooking up with Desdemona.

ACT TWO:

  • Desdemona arrives in Cyprus & awaits news of her husband: As soon as their ship lands, Cassio associates their survival to nature’s reluctance to in any way hurt such a beautiful creature as “the divine Desdemona“, so we see yet another man worships her purity and has her on a pedestal so high, she’s sure to get vertigo! Desdemona’s main concern is for her husband; she immediately asks Cassio “what tidings can you tell me of my lord?“. They then hear another ship has landed and although anxious (she asks if someone has gone to the harbour to see if it’s Othello’s ship) she distracts herself by challenging Iago to describe her: “I am not merry, but I do beguile the thing I am by seeming otherwise. Come how wouldst thou praise me?” as she has just listened to him criticise his wife Emilia as a chatterbox and all women as vain, false, lazy and disinterested in sex (“You rise to play and go to bed to work“). Some people criticise Desdemona here for not acting suitably panicked about her husband’s welfare. Personally, I think it shows spirit that she challenges Iago’s misogyny (“fie upon thee slanderer“) and defends Emilia (“Alas! She has no speech“) and a calm faith that all will be well. Othello & Desdemona’s reunion testifies to the depth of their love and passion – Othello exclaims “O my fair warrior” to which she replies “My dear Othello!“. He fears that his content is so absolute that he cannot possibly get any happier; while she predicts that their “loves and comforts shall increase even as our days do grow!“. Sadly, she’s not right. This scene ends with some more character assassination from Iago, who tells Roderigo that Desdemona’s motivated purely by lust (he claims when her blood is made dull with sport, she’ll have a fresh appetite for someone more like her “in year, manners and beauties; all of which the Moor is defective in“) and tells Roderigo she’s in love with Cassio. When Roderigo struggles to accept this (“I cannot believe that in her; she is full of most blessed condition“) Iago replies “if she had been blessed she would never have loved the Moor“. Again, we can pretty much ignore everything Iago says about her as a pack of lies. She’s a pawn in Iago’s plot for revenge but it’s clear that her love for Othello is deep and sincere.
  • Desdemona as the object of men’s lust & a puppet in Iago’s scheme: early that night, following a party to celebrate the destruction of the Turkish fleet in the storm, Othello whisks Dedemona away and implies that they are about to have sex for the first time “Come, my dear love, the purchase made, the fruits are to ensue, that profit’s yet to come twixt me and you“. She doesn’t speak, and after she leaves, Iago attempts to involve Cassio in a discussion of what a hot sexy dirt bird she is “she is sport for love“…”I’ll warrant her full of game“….”What an eye she has! methinks it sounds a parley of provocation“. We could conclude that this is a society that views women as little more than sex objects, but that’s not a fair assessment of what happens here. If you love someone (as Othello clearly loves Desdemona) it’s pretty normal to be excited about having sex with them for the first time and Cassio refuses to be drawn into disrespectful banter about their bosses wife, instead replying “An inviting eye and yet methinks right modest” “she is a fresh and most delicate creature” “she is indeed perfection”. She’s not completely passive however. Rather than wait for Othello to return to bed, she gets dressed, rouses an attendant and arrives on the scene to see “what’s the matter?“, which only infuriates Othello further that she’s had her sleep disturbed “Look! if my gentle love be not rais’d up“. Personally I think it’s really cute how protective he is of her. The only other comment on her character in this scene comes, yet again, from Iago. However, this time he’s speaking honestly about her to Cassio, as opposed to blackening her good reputation. He wants Cassio to get closer to Desdemona so he implies that she’s now wearing the trousers in the marriage “Our general’s wife is now the general” and advises Cassio to “confess yourself freely to her; importune her, she’ll help to put you in your place again. She is of so free, so kind, so apt, so blessed a disposition, that she holds it a vice in her goodness not to do more than she is requested”.  In soliloquy, Iago then admits to us that this is her true character and that he will use his knowledge of her compulsively helpful nature as a way of destroying her relationship with her husband. The more she presses for Cassio’s reinstatement, the more he will imply that “she repeals him for her body’s lust” and this will serve his plan perfectly “so will I turn her virtue into pitch and out of her own goodness make the net that shall enmesh them all“

ACT THREE:

  • Desdemona destroyed: Act three begins with Emilia reassuring Cassio that he is sure to get his job back. Without any prompting or interference from Iago “the general and his wife are talking of it and she speaks stoutly for you“. It appears that Desdemona is already on Cassio’s side and the main thing preventing Othello from reinstating Cassio immediately is the fact that the man Cassio stabbed is “of great fame in Cyprus“.  (Politically it would look as if Othello has no respect for the locals and that he plays favourites, if he allowed Cassio to get away with this offence unpunished). Nonetheless, Cassio asks Emilia to arrange a meeting between him and Desdemona and at the beginning of the Temptation Scene (Act 3, scene 3), Desdemona assures Cassio that she will not rest until he regains his former position. Her devotion to helping Cassio does seem extreme: in her own words, she says “if I do vow a friendship, I’ll perform it to the last article” and she even states “thy solicitor shall rather die than give thy cause away”. True to her word, when Othello enters she tries to cajole him into calling Cassio back and when he refuses saying “some other time“, she continues pressing the matter, questioning repeatedly “shall it be soon?” “shall it be tonight at supper?” “Tomorrow dinner then?” “Why then tomorrow night; or Tuesday morn; or Tuesday noon, or night; or Wednesday morn”. While she recognises when speaking to Cassio, the need for her husband to keep a “politic distance” but she refuses to allow this to deter her when attempting to influence him. This is undoubtedly Desdemona at her most irritating, yet Othello finds her behaviour cute, not nagging. [Immediately after she leaves, he looks after her fondly, claiming that he loves her deeply and that without her his world would be in tatters “Perdition catch my soul but I do love thee! And when I love thee not, chaos is come again“. However, by the end of this scene, Othello is plotting her death!] It’s vital to understand Desdemona’s motivation here, otherwise she’s just an annoying goody-two-shoes who doesn’t know when to let something drop. So why does she fight so doggedly and repeatedly on Cassio’s behalf? First of all she helps because she likes Cassio and possibly feels she owes him for helping her and Othello get together. Secondly, she feels Othello would be better off with Cassio, a trusted friend, by his side. Thirdly, she helps because she’s asked for help and she’s a good person. She likes feeling useful! Fourthly, she feels his punishment far outweighs his ‘crime’. Finally, and this is speculation on my part, she helps because she knows what it feels like to make one mistake and then be cut off from someone you really love and respect. This is what happened to her when she married Othello – her father disowned her! Desdemona needs to believe that it’s possible to gain forgiveness and be given a second chance. Perhaps getting Cassio his job back becomes symbolic. If he can be granted forgiveness for his disobedience, perhaps this will give her hope that one day her father will forgive her disobedience and their relationship can be restored. If this is her motivation, then we can view Desdemona as a complex and interesting character, not just some dumb naive girl who interferes in her husband’s decisions when it’s not really her place to. Also, there is a section in this scene where Othello basically says that he’s not the jealous type and his description of Desdemona is quite interesting here. He paints her as beautiful, sociable, a great singer, dancer and conversationalist (“Tis not to make me jealous to say my wife is fair, feeds well, loves company, is free of speech, sings, plays, and dances well; where virtue is there are more virtuous“) and views all of these as positive and desirable traits which reflect well on him “for she had eyes and she chose me”   The next time she enters, Othello has just uttered the words “I do not but think that Desdemona’s honest” but he also orders Iago to “set on thy wife to observe” and laments giving up his single status “why did I marry?” When Desdemona enters, full of concern for her beloved “Are you not well?“, he says he has a  headache and she is gentle and loving “Let me but bind it hard, within this hour it will be well again” despite his coldness. This is the moment when she drops her handkerchief & by the end of the scene, her husband is plotting her murder!
  • Desdemona lies: the scene following the Temptation Scene is very distressing to watch, as the complete and utter breakdown in communication in their marriage is scarily evident. She keeps demanding that Othello speak to Cassio; Othello keeps demanding the handkerchief. The first and only lie Desdemona tells occurs here: when he demands if the handkerchief is lost, having already established that it was a dying gift from his mother, she behaves like a child, trying to see how much trouble she’ll be in before she admits anything “It is not lost: but what an if it were?” and then shrinking before his rage claiming “I say it is not lost“.
  • Desdemona defends Othello: when Cassio reappears, asking if there’s any progress, she replies “my lord is not my lord” “you must awhile be patient, What I can do I will“. She then blames his erratic behaviour on work stress saying “something sure of state…. hath puddled his clear spirit” and she even goes so far as to feel guilty for being angry at him, saying that her expectations were unfairly high and she cannot expect him to be attentive to her and in a good mood all the time “Nay, we must think men are not gods, nor of them look for such observance as fits the bridal“. Again, many people take this as proof that she is a walkover. I think it’s more complicated than this. Yes, she’s incredibly forgiving but she’s also desperate to find an explanation for his sudden mood swings. She admits “I never saw this before”  and maintains her innocence “I never gave him cause” then promises Cassio “I will go seek him“. She’s so utterly besotted by him and so convinced both of his love and her purity, that she cannot conceive of another explanation for his behaviour. Furthermore, admitting that he has serious flaws means acknowledging her own error of judgement and having given up everything to marry him, this is not something she can even contemplate.

