Othello: From a “Perfect Soul” to a Double Murder-Suicide

Brian Monahan

Mr. George

World Lit. Honors

2 December 2010

Othello: From a “Perfect Soul” to a Double Murder-Suicide

            How is it that a character can go from having a “perfect soul” to killing his wife and self? Well, just ask Othello; he does just that. Othello is a former slave turned war hero of Venice who secretly marries Desdemona, the daughter of a Venetian Senator, Brabantio. He gives the position of lieutenant in his army to Cassio and not to Iago, who wanted it. Out of anger, Iago plans to ruin Othello’s life by making it look like Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. To do so, Iago had to make Othello believe him, even though it wasn’t true. Here is the problem with Othello: he’s seemingly jealous in nature and he believed Iago word for word, even though he never had ocular proof. When Desdemona says to him that she never cheated on him, he would ignore her out and constantly blames her. It is this jealousy, trust in Iago and his words, and inability to listen to reason that plagues Othello and gives him more blame for the tragedy.

            Othello claims that he has a “perfect soul”, and Desdemona claims that Othello is not a jealous man, and yet jealousy plays a part in Othello’s downfall. At the beginning of the play, when Brabantio brings Othello to court he says, “Not I. I must be found. / My parts, my title, and my perfect soul / Shall manifest me rightly” (1.2.35-37). Othello is claiming to Iago that he has no faults within his person, and he will show this to Brabantio and his men, proving that he should be able to freely love Desdemona. He says this with confidence, displaying no hint of fault in his character so far: he acts like a complete badass. However, as Iago begins to infest Othello’s mind with infidelity, and as Othello’s jealousy and insecurity allow him to only believe Iago, things take a turn for the worst. Later in the play, before Othello’s first attack on Desdemona, Emilia asks her if Othello is jealous and she replies, “Who he? I think the sun where he was born / Drew all such humors from him” (3.4.31-32). Desdemona, in the period of time she has known Othello, has never seen such emotions from her man. She has never heard of any jealousy stemming from Othello, and so she believes he cannot become jealous. Unfortunately for her, she is damn wrong: Desdemona is berated by Othello in this attack, where she tries to reason with him for Cassio, and yet he only cares about the handkerchief. As Othello’s anger grows, so does the hint of jealousy in his voice. After Othello shouts out an angry “Zounds” and leaves, Emilia asks her if this was jealousy and she replies, “I ne’er saw this before. / Sure there’s some wonder in this handkerchief! / I am most unhappy in the loss of it” (3.4.117-119). Poor Desdemona thinks this jealousy has suddenly stemmed from the loss of the handkerchief, and in turn becomes unhappy with its loss. Unbeknownst to her, this jealousy has stemmed from much more than a lost handkerchief. If Othello had never let his anger get the better of him, he might have been able to see through Iago’s cheap words and listen to Desdemona, rather than trust Iago.

            Iago’s plan is to have Othello believe that Cassio and Desdemona are screwing behind his back, and even though Iago never tells Othello exactly what is happening, nor gives him ocular proof of the affair, Othello believes him. Iago knows that Othello is very trusting in his men, and so Iago uses this trust to his advantage.  Iago tells Othello that he heard Cassio talk about Desdemona in his sleep, saying things about wanting to marry Desdemona and cursing Othello. Although it is barely any proof, Othello still fully believes Iago, replying to the evidence, “But this denoted a foregone conclusion. / ‘Tis a shrewd doubt, though it be but a dream” (3.3.486-487). Though Othello does say that it is just a dream and not ocular proof, Othello takes Iago’s word for it and, due to his trusting nature, believes him. Due to this trust, Iago is able to plant the seed of anger and jealousy in Othello, propelling the tragedy forward. One act later, Iago sets up a talk with Cassio about Bianca, only saying to Othello that he’s talking about Desdemona. Iago has left the handkerchief in Cassio’s possession, and so when Cassio displays the handkerchief, Othello immediately takes it the wrong way. After the conversation, the very first thing Othello asks is, “How shall I murder him, Iago?” (4.1.188-89). Othello has become so blinded by his trust towards Iago that he is willing to murder his friend for “revenge.” Othello’s trust in Iago has even affected his ability to listen to others and reason with his own feelings, because Desdemona continually denies her infidelity, and yet Othello refuses to accept it.

            After Iago’s words sink into Othello, he begins to attack Desdemona for the affair, calling her a whore and saying what she’s done, and every time Desdemona defends herself, Othello does not listen.  In Act 3 Scene 4, Othello goes to Desdemona and asks her about the handkerchief, and when she begins to talk about Cassio, he becomes both angry and jealous over the supposed infidelity; “Why, so I can. But I will not now. / This is a trick to put me from my suit. / Pray you, let Cassio be received again. / Fetch me the handkerchief! My mind / misgives. / Come, come, / You’ll never meet a more sufficient man. / The handkerchief!” (3.4.100-107).Throughout this argument, Desdemona continues to tell Othello of Cassio’s person, while his jealousy grows with each passing remark, throwing out “The handkerchief” every now and again. In the end, he leaves in a jealous rage. Othello never asks Desdemona where the handkerchief could be, whether she had given it to Cassio, or even to get Cassio to talk to the two of them. Instead, he does not listen to what she says, and only thinks of Iago’s words and the handkerchief. Othello’s inability to listen causes him to slap his wife in Act 4 after Desdemona says to Lodovico, “A most unhappy one. I would do much / T’ atone them, for the love I bear to Cassio” (4.1.254-255).Desdemona is merely saying that a problem has fallen between Othello and Cassio, and she wishes to fix the problem by having Othello reinstate Cassio. Since, Othello has just seen the handkerchief in Bianca’s possession, and he fully trusts Iago, what he hears from Desdemona is only “The love I bear to Cassio,” which he takes as a proclamation of her love. In turn, he strikes her, displaying yet again, his inability to ask her what she is talking about and reason with his wife over her words. At the end of the play, before Othello murders Desdemona, he confronts and accuses her of cheating on him with Cassio; “That handkerchief / Which I so loved, and gave thee, thou gav’st to / Cassio. / No by my life, send for the man / And ask him. / Sweet soul, take heed, take heed of perjury. / Thou art on thy deathbed” (5.2.58-64). He finally says to Desdemona that he “knows” the two screwed behind his back, to which Desdemona replies that it never happened, and Othello needs to send for Cassio to ask him the same thing. Othello’s reply: No, you are on your deathbed. Othello has let his jealousy completely take him over, and he has lost the ability to listen to anyone but himself and Iago. Desdemona denies everything and even tells him to ask Cassio, yet he cannot even do that. Instead, he continues to act upon his jealousy and kills her. If Othello had not been too weak to listen to others besides himself, he might have been able to stop this tragedy; instead, Desdemona, Emilia, and Othello are all killed by Othello himself.

            Othello goes from being such a badass, a character with a “perfect soul,” to a weak-minded, almost pathetic man who lets his emotions get the best of him. No one thinks he is jealous; however, a few words and too much trust in one man cause Othello’s emotions to run wild. Once his jealousy fills his mind, he stops listening to everyone but himself and Iago, and every time Desdemona denies her infidelity, Othello does not listen. All he needed to do was ask both Cassio and Desdemona if they had ever cheated behind his back, and this whole tragedy could have been avoided. Unfortunately for everyone, Othello was too weak of a character to think straight, allowing his emotions to cloud his judgment, and in the end, his weakness makes Othello more to blame for this awful tragedy.