Othello
ACT TWO, SCENE THREE
In this passage, the final parts of Iago’s plot seem to come together, revealing to the audience both his easy manipulation of human nature and his innate understanding of the motivations of those around him. In the first four lines, he takes on a pose of honesty and innocence: professing that his advice is honest, open and, above all, an entirely reasonable course of action for Cassio to take. These lines demonstrate the necessary importance that Iago places on appearing innocent – he takes care to cover his tracks in order that he might continue his reputation of being ‘honest Iago’. There is, however, a great deal of sarcasm between these lines: the audience knows how little appreciation he has for Cassio and hence that any ‘free [...] honest’ advice ultimately will serve as a double edged sword.
Iago’s perception of Desdemona also emerge in the following lines: he understands that she is chiefly an honest individual. However, as we saw in Act One, Scene One, Iago considers the honest to be fools who open themselves up for manipulation and ridicule. Thus, while he appears to profess her virtues, he simply indicates his disdain and her perceived weakness. This fortifies once again our impression of Iago’s dishonesty and adds greater resonance to the ironic statement ‘honest Iago’ that recurs throughout the play. He also describes her as generous, another characteristic that demonstrates her kindness towards others. Iago seems almost unable to comprehend the good and their ability to place the needs of others above or at the same level of their own. It is perhaps due to this that he simply casts them off as signs of weakness. Desdemona’s honesty also weakens her in the eyes of Iago as it makes for easy manipulation: her course of action is straight-forward and predictable as her inclination is simply to do what is right. In doing this, she demonstrates her naïveté, a trait as disgusting to Iago as honesty or moral inclination. Iago’s proclamation of her actions seems a little weary – he finds the honest and generous not only weak but also dull and predictable.