ACT FOUR:

  • Desdemona’s public humiliation: Iago stages a conversation, supposedly about Desdemona, between himself and Cassio, with Othello listening in the shadows. Torn between love, despair and rage, Othello describes her as “a fine woman! a fair woman! a sweet woman!”, then curses her “Ay, let her rot and perish and be damned tonight, for she shall not live”. He proclaims that “the world hath not a sweeter creature; she might lie by an emperors side and command him tasks’ and then lists her talents “So delicate with her needle! An admirable musician! O, she will sing the savageness out of a bear. Of so high and plenteous wit and invention”…”And then, so gentle a condition!“… “But yet the pity of it Iago. O! Iago, the pity of it, Iago!“.  Just as she finds it hard to think ill of her true love, so he finds it hard to think ill of her, despite all of the ‘evidence’ Iago has just provided that she’s being unfaithful. It is in the context of this emotional turmoil and rage that Lodovico arrives with a letter ordering that Othello return to Venice and Cassio take over in Cyprus. Desdemona’s is telling Lodovico about their falling out and says “I would do much to atone them, for the love I bear to Cassio“. This is the point where Othello completely loses it, shouts out the word “Devil” and strikes Desdemona, presumably a back-handed slap across the face. Desdemona barely reacts. She simply states “I have not deserved this“, weeps and then says “I will not stay to offend you“. Again, lots of critics take issue with her passivity here, believing she is too meek, too accepting in the face of this very public humiliation, but I see her response here as quite dignified. She is utterly baffled and so she withdraws to gather her thoughts and to hide her shame (I’m not saying she should feel ashamed, she’s done nothing wrong, but she will no doubt feel embarrassed, disappointed, distraught, that the man she believed was a perfect gentleman has turned out to be abusive). When Othello calls her back, she probably returns expecting an apology, but instead he spins her around and mocks her as she weeps “she can turn and turn and yet go on and turn again“. She says nothing, what can she say in the face of this cruelty? Then she exits, commanded by Othello “Get you away, I’ll send for you anon“.
  • Desdemona’s private trial: Othello questions first Emilia, who claims “if she be not honest, chase and true, there’s no man happy“, then Desdemona. By now, she’s frightened and confused and determined not to provoke her husband, so she greets him with the words “My lord, what is your will?“. She is determined to get to the bottom of his anger, and begs him to explain what’s going on in his heart and mind “Upon my knees, what doth your speech import? I understand a fury in your words, but not the words“. He accuses her of being a liar “Heaven truly knows that thou art false as hell” but she again directly challenges him to explain “To whom, my lord? with whom? how am I false?“. She knows it is impossible to defend herself if she does not know what it is she’s being accused of but her major concern is still for his happiness: “Why do you weep? Am I the motive of these tears, my lord?” She again seems convinced that it’s something work related that’s bothering him, asking Othello not to blame her if he suspects her father has had some part in Othello being summoned back to Venice. Again, he refuses to answer, this time offering a long list of all the things he could happily endure, but claiming that a broken heart is too cruel for anyone to survive. And again, for the fourth time, she asks “Alas, what ignorant sin have I committed?” and this time he replies, accusing her of being a whore. She replies, in a dignified manner, that she is not a whore, saying “if to preserve this vessel for my lord from any other foul unlawful touch be not to be a strumpet, I am none“. Once he storms out, she asks Emilia to lay her wedding sheets on her bad, then asks for Iago to see if he can cast any light on Othello’s bizarre behaviour. In fact, it is Emilia who figures out that “some eternal villain…hath devised this slander” but Desdemona finds it hard to believe that one so wilfully cruel could exist “If any such there be, heaven pardon him“. The scene concludes with her determination to fix whatever’s gone wrong between them “What shall I do to win my lord again?” she asks Iago, “I know not how I lost him“. She weirdly anticipates the danger she’s in (“his unkindness may defeat my life but never taint my love“) but like all good horror movie heroines, instead of going out the door and as far away from the danger as possible, she goes up the metaphorical stairs, directly into the danger! I suppose, at least in Desdemona’s case, it’s fair to ask, where the hell else can she go?
  • Desdemona the doormat: Othello orders her to go to bed and dismiss Emilia and at this point, there is little trace of any rebelliousness left in her character. She is 100% obedient event though she again seems to instinctively sense that she’s not safe alone with him, telling Emilia “If I do die before thee, prithee, shroud me in one of those same sheets“. Her love is constant and unconditional. When Emilia comments “I would you had never seen him” Desdemona replies “So would not I“. However, a brief flicker of doubt about her choice of husband does seem to cross her mind as she remarks to Emilia “This Lodovico is a proper man” and they briefly discuss how handsome and eligible he is. Her song “willow, willow, willow” makes it clear that she knows Othello is not in his right mind yet she stays. Her purity is underscored is her disbelief “that there be women do abuse their husbands in such gross kind” and is her repeated assertion that she would not cheat on her husband “for all the world“. She really seems too good to be true in this scene as she calls on heaven to help her not complain about what has just occurred but to learn from it!

