Compare and contrast the presentation of the villain in Othello, Wuthering Heights and The Collecter.

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Compare and contrast the presentation of the concept of the villain in ‘Othello’ by William Shakespeare, ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Emily Bronte and ‘The Collector’ by John Fowles.

Othello by William Shakespeare, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and The Collector by John Fowles each has a villainous character woven into the text. My idea of a traditional villain is someone guilty or capable of a crime or wickedness, this suggestion shall be used in my evaluation of the characters in each text to decide whether the characters have been presented as convincing villains and if they fit the description of ‘the villain’, as someone who is evil and devious.  

It could be said that the main villain in the play “Othello” by William Shakespeare is the character Iago. He is a typical villain in the fact that he is completely capable of causing wickedness. He quotes in the play “By Janus, I think no” this is a good indication of Iagos personality as Janus is a two-faced Roman god. This is significant as Iago manipulates Othello by pretending to be loyal and trustworthy, when in reality he is deceitful and only interested in personal gain. Iago’s character has no redeemable qualities as even when he is kind to people it is false. This is a contrast to the character Fredrick Clegg in John Fowles’ novel “The Collector”. Clegg kidnaps a young woman and holds her captive in his basement, although Cleggs’ act can be described as villainous as it is a crime, he nevertheless doesn’t fit the stereotypical description of a villain as in his mind what he has done isn’t a immoral act to carry out. In contrast to Iago, Clegg does have a more caring side, this is revealed when Miranda describes Clegg as pandering to her needs, “he bought me things I didn’t even ask for” showing that Clegg is being selfless. When Clegg brings Miranda back to his house he reveals “She was my guest at last and that was all I cared about”. The use of the word “guest” sounds like he is the host and is there to look after Miranda, rather than be cruel to her, suggesting that he has no bad intensions and is therefore not cruel like other villains.

The villainous character in “Wuthering Heights” is Heathcliff. He is described as a villain as he does have some qualities that would support this, for example his vengeful tendencies “I'm trying to settle how I shall pay Hindley back. I don't care how long I wait, if I can only do it at last. I hope he will not die before I do!” Heathcliff reveals he wants to take out revenge on Hindley and as this would cause harm to Hindley, Heathcliffs’ villainous side is revealed. On the other hand he is also one of the most romantic characters in literature. He is cruel, vulgar, and egotistical, but his strong love for Catherine makes him seem more like a hero. It could be argued that Heathcliff loves strongly and hates strongly, he has some villainous qualities but some heroic ones also, which can also be linked to the character Othello in the play “Othello”, Othellos intense love and jealously for Desdemona results in him murdering her. Although Othello is thought of as a Hero at the beginning of the play, the manipulation of Iago turns Othello into a tragic hero, his flaw being his jealousy.

Shakespeare's Iago could be described as a villain as he is lacking a conscience, as he shows no remorse as he ruins the other characters lives. For example when the "ignorant, ill-suited" Cassio is given the position he desires. Iago is consumed with envy and plots to steal the position he feels he most justly deserves. “One Michael Cassio ... That never set a squadron in the field, Nor the devision of a battle knows”. Iago feels that Cassio does not hold the experience that he has and therefore doesn’t deserve his position. Iago deceives and murders to achieve his goals and his lack of conscience allows him to commit these acts. When Iago speaks one can point out his deceptive manner, Shakespeare has used Iago’s soliloquy in the play to reveal his thoughts, motives and state of mind at a certain point in the play. In Iagos first speech he reveals he wants to “abuse Othello’s ear” and “make women false”. When Iago directly informs the audience and admits his true intensions it reaffirms his position as the villain.  This can also be supported when Iago tricks Othello into believing that his own wife is having an affair, without any concrete proof. Iago tells Othello that his wife has given away his first gift to her, the handkerchief “such a handkerchief – I am sure it was your wife’s – did I today see Cassio wipe his beard with”. Othello is so caught up in Iago's lies that he refuses to believe Desdemona. Iago is the villain here as he is able to twist the mind of Othello using only his language. The deception by Iago is similar to the character Clegg in “The Collecter”. Clegg tells Miranda he will get her a doctor, “[I] told her I would never not get a doctor if she was really ill” however Clegg is suspicious and doesn’t get her a doctor. Clegg is similar to Iago in the sense they both use lies to benefit themselves, and both of their lies have resulted in the death of another character. In relation to the concept of a villain causing death is one of the clearest identifiers that somebody is a villain. Iago's taking of Emilia's live is also proof of his amorality. Iago sees his wife as an obstacle and a nuisance so he kills her. “The woman falls; sure he hath killed his wife”. The idea that Iago is capable of murdering his own wife supports the fact that he is a villain as he is able of committing crimes and therefore has no conscience. This again can be connected to Clegg as he lets Miranda die even though he claims to care for her and describes her as “the purpose of [his] life”.

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Iagos’ ability to say the right things at the right time is what makes him such a successful villain, as he can influence people any way he chooses. Shakespeare changes Iago’s language to suit different characters for example when he reveals to Brabantio that Othello has married Desdemona, Iago used quite graphic language to provoke a response, “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe”. Iago uses sexual connotations to anger Brabantio, in hopes that he would punish Othello. In contrast Iago uses much softer language when talking to Othello, “My lord, you ...

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