How and in what ways is Othello a victim in the play "Othello" by William Shakespeare?

        Othello later becomes a victim of his own emotions and characteristics, as Iago begins to weave a deadly net of lies. This begins when Othello talks to Iago about a handkerchief that he gave to Desdemona and made her give her word that she would not give to anyone. Iago takes this chance to set Othello up by saying “But such a handkerchief, did I today see Cassio wipe his beard with.” This leads Othello to believe that Desdemona must be having an affair with Cassio. After the conversation Iago requests his wife Emilia, who just happens to be Desdemona’s maid, to take the handkerchief and drop it into Cassio’s living quarters. At this point Othello becomes a victim of his own trust and “free and open nature” and faith in Iago, as it is his undying trust in Iago that aids the plan of his downfall.

        As Iago’s plan to set up Othello becomes real, Othello becomes a victim of Iago’s ability to manipulate Othello’s trust and other people around him. As, after Othello confronts Desdemona about the possibility of her having an affair with Cassio, Desdemona turns to none other than Iago to help her decide what to do.

        Othello becomes more enraged as the play progresses and starts to talk about Desdemona and Cassio as if they were animals. This is ironic considering that at the start of the play it was Othello that was subjected to animal references such as “Barbary horse” or “black ram”. As Othello comes believe Iago to be even more “honest,” he also comes to mistrust Desdemona more, and even goes as far to ask Emilia to spy on her. At this point Othello further becomes a victim of his anger towards both Desdemona and Cassio and even hits Desdemona, the woman he loves. This shows that Othello has almost become a victim of his own passion and love for Desdemona, as it is only because he cares about her so much, that he is so livid at the thought of her having relations with another man.

        Later in the play Iago begins to use Othello’s trust in him even more to his own advantage, so much so that it leads to him sacking Cassio and appointing Iago assistant general, but this is no longer enough for Iago as Othello now becomes a victim of Iago’s greed and desire for power. All of this amounts to Iago convincing Othello that Desdemona is no good, which leads him to commit the tearful murder of his own wife.

        To conclude, I believe that there are two main reasons for the victimisation of Othello. The first being the desire, drive and manipulative abilities of Iago. And the second and more important being Othello’s nature, his trust in other people to be as good willed as him (before he is twisted by Iago), and his love for Desdemona and Cassio, which eventually leads to drastic and horrendous actions because of his thoughts of their betrayal. Overall it is because he allowed people to take advantage of the good parts of his character, that he became a victim in such a severe fashion.