ACT FIVE:

  • Desdemona’s death: She’s sleeping as he arrives, so she can’t have been too terrified or she’d surely still be awake! Once he wakes her and starts telling her to repent her sins before she dies, she reacts with fear, asks heaven to have mercy on her twice, tells Othello to send for Cassio, reacts with horror when she’s told he’s dead because now she feels there is no way to prove her innocence (“Alas! He is betrayed and I undone“), then pitifully begs for her life “O! banish me my lord but kill me not!” “Kill me tomorrow; let me live tonight!” “But half an hour” presumably all this time struggling to escape. The demands of realism are then stretched to breaking point here, as Desdemona almost dies from suffocation – and then does! For a modern audience, this is just absurd! You can’t almost die of strangulation, speak a bit and then die – you either die or you don’t! Sadly, Shakespeare’s medical knowledge (or the medical knowledge of the era) lets him down badly here but if we lay aside our disbelief for a moment, Desdemona’s dying words are hugely significant. She tries to protect her husband, her murderer claiming “a guiltless death I die” and replying to Emilia’s question “Who hath done this deed” with a claim that she commit suicide “Nobody; I myself; farewell. Commend me to my kind lord. O! farewell!”. Claiming you had commit suicide was a pretty big deal back then. It meant you could not be buried on hallowed ground, which for many believers meant you could not go to heaven. It also meant destroying your reputation after your death, as suicide was seen as a shameful crime against God. So why does she do it? Perhaps she realises that Emilia’s earlier hunch was correct – she does realise that Cassio has been betrayed by someone. Obviously her love for Othello is so unbelievably unconditional that she’ll even forgive him for killing her. And finally, it would seem that even in death she wants to protect him which would be cute if it weren’t so unbelievably unrealistic…

 

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Othello: from love to hate!

Posted on February 23, 2014 | 1 comment

Bros before hoes

My class labelled the temptation scene “BROs B4 HOEs”. Basically, faced with the choice of trusting Iago or trusting Desdemona, Othello trusts his longterm friend over his new wife, hence the bros before hoes reference!

However, that doesn’t answer the question of how the hell Othello transforms from trusting his wife completely to deciding to murder her, in the space of a single scene?

At the beginning of the Temptation Scene (Act 3, scene 3), Desdemona assures Cassio that she will not rest until he regains his former position. In her own words, she says “if I do vow a friendship, I’ll perform it to the last article” and she even states “thy solicitor shall rather die than give thy cause away“. True to her word, when Othello enters she tries to cajole him into calling Cassio back and when he refuses saying “some other time“, she continues pressing the matter, questioning repeatedly “shall it be soon?” “shall it be tonight at supper?” “Tomorrow dinner then?” “Why then tomorrow night; or Tuesday morn; or Tuesday noon, or night; or Wednesday morn”. This is undoubtedly Desdemona at her most irritating, yet Othello finds her behaviour cute, not nagging. Immediately after she leaves, he looks after her fondly, claiming that he loves her deeply and that without her his world would be in tatters “Perdition catch my soul but I do love thee! And when I love thee not, chaos is come again“. However, by the end of this scene, Othello is plotting her death!

Here are the tactics Iago uses to convince Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him:

  1. “Hah! I like not that!” There’s something really bothering me but I’d rather not say. “Utter my thoughts? Why say, they are vile and false?“
  2. Why is your wife so obsessed with Cassio getting his job back?
  3. Didn’t ye all hang out together when you were wooing her? I’m not sure you can trust him…
  4. You don’t know this because you’re not from around here, but Venetian women cheat on their husbands all the time! They’re just really good at hiding it!
  5. Didn’t Desdemona “deceive her father, marrying you? And when she seem’d to shake and fear your looks, she loved them most” In other words, she’s a pretty good actress you know!
  6. Isn’t it a bit weird that she married you, a black man? She rejected “many proposed matches of her own clime, complexion and degree” for no good reason. “One may smell in such, a will most rank, foul disproportion, thoughts unnatural”.  [At this point Othello claims “I do not but think that Desdemona’s honest” but he also orders Iago to “set on thy wife to observe“, laments giving up his single status “why did I marry?” and concludes “She’s gone, I am abused, and my relief must be to loathe her. O curse of marriage! That we can call these delicate creatures ours and not their appetites. I had rather be a toad and live upon the vapour of a dungeon, than keep a corner in the thing I love for others uses“.  He keeps contradicting himself; as he sees her approach he says “If she be false, O! then heaven mocks itself. I’ll not believe it“. Desdemona is full of concern for her beloved “Are you not well?” and accidentally drops her handkerchief as she attempts to bind his sore head. Emilia picks it up, gives it to Iago. Then Othello returns and threatens Iago “If thou dost slander her and torture me, never pray more; abandon all remorse; on horror’s head horrors accumulate” who fakes disgust at his ‘mistreatment‘ claiming “to be direct and honest is not safe“. Iago then mocks the idea that Othello will ever get absolute proof commenting sarcastically “would you, the supervisor, grossly gape on; behold her tupp’d?”… “It is impossible you should see this” but instead he promises circumstantial evidence of Desdemona’s betrayal. So, let’s keep going with Iago’s ‘proofs’]
  7. Oh yeah, by the way Othello, Cassio was moaning about Desdemona in his sleep, and he laid his leg over my      thigh and sighed and kissed me and said “Cursed fate, that gave thee to the Moor!” so he must be shagging your wife if he’s moaning things and groping her in his sleep.
  8. Also, you know that handkerchief you gave Desdemona? “Such a handkerchief – I am sure it was your wife’s – did I to-day see Cassio wipe his beard with“.

At this point Othello says “Now do I see tis true“, then he falls to his knees proclaiming “All my fond love thus do I blow to heaven: ‘Tis gone. Arise black vengeance from the hollow hell! Yield up, O love! thy crown and hearted throne to tyrannous hate“. Iago also swears a solemn vow “Witness you ever burning lights above!…that here Iago doth give up the execution of his wit, hands, heart, to wrong’d Othello’s service!” and at this point Othello swings into battle mode, ordering Iago to kill Cassio, planing a “swift means of death for the fair devil” Desdemona and finally giving Iago the promotion he wanted all along “Now art thou my Lieutenant“.

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Iago’s motivation

Posted on February 21, 2014 | 2 comments

Sociopath

One of the most baffling things about this play is why Iago goes to such lengths to destroy Othello & Desdemona. He has little to gain from his evil scheme, so why does he do it? Jealousy, a desire for power, sadism, racism and frustrated love are some possible explanations.

Jealousy

It’s possible that Iago is jealous of Othello and to a lesser extent Cassio. He may be

(a) Jealous of their happiness in love: Othello is newly & happily married to an aristocratic Venetian lady and Cassio has a reputation for being very popular with the ladies. Meanwhile, if we believe Iago’s comments, he is stuck in a loveless marriage to a woman who frequently nags him (“would she give you so much of her lips as of her tongue she oft bestows on me, you’d have enough“) and views sex with her husband as a chore (“you rise to play and go to bed to work“). He suspects that she has been unfaithful to him (“I do suspect the lusty Moor hath leap’d into my seat” … “I fear Cassio with my night cap too“) and the thought drives him crazy (“the thought whereof doth like a poisonous mineral gnaw at my innards“).  Even though there is little evidence in the play to support either his suspicions or his very unflattering portrait of his wife, it is nonetheless clear that his marriage is not a happy one.

