Do Characters in Othello Cause Their Own Misfortune?

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Aneesh Karir                                                                                    Othello Essay

December 5th, 2011

ENG3UE-05

Mr. Vitzthum

Do Characters in Othello Cause Their Own Misfortune?

Othello, a tragic play written by William Shakespeare, is one that represents many characters who experience troubles and misfortune. There are, in fact, some characters in Othello who cause their own misfortune, due to a flaw in their personality. Othello’s love and jealousy blurs his judgement, in addition to his excessive pride. Roderigo is foolish and credulous, which leads to his demise. Iago, the most evil villain in the play, causes his own misfortune when all of his iniquitous plans backfire, and everyone is aware that he is, in fact, the villain.

Othello, the protagonist of Othello, overlooks many events and characteristic qualities throughout the play, due to his fallible judgement. These false judgements are caused by his hamartia, which is comprised of his pride and his extreme jealousy.  When he marries Desdemona, he loves her so much that a great jealousy encompasses him at the slightest hint of a man, such as Cassio, even talking to her. When Iago is talking to Othello, “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy./It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock/ the meat it feeds on,” (III.iii.179-180) Iago plants a seed of mistrust and jealousy in Othello for Desdemona. Othello is faced with situations where the truth is ambiguous and hidden, yet he does not make an effort to seek the truth to confirm his assumptions. When Iago is talking to Cassio about Bianca, “She was here even now; she haunts me in every/place. I was the other day talking on the seabank/with certain Venetians, and thither comes the bauble,” (IV.I.135-136) Othello believes they are talking about Desdemona instead. This is an example where Othello is faced with a situation in which he makes many assumptions. It increases Othello’s jealousy even further, to a point where he is enraged and wants to kill Cassio. His jealousy fuels his irrational judgement, and thus causes him to continuously believe many things which are, in fact, false. Another example where Othello’s pride and jealousy clouds his judgement is when he is about to kill Desdemona:

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“By heaven, I saw my handkerchief in ‘s hand./O perjured woman, thou dost stone my heart,/And mak’st me call what I intend to do/A murder, which I thought a sacrifice!/I saw the handkerchief.” (V.II.66-70)

Othello listens to Desdemona’s pleas, but doesn’t believe her sincerity. This shows how his pride takes precedence over his rationality, because he believes that he can never be wrong, and a subordinate woman such as Desdemona could never question his actions. This scene is the most important cause of his downfall, his death, as it is the one where Othello finally unleashes his inner anger on ...

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