(b) Jealous of the respect Othello receives from his peers: Othello is immediately sent for by the Duke to solve the problem of the Turkish invasion. Meanwhile, Iago has been passed over for promotion. The contrast in their career paths could not be more stark – Othello is in demand, Iago is going no-where. Cassio recently became Othello’s new Lieutenant, a decision which infuriates Iago (“I know my price, I am worth no less a place“). Instead he must be content with the job of Ensign, or flag-bearer, no doubt a humiliating job for a man who considers himself intellectually superior to everyone around him. He feels aggrieved because he is older and more experienced than Cassio and had gone to great lengths to secure personal references from “three great ones of the city“, all of whom had spoken to Othello recommending Iago for the promotion. However, one of Iago’s complaints is that he believes Cassio only got the job due to favouritism, yet he himself had no problem trying to influence Othello’s decision through political means so he’s certainly a hypocrite and is probably just bitter that his tactics didn’t work.

(c) Jealous of their essential goodness: He speaks of Cassio having “a daily beauty in his life” which makes Iago’s life “ugly” by comparison. He recognises Othello’s “constant, loving, noble nature” and predicts that a happy marriage lies in store for these newlyweds “I dare think he’ll prove to Desdemona a most dear husband” . He is fully aware of Desdemona’s generous caring nature commenting “she is of so free, so kind, so apt, so blessed a disposition, that she holds it a vice in her goodness not to do more than she is requested“. Yet he determines to destroy them all “O! You are well tuned now, but I’ll set down the pegs that make this music“.  He seems to find their virtue irritating. Perhaps he wishes to prove that even a good man can be corrupted by evil if the situation leads him in that direction.

At one point during the temptation scene, Iago feigns reluctance to confess his fears about Cassio and Desdemona to Othello saying “I confess it is my nature’s plague to spy into abuses and oft my jealousy shapes faults that are not“. Ironically, this may be the closest we get in the entire play to an honest assessment of Iago’s true personality – after all, he certainly criticises and misjudges Othello, Cassio, Emilia and Desdemona at various stages in the play so it seems irrefutably true that he “shapes faults that are not” and it’s interesting that Iago himself puts this down to jealousy.

Desire for Power

Iago does not have a powerful job. He is well respected, but he’s treated on occasion like an errand boy – for example, he must make sure that Desdemona makes it safely to Cyprus while Othello leaves for battle immediately. When they arrive, Cassio greets Iago as “good ancient” and when Desdemona dislikes the punchline to one of Iago’s jokes, Cassio suggests that Iago’s not the brightest, telling Desdemona “you may relish him more in the soldier than in the scholar“.  Cassio may be joking, but Iago views himself as an unrecognised genius, so it’s unlikely he would take too kindly to this slagging. He is viewed as honest and trustworthy, as a good listener and as someone who gives good advice freely but they all see him as kind of harmless when ironically he’s the complete opposite! Iago evidently has a high opinion of himself, joking about how easy it is to con Roderigo out of his fortune (“thus do I ever make my fool my purse“) and making constant references to the “web” he has woven to ensnare them all. Acting as puppet master with their lives makes him feel powerful and important. Perhaps it is this feeling of being in complete control that he’s addicted to. After all, when his plan starts to unravel and suddenly he’s no longer in control of the situation, he freaks out, viciously stabs his wife and runs away! It’s as if he was so pumped full of adrenaline that even though he recognises the possibility of failure (“this is the night that either makes me or foredoes me quite“) he doesn’t take it seriously and has no back up plan when the truth finally emerges. Even at the bitter end, he relishes the tiny bit of control he can cling on to by refusing to explain either his scheme or his motivations, taunting Othello who says “demand that demi-devil why he hath thus ensnared my soul” with the retort “demand me nothing. What you know, you know. From this time forth I never will speak word“.

Racism

Iago frequently fixates on Othello’s colour but it’s not clear if Iago himself is racist. He certainly uses the racist tendencies of other characters to turn them against Othello. For example, he creates vivid images of black on white (“an old black ram is tupping your white ewe” “you’ll have your daughter covered with a barbary horse“) to torture Brabantio, who is extremely racist. He knows Roderigo hates Othello for winning Desdemona’s heart and tries to convince Roderigo that she’ll soon tire of Othello “what delight shall she have to look on the devil?” using Othello’s skin colour as a signifier of his physical and moral ugliness. He repeats racist stereotypes “these Moors are changeable in their wills” “luscious as locusts” “an erring barbarian” and describes Othello as boastful, arrogant and lacking in manners. However, let us not forget that Iago is NEVER racist when he is alone on stage. He uses racism to turn people against Othello but confides in us the audience that Othello is of a “constant, loving, noble nature“, so it’s likely that his racism is a means to an end rather than a genuine reflection of prejudice.

Sadism / Personality Disorder

There is absolutely no question about it – Iago is a sadist. For some people, debating why Iago did what he did is a waste of time, effort and energy. He’s a sick puppy. He delights in the misery of others. He commits evil deeds because he’s evil – not cause he’s jealous or power hungry or racist but because he’s evil. In fact, he’s quite possibly a sociopath  – this article on 10 ways to spot a sociopath ticks a lot of boxes in terms of Iago’s behaviour.

I’ll copy and paste a section below from my post on Iago’s flaws and virtues for detailed evidence that he’s a sadist and is completely lacking a normal moral conscience. Perhaps the key to his motivation lies here.

[Amoral sadist: Iago delights in the suffering of others. Of Brabantio he says “rouse him, make after him, poison his delight…plague him with flies“. Of Othello he says “if thou canst cuckold him, thou dost thyself a pleasure, me a sport“. He gets a sick thrill at the thought of using people’s virtues against them, commenting of Othello “the Moor is of a free and open nature and will as tenderly be led by the nose as asses are“. He relishes the thought of using Cassio’s good looks and courteous manner against him, thus destroying both his reputation and Othello’s marriage “with as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio“. Even though he has no reason to dislike or hurt Desdemona, he is excited by the prospect of destroying someone so pure of heart “so will I turn her virtue into pitch and out of her own goodness make the net that shall enmesh them all“. He freely admits that his plan is evil and twisted proclaiming “hell and night must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light” and the thought of wrecking the happiness of those who he feels have wronged him (Othello & Cassio) fills him with glee “oh you are well tuned now, but I’ll set down the pegs that make this music“. When Othello decides to kill Desdemona for her ‘betrayal’, Iago relishes being the one to choose the method of execution “do it not with poison, strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated“. He revels in the power and control he now exerts over his boss. He never loses his thirst for inflicting pain on others, commenting snidely when he sees Bianca with the handkerchief “see how he prizes the foolish woman your wife! she gave it him and he hath given it his whore“. He enjoys twisting the knife in further and observing Othello’s torment. The thought that both Roderigo and Cassio may die fills him with satisfaction and when the plan backfires he wounds Cassio and kills Roderigo without the slightest hesitation. Nor does he feel any guilt about casting suspicion on poor Bianca, whom he claims is angry with Cassio for having jilted her].

Frustrated love: 

We’ve debated in class the fact that Iago is completely obsessed with Othello and examined possible explanations for this obsession. My students aren’t the first to point out that perhaps Iago has a man crush on Othello. After all, he does put quite a bit of effort into picturing Othello and Desdemona having sex… and each of the images he presents to Brabantio involve Othello behind rather than on top of his lover… and Iago does vividly describe Cassio kissing him and laying his leg across his thigh… why doesn’t he push him away? Of course, none of this really happened, but then it does beg the question what does Iago spend his time imagining? and why?… he is unhappily married but envies those who are happy in their relationships… perhaps he’s a repressed homosexual?

Personally, I think this is pulling the very thin ‘evidence’ so taut it simply tears apart. It makes more sense to me that Iago is a sociopath, rather than a closet gay who’s in love with Othello. After all, if he really cared about Othello, he wouldn’t destroy him. Well… unless he was uncomfortable with his own sexuality and destroying the object of his affection was his way of destroying the evidence of his own gayness. I dunno. Sounds like a bit of a stretch to me!

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Iago – flaws & virtues?

Posted on February 20, 2014 | Comments Off on Iago – flaws & virtues?

Othelloiagomovie

Flaws:

Iago’s evil nature is immediately evident – he is a liar and a cheat who delights in inflicting pain and suffering on others. He is also (in no particular order) selfish, disloyal, jealous, vengeful, paranoid, cynical, over-confident and unrepentant.

Liar: our first impression of Othello comes from Iago, who claims he is arrogant and selfish “loving his own pride and purposes”. Yet it soon becomes clear that this view of Othello is an outright lie. Iago later admits as much when he acknowledges that Othello “is of a constant loving noble nature“. Nothing he says can be trusted, for as Iago admits himself “I am not what I am“. He even swears “by Janus“, the God of liars.

Cheat: Iago has cheated the gullible Roderigo out of his wealth (“put money in thy purse“) and delights in making him look like an idiot (“thus do I ever make my fool my purse“).

Disloyal: he pretends to help every character in the play at one point or another but at all times he is merely loving his own pride and purposes / suiting himself. As he admits to Roderigo “I follow him to serve my turn upon him”. He tries to convince Othello to hide from Brabantio’s search party “you were best go in” knowing full well that this would just make Othello seem guilty and as though he has something to hide. Having engineered Cassio’s downfall, he comforts him and manipulates Cassio into trusting his advice to confide in Desdemona promising “she’ll put you in your place again“. He destroys Othello’s peace of mind yet still manages to make Othello feel that he owes Iago a great debt for his loyalty. Othello at one point proclaims “I am bound to thee forever“. Even Desdemona eventually turns to Iago in distress after Othello calls her a whore, asking pitifully “Oh good Iago, what shall I do to win my lord again?” and he immediately pretends to comfort her “Do not weep, do not weep. Alas the day!” reassuring her that it is just some business of the state that troubles her husband. Despite causing nothing but misery and suffering for Roderigo, Iago manages to convince him to attack Cassio. So, as I said already, every character is manipulated and hurt by Iago’s schemes but all the time he’s pretending to help them.

Jealous: Iago is jealous of the promotion Cassio received commenting bitterly “mere prattle without practice is all his soldiership“. He is also quite possibly jealous of the power and influence Othello has in Venice; of the loving relationship which exists between Desdemona & Othello, which is in stark contrast to his own marriage and of the seductive effect Othello and Cassio both seem to have on women.

Paranoid: he suspects Othello of sleeping with his wife Emilia, even though he has absolutely no proof “it is thought abroad that twixt my sheets he has done my office“. Later he admits “I fear Cassio with my night cap too“. Either his wife is a total slut or Iago is completely paranoid…

Amoral sadist: Iago delights in the suffering of others. Of Brabantio he says “rouse him, make after him, poison his delight…plague him with flies“. Of Othello he says “if thou canst cuckold him, thou dost thyself a pleasure, me a sport“. He gets a sick thrill at the thought of using people’s virtues against them, commenting of Othello “the Moor is of a free and open nature and will as tenderly be led by the nose as asses are“. He relishes the thought of using Cassio’s good looks and courteous manner against him, thus destroying both his reputation and Othello’s marriage “with as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio“. Even though he has no reason to dislike or hurt Desdemona, he is excited by the prospect of destroying someone so pure of heart “so will I turn her virtue into pitch and out of her own goodness make the net that shall enmesh them all“. He freely admits that his plan is evil and twisted proclaiming “hell and night must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light” and the thought of wrecking the happiness of those who he feels have wronged him (Othello & Cassio) fills him with glee “oh you are well tuned now, but I’ll set down the pegs that make this music“. When Othello decides to kill Desdemona for her ‘betrayal’, Iago relishes being the one to choose the method of execution “do it not with poison, strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated“. He revels in the power and control he now exerts over his boss. He never loses his thirst for inflicting pain on others, commenting snidely when he sees Bianca with the handkerchief “see how he prizes the foolish woman your wife! she gave it him and he hath given it his whore“. He enjoys twisting the knife in further and observing Othello’s torment. The thought that both Roderigo and Cassio may die fills him with satisfaction and when the plan backfires he wounds Cassio and kills Roderigo without the slightest hesitation. Nor does he feel any guilt about casting suspicion on poor Bianca, whom he claims is angry with Cassio for having jilted her.

Cynical: Iago values intellect above emotion, prizing the fact that “we have reason to cool our raging motions” and viewing love as nothing more than “a lust of the blood and a permission of the will“.

Selfish: Iago believes that free will gives us the power to decide how we behave “Virtue! A fig! ’tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus“. He puts himself first at all times and mocks those who behave otherwise “I never found a man who knew how to love himself“.

Vengeful: Iago obsesses over the idea that his wife Emilia has slept with Othello “I do suspect the lusty Moor hath leap’d into my seat” and is intent on revenge (despite the lack of proof that this ever occurred) “nothing can or will content my soul until I am evened with him wife for wife“.

Over-confident: Iago seriously underestimates his wife and treats her with contempt commenting dismissively “you are a fool, go to” when she suggests that some “eternal villain” has been slandering Desdemona and spreading rumours to hurt Othello “Fie! There is no such man; it is impossible“. Iago’s not-quite-fatal flaw is that he fails to see the threat she represents, even though she is the first person (following Othello’s outburst) to figure out what’s really going on. At the beginning of Act 5, Iago kills Roderigo but he fails to dispose of the one man who can expose his plot as a mountain of lies: Cassio! In the final scene of the play when Emilia discovers Iago’s evil plot, he is once again over-confident that he can quieten his wife. When she refuses to be silenced he effectively exposes his guilt by stabbing her to shut her up and running away.

Unrepentant: Iago shows no remorse and refuses to offer any explanation for his behaviour. When Othello fumes “demand that demi-devil why he hath thus ensnared my soul” Iago replies arrogantly “demand me nothing; what you know you know. From this time forth I never will speak word“.

Even though he will be punished for his crimes, Iago’s plan to destroy Othello and Desdemona was ultimately successful – they both lie dead, alongside Iago’s wife Emilia – and no punishment can equal the wrongdoing of this “hellish villain“.

Virtues: 

Iago is essentially an evil man. Yet he is also charming, witty and extremely intelligent and the audience finds it hard to resist this mysterious villain.

Charming: Iago manages to convince Roderigo that there is still hope when all hope seems lost “no more of drowning, do you hear?“. Yet moments later he manages to convince Othello that he could barely contain himself when he heard Roderigo speak rudely about his master “nine or ten times I had thought to have jerked him her under the ribs“. Iago delights in the irony of the situation and at times the audience (who unlike the characters on stage know exactly what Iago is up to) almost expect him to wink at them! For example, at the end of the temptation scene, with a completely straight face, Iago proclaims “witness you ever burning lights above… that here Iago doth give up the execution of his wit, heads, heart to wronged Othello’s service“. The sheer brazen cheek of this villain seduces us and we are unwittingly drawn into his despicable schemes because he confides in us throughout in his many soliloquies and asides. He makes us feel intelligent, unlike those who are duped on stage, because we know what’s really going on, and this makes us like him despite ourselves.

Witty: Iago is a master of sexual innuendo. His outrageous explicit descriptions of Desdemona and Othello’s sexual exploits are completely inappropriate but also quite funny: “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe!” “you’ll have your daughter covered with a barbary horse” “your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs“. Few people would have the nerve to talk to a man about his daughter in such explicitly sexual terms. Iago is also openly misogynistic in front of his wife and Desdemona, describing women in colourful terms: “you are pictures out of doors, bells in your parlours, wild cats in your kitchens, saints in your injuries, devils being offended, players in your housewifery and housewives in your beds“. His happy-go-lucky demeanour allows him to get away with being extremely cheeky in his comments, slagging them off for seeing sex as a chore: “you rise to play and go to bed to work“. He tries to make everything about sex once again when on night duty with Cassio, trying to draw him into a lecherous conversation about how good Desdemona must be in bed “she is sport for love” “I’ll warrant her full of game“. “What an eye she has! Methinks it sounds a parley to provocation“.

Lucky: All the cleverness in the world couldn’t guarantee success for Iago’s Machiavellian plan; he also needed a dose of pure old-fashioned good luck! This occurs in the temptation scene when Emilia picks up the handkerchief Desdemona dropped and gives it to her husband. He also gets a lucky break which helps his plan along after Othello overhears Cassio speaking about his lover (Iago designs this so Othello mistakenly thinks Cassio is talking about Desdemona when he’s actually referring to Bianca) and then Bianca enters and waves it about, scolding Cassio for gifting her some other woman’s love token.

Popular: perhaps one of the most confusing things about Iago’s character is his immense popularity. Perhaps up to this moment he was actually a nice guy! He has an excel end reputation and is repeatedly referred to as “honest Iago” by all of the other characters. Nobody seems to realise until the very end of the play that he is in fact a “demo-devil”. When Othello has to leave his new wife Desdemona, he entrusts her to Iago offering high praise (“a man he is of honesty and trust“) and when he is forced to choose between trusting Iago and trusting Desdemona, he chooses his ‘friend’ above his wife.

Unhappy: Perhaps we feel sorry for Iago on some level because his life is so miserable. He is stuck in a job he hates, filled with resentment because he missed out on a promotion and now has to watch a young lad take what he considers to be his rightful place. He is stuck in a marriage to a wife he despises and has an utterly cynical view of life and of love. Yet he must once have been ambitious, or else why is he so disappointed when he doesn’t get the promotion? And we can assume he once loved his wife; after all, the thought of her with another man drives him crazy (“the thought whereof doth like a poisonous mineral gnaw at my innards“) although this may have more to do with wounded pride than genuine love and affection! Perhaps he simply resents having a black man as his boss and dislikes the thought of his wife sleeping with his boss because it makes him look like a fool.

Thrill seeker: Iago’s plan is risky from the very beginning. All it would take for his entire scheme to unravel is some honest communication between the main characters. Furthermore, he has little to gain, other than revenge for some ill-proven wrongs, if he succeeds. So why does he do it? Iago seems fearless, seems to thrive on danger, on testing himself to the limits of his manipulative skill, quite consciously proclaiming “this is the night that either makes me or for does me quite” yet nonetheless proceeding, despite the very real possibility that he might get caught and punished.

Intelligent: signs of Iago’s intelligence are almost too numerous to document. Having informed Brabantio of Desdemona’s elopement, he cleverly disappears so that he cannot be accused of disloyalty to Othello. We also quickly discover that Iago is an opportunist who is resourceful at turning any situation to his advantage. For example, he challenges his secret ally Roderigo to a duel when the search party arrives looking for Othello, ensuring that neither he nor his ‘purse’ will be injured if a brawl ensues. His plan to use Cassio’s courteous manners to imply that Desdemona is being unfaithful is ingenious and simultaneously takes advantage of Othello’s outsider status, insecurity and desire for certainty and decisive action when he feels he has been wronged. He cleverly convinces Roderigo that his main love rival is Cassio, then uses Roderigo as a puppet in his schemes (Roderigo is the one who provokes the brawl that leads to Cassio’s dismissal) to ensure that no-one suspects him, Iago, of any wrongdoing. In fact he gets others to do his dirty work whenever possible thus keeping his hands clean and his reputation unsullied. He pretends that the valiant soldiers of Cyprus will be insulted if Cassio will not drink with them, then feigns loyalty to Cassio when Othello demands an explanation “I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth than it should do offence to Michael Cassio“. Yet he still gets his way. Cassio is fired and Othello begins to doubt his own judgement of character.

However, Iago’s true genius is most vividly evident in the temptation scene. He preys upon each character’s weaknesses to manipulate and bamboozle them. He uses Cassio’s shame and reluctance to face his former employer to his advantage, using reverse psychology to slyly suggest that Cassio has something more to hide “I cannot think that he would steal away so guilty like“. He subtly implies that both Cassio and Othello’s reputations may be in jeopardy “good name in man and woman… is the immediate jewel of their souls” and then uses the derogatory term cuckold, warning Othello dramatically “O! beware my lord of jealousy“. Here Iago shows remarkable psycholological insight, cleverly manipulating key facets of Othello’s personality. Firstly, he senses that Othello is insecure and subtly suggests that it is strange that Desdemona chose Othello as a husband, rejecting marriage proposals from those of “her own clime, complexion and degree“. Secondly, he exploits the fact that Othello is an outsider to Venetian society and is thus socially inexperienced. Iago insinuates that Venetian women frequently cheat on their husbands yet are experts at hiding their deception. After all, Desdemona “did deceive her father” in marrying Othello. Thirdly, Iago knows that Othello is very trusting so he implies that unfortunately not all men are like this: “men should be what they seem“. Fourthly, he knows that Othello has a vivid imagination (after all, his storytelling skills are what won Desdemona’s heart) and thus claims that Cassio has been talking explicitly about Desdemona in his sleep. Iago knows that Othello won’t be able to cope with the intense jealousy and anguish which floods over him when presented with vivid images of how Cassio “laid his leg over my thigh, and sighed and kissed” even going so far as to describe Cassio as “with her, on her, what you will” to further provoke Othello’s rage. Iago knows that Othello’s pride will not let him allow such betrayal to go unpunished. Fifthly, he knows Othello’s handkerchief was given to him by his mother and is thus of great sentimental value. In claiming that Desdemona has callously given away this symbol of love “such a handkerchief did I today see Cassio wipe his beard with” Iago is indirectly suggesting that she has not just disrespected him, their love and their marriage, but also his mother, his family, his past and his culture and traditions. Finally, Iago uses the fact that Othello is a man of action who is used to making decisions quickly and acting on them immediately (“would I were satisfied“) to provoke him into rushing to judgement without too much investigation. He even uses reverse psychology, pleading with Othello to “let her live” knowing full well that Othello’s anger and inner turmoil are too powerful in this moment (“damn her lewd minx“) for him to be capable of mercy. Thus Iago corrupts Othello’s feelings for Desdemona and transforms him into a jealous monster hell-bent on revenge.

Iago turns subsequent events to his advantage, confirming Othello’s suspicions. He claims that Cassio has been bragging about his conquest of Desdemona. He convinces Othello to hide behind a curtain and spy on him and Cassio – this shows how deeply Othello is now under Iago’s control, for at the beginning of the play he refused to hide! Iago then proceeds to talk in lewd and disrespectful terms about Bianca, all the while pretending to Othello that they are talking about Desdemona. He convinces Roderigo to attack Cassio, which allows him to keep his hands clean and gives him the opportunity to dispose of Roderigo, who has started to demand his money back now that’s he’s broke. He cleverly casts suspicion on Bianca for the attack on Cassio; after all, who’s going to believe a prostitiute when she professes her innocence? Iago’s main failure is over-confidence and under-estimating his own wife. Ultimately, despite his ingenious scheme, he does get caught, but not before he has achieved the destruction he set out to achieve.

 

 

 

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Othello – virtues & flaws

Posted on February 20, 2014 | 2 comments

Othelloiagomovie

Virtues:

Othello is essentially a good man. From early in the play we learn that he is a trusted soldier and a loving husband who remains calm under pressure and is held in high regard in Venice.

  1. Trusted soldier – he is asked to lead the army against the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. He is described as “valiant” by the Duke, and “brave” by Montano. He has led many successful campaigns in the past “My services which I have outdone the signiory shall out-tongue his complaints”

  2. Loving husband – he defends his actions in eloping, maintaining that their relationship is sincere “I love the gentle Desdemona”. He treats her as an equal, and respects her right to offer her own opinions “let her speak of me before her father”. His first concern is for her when he agrees to go to Cyprus “I crave fit disposition for my wife”. He trusts her implicitly “My life upon her faith” despite Brabantio’s warning and his love for her gives his life meaning “But I do love thee! And when I love thee not chaos is come again”

  3. Calm under pressure – he honourably & confidently refuses to hide from Brabantio, as he knows his conscience is clear “I must be found: my parts, my title and my perfect soul shall manifest me rightly”. He refuses to use violence unnecessarily “Keep up your bright swords for the dew will rust them” and skilfully quietens a dangerous situation. When Brabantio accuses him of drugging his daughter, Othello agrees to answer the charges laid against him “where will you that I go?”

  4. Respected – the Duke admires Othello so much that he tries to convince Brabantio to lay aside his racism and accept his new son-in-law: “I think this tale would win my daughter too” “your son-in-law is far more fair than black”

Despite having many suitors, Desdemona chose Othello as her husband “to his honours and his valiant parts did I my soul and fortunes consecrate”

Even Iago, who claims to “hate the Moor” admits that he is a good man “The Moor…is of a constant loving noble nature and I dare think that he’ll prove to Desdemona a most dear husband”

 Flaws:

Othello is not without flaws however. He is too proud, too trusting, too impulsive and extremely insecure despite his outward show of arrogance.

  1. Pride & vanity – Othello is the first to suggest that Othello is self-centered and arrogant “loving his own pride and purposes”. This impression is strengthened when Othello boasts “I fetch my life and being from men of royal siege”. Even his love for Desdemona could be interpreted as extremely vain “She loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them”. Is it possible that he loves her simply because she flatters his ego? {OR is their love deeper – does she understand him and accept him in a way that no other woman ever has?} His later behaviour towards Cassio & Desdemona is partially motivated by wounded pride: “I’d rather be a toad and live upon the vapour of a dungeon, than keep a corner in the thing I love for other’s uses”

  1. Trusting – Iago uses Othello’s blind faith in other human beings to his advantage “The Moor is of a free and open nature, that thinks men honest that but seem to be so, & will as tenderly be led by the nose as asses are”. Othello frequently mistakes appearance for reality, never delving beneath the surface to seek a deeper, more complex truth. He only briefly suspects Iago (“If thou dost slander her and torture me, never pray more, abandon all remorse, on horror’s head horrors accumulate”) and when Iago pretends to be offended Othello immediately back-pedals. Once he decides that he was wrong to trust Cassio and Desdemona, he is filled with a desire for revenge because they have taken away his faith in the essential goodness and integrity of human nature.

  2. Impulsive – As a soldier, Othello must be decisive. He must establish the facts on the battlefield and quickly decide on his next course of action. This trait works against him here. Although he insisted on being given the opportunity to defend himself against Brabantio’s accusations, he does not give Cassio the same fair trial: “Cassio I love thee; but never more be officer of mine”. {Does this make Othello a hypocrite? Or simply a man who values his reputation/cannot be seen to condone this behaviour?} Othello’s impatience to know the truth and act on it is also evident when he begins to doubt Desdemona “To be once in doubt is once to be resolved…” “I’ll have some proof”. Yet he accepts Iago’s insinuations about Cassio and Desdemona (asking “Why did I marry?”) even before Iago offers his ‘proofs’ of the handkerchief & Cassio’s sleep talking. Othello cannot bear uncertainty, and has a very simplistic view of human emotions – either he loves her with all his heart or he hates her with an equally passionate intensity “She’s gone, I am abused, and my relief must be to loathe her”

  1. Insecure – despite seeming confident, even arrogant on the outside, Othello is actually quite insecure. He accepts Iago’s suggestion that Desdemona was somehow abnormal or strange when she chose him as a husband: “Not to affect many proposed matches of her own clime, complexion and degree…one may smell in such a will most rank” Bizarrely, Othello behaves in a racist manner against himself when he accepts this as proof of Desdemona’s degeneracy, and instructs Iago “set on thy wife to observe”. He is also insecure because he is an outsider in Venetian society. He lacks experience and local knowledge when it comes to Venetian women and so believes Iago’s assertion that they secretly cheat on their husbands: “In Venice they do let heaven see the pranks they dare not show their husbands”. Othello’s greatest insecurity is a fear that his rich, white, beautiful, aristocratic wife doesn’t truly love him. Perhaps he all too quickly believes the lies Iago tells him about his wife because he secretly believes that the racist majority in Venice are right: maybe a black man is an unattractive creature, not quite human, unworthy of love.

Othello

Unforgivable behaviour:

  1. He asks Iago to have Emilia spy on Desdemona “set on thy wife to observe”

  2. He knows that either Iago is lying, or Desdemona is. Yet he never offers his wife the benefit of the doubt, even though he claims to love & trust her “my life upon her faith”

  3. Othello does not demand justice. A fair hearing for the accused (which he himself got after eloping with Desdemona) is never considered. He craves revenge (“arise black vengeance from the hollow hell”), a less noble, more volatile emotion.

  4. Othello tests his wife’s loyalty secretly (“fetch me the handkerchief, my mind misgives”) instead of openly confronting her and attempting real communication.

  5. He spies on Cassio (prompted by Iago) instead of openly confronting him.

  6. Othello publicly insults & strikes his wife “subtle whore” “impudent strumpet” “devil”

  7. He refuses to accept Emilia’s reassurances that nothing is going on “if she be not honest, chaste and true, there’s no man happy”. He has already closed his mind to the possibility of her innocence.

  8. When he finally accuses his wife “are you not a strumpet?” he ignores her genuine protestations “no as I am a Christian”. He won’t tell her what it is exactly she’s supposed to have done (it would be too humiliating to repeat) and as a result she never gets the opportunity to prove her innocence.

  9. He orders the murder of a trusted loyal general (Cassio) and fools himself into believing that he is the instrument of divine justice when he kills Desdemona.

  10. Othello absolves himself of blame, describing himself as an “honourable murderer”. He is full of self-pity “demand that demi-devil why he hath thus ensnared my soul and body” rather than self-loathing.

Othello’s suicide? For Cassio & a Shakespearean audience, this was a brave noble deed (“this did I fear for he was great of heart”) because he will writhe in the torments of hell forever paying for his crime. However a modern audience may feel suicide is the easy way out. It allows him to escape the consequences of his actions. As Othello says to Iago “I’d have thee live, for in my sense tis happiness to die”.

Othello

A tragic hero?

There are many reasons why an audience might feel great sympathy for Othello:

  1. Othello is essentially a good man – see list above.

  2. For no good reason and through no fault of his own, Othello has made an enemy whose mission in life is to destroy Othello and everything he holds dear: “O! you are well tuned now, but I’ll set down the pegs that make this music”. This enemy is highly intelligent, extremely manipulative, a master of deception, a skilled opportunist and worst of all, a trusted friend. It is extremely perverse that Othello should confide in this traitor every step of the way, and turn to him for advice. Each time he defends Iago (“an honest man he is, and hates the slime that sticks on filthy deeds” “O brave Iago, honest and just! That hast such noble sense of thy friend’s wrong”) we feel sick to our stomachs. Yet every character in the play is taken in by Iago (even his wife) and it is fair to say that without Iago, this tragedy would not have occurred. For some people, however, it is Othello’s very trusting nature that makes them dislike him. Perhaps some audiences like to (probably unfairly) view Othello as a fool, because the thought that we could be so taken in and corrupted by another human being is too much to bear.

  3. Othello’s behaviour makes sense psychologically:

(a)When he fires Cassio, although this is a rash decision, it is understandable. After all, Cassio has injured one of Cyprus’ greatest generals; has caused a brawl whilst on guard duty in a city just recovering from war; has interrupted Othello’s first night with his new bride; and does not deny the charges made against him – because they are true. Othello cannot be seen to condone this behaviour & must protect both his reputation & Cyprus’ fragile peace.

(b) At the beginning of the temptation scene, Othello is a devoted husband: “Perdition catch my soul but I do love thee! And when I love thee not, chaos is come again”. By the end of the scene, he is consumed by a desire for revenge “Arise black vengeance from the hollow hell”. Yet at many points during this scene we feel sorry for him. He is filled with confusion, torn between grief (“she’s gone, I am abused”), anger (“…and my relief must be to loathe her”) and disbelief (“if she be false, O! then heaven mocks itself. I’ll not believe it”)

After all, the more you love and trust someone, the more it will hurt if they betray you. Furthermore, Iago is cleverly manipulating key facets of Othello’s personality. Firstly, he is insecure. He has begun to doubt his own judgement of character – after all, it seems he was wrong about Cassio (drunken lout!). He finds it hard to understand why Desdemona chose him, rejecting those of “her own clime, complexion and degree”. Deep down he feels unworthy of her love, & Iago seems to sense this. Secondly, he is an outsider to Venetian society. He feels socially (and possibly sexually) inexperienced & therefore accepts Iago’s insinuations that Venetian women frequently cheat on their husbands yet are experts at hiding their deception. After all “she did deceive her father” in marrying Othello. Thirdly, he is very trusting. He places great sentimental value on his mother’s handkerchief & thus sees it as the ultimate betrayal to give it away. Fourthly, he has a vivid imagination, and cannot cope with the intense jealousy and anguish which floods over him when Iago presents him with vivid images of his wife with another man “then laid his leg over my thigh, and sighed and kissed” “with her, on her, what you will”. Fifthly, he is proud of his achievements on the battlefield & of the fact that Desdemona married him “for she had eyes and she chose me”. His wounded pride (understandably) cannot accept the idea of sharing her “I’d rather be a toad and live upon the vapour of a dungeon than keep a corner in the thing I love for other’s uses”. Finally, he is a man of action who is used to making decisions quickly & acting on them. He craves certainty “would I were satisfied” which partially explains why he rushes to judgement without investigating further.

  1. Once Iago corrupts Othello’s feelings for Desdemona and transforms him into a jealous monster hell-bent on revenge, Othello suffers terribly. He is desperate to prove Iago wrong and is tormented when Desdemona cannot produce it “fetch me the handkerchief, my mind misgives”. He is so distraught by the thought of Cassio and Desdemona together “Lie with her! Lie on her!…Is it possible? – Confess – Handkerchief – O devil!” that he has an epileptic fit. When he thinks he overhears Cassio speaking disrespectfully about Desdemona (he was actually talking about Bianca) and sees Bianca giving Cassio the handkerchief, any remaining doubt about their guilt is washed away. Yet he still loves Desdemona, and is torn between these tender feelings “a fine woman! a fair woman! a sweet woman!” …”the pity of it Iago” and a deep inner pain, manifested as rage, at her betrayal “let her rot, and perish, and be damned tonight; for she shall not live”. When he strikes Desdemona our sympathy is at it’s lowest ebb yet, but we can still understand his actions: he overheard and misinterpreted her when she said “I would do much to atone them for the love I bear to Cassio”. He lists all of the hardships he would have been willing to endure for his beloved wife – sores, shames, poverty, captivity, scorn – but the one thing he cannot endure is having his heart so cruelly broken, his love so cruelly discarded (Act 4, scene 2). When the time comes to kill Desdemona, Othello almost changes his mind. It is heartbreaking to watch him kissing her “O balmy breath, that dost almost persuade justice to break her sword!” because we the audience know that all of this suffering is in vain. His desire to save her immortal soul is touching “have you prayed tonight?” Although we despise him for killing an innocent, he is in the grip of passionate, uncontrollable emotions: Desdemona describes how his whole body shakes as he gnaws his lip and rolls his eyes. He feels no satisfaction once the deed is done “O insupportable! O heavy hour”. When the truth finally emerges, Othello is filled with horror and shame: “this look of thine will hurl my soul from heaven, and fiends will snatch at it” “wash me down in steep down gulfs of liquid fire! O Desdemona! Desdemona! dead!”.

Our final assessment of Othello’s character is largely coloured by the final scene:

  • We despise him for killing Desdemona, and for glorifying his vigilante behaviour as some kind of divine justice YET we admire his efforts to save her eternal soul & the anguish he feels whilst carrying out this gruesome task.

  • We disapprove of his arrogance in describing himself as an “honourable murderer” as this suggests that he doesn’t fully accept responsibility for his actions YET we empathise with his overwhelming grief “cold, cold, my girl”

  • We understand his rage at Iago “demand that demi-devil why he hath thus ensnared my soul” YET this strengthens our impression that he is looking to lay the blame entirely at someone else’s feet.

  • His final speech is self-indulgent and self-pitying in the extreme “one that loved not wisely but too well, of one not easily jealous, but, being wrought, perplexed in the extreme” YET his grief (his subdued eyes “drop tears as fast as the Arabian trees”) and awareness of what he has lost “threw a pearl away richer than all his tribe” are truly tragic to behold.

  • Othello’s suicide: A brave noble deed (“this did I fear for he was great of heart”) or the easy way out? (“I’d have thee live, for in my sense tis happiness to die”). You decide.                         

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