Othello's flaw

Frederick Verne

Mrs. Ventura-Clements

Period 8

11/21/05 Rewrite

Othello’s flaw

The good may unintentionally do evil acts when truth is distorted to them. Oftentimes, the theme of appearance versus reality hinders good people. Thus, misinformed do-gooders may actually exacerbate a situation. In William Shakespeare’s play, Othello, the main character, Othello, also has trouble separating appearances from reality. As a hardy war general, Othello is oblivious to his scheming ancient, or adviser, Iago. On the contrary, Othello thinks of Iago as an honest friend. However, Iago eventually pits Othello against Desdemona, Othello’s loving wife, and Cassio, Othello’s loyal lieutenant. Because Iago is successful in keeping the truth from Othello, the good general plans to murder Desdemona and Cassio. Othello’s reputation declines as his plan unravels; officers begin to question Othello’s high status when they catch him striking his wife. In the end, when Othello finally discovers the truth, he has already gone too far in his unjust actions. Othello loses his good name, his circle of friends, his faithful wife, and ultimately, his own life. Othello’s inability to distinguish between appearance and reality leads to his tragic downfall.

A major part of Othello’s downfall can be traced back to his blindness of Iago’s true character. Claiming that Othello slept with his wife and unjustly promoted Cassio to lieutenant instead of him, the vindictive Iago schemes to take his revenge against the general. Iago cleverly devises a plan to turn Othello against all the people that care about him. In order to accomplish such a deed, Iago needed to first distort the truth, something the ancient is adept at doing. Throughout the entire play, Iago persuades Othello to believe that Iago is the perfect, honest friend. When Othello plans to depart for the island Cyprus, the Duke asks for Othello to leave behind a trusted officer to handle the commissions. Othello responds, “So please Your Grace, my ancient; A man he is of honesty and trust. To his conveyance I assign my wife...”(I, iii, 286-288). Othello not only thinks Iago is honest, but he also trusts his beloved wife with Iago. Throughout the play, Iago is able to keep Othello’s high opinion of him by duping Othello with lies. After Iago lies to Othello about how his wife and ex-lieutenant are scheming behind his back, Othello announces that Iago will be his new lieutenant. While kneeling by Othello’s side, Iago passionately declares, “You elements that clip us round about, Witness that here Iago doth give up The execution of his wit, hands, heart, To wronged Othello’s service! Let him command, And to obey shall be in me remorse, What bloody business ever... I am your own forever”(III, iv, 480-495). Evidently, Iago is an expert at improvising dramatic speeches, and he uses his talents to manipulate Othello’s visions of the truth by turning them into lies. However, in reality, Iago is not a friend to Othello at all. In a soliloquy Iago confesses his true feelings for Othello, “I hate the Moor... The Moor is of a free and open nature, That thinks men honest that but seem to be so, And will be tenderly be led by the nose As Asses are”(I, iii, 387-403). By only referring to him as the moor Iago establishes his feelings of loathing for Othello and implies that he is above, and distant from, the general. Ultimately, because Othello cannot see Iago for the true evil traitor that he is, Othello is blindly led to his downfall.

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In addition to being blinded by Iago’s deception, Othello’s inability to see Desdemona’s faithfulness causes him to walk down the path of self-destruction. Because Othello had a very difficult time separating reality from appearance, Iago easily changes Othello’s opinion of Desdemona. When Othello asks Iago how he knows Desdemona is cheating on him, Iago replies, “Have you not sometimes seen a handkerchief Spotted with strawberries in your wife’s hand?... I am sure it was your wife’s – did I today See Cassio wipe his beard with... If it be that, or any that was hers, It speaks against her with the other proofs”(III, iii, 450-456). In this conversation, Iago’s claim almost seems to be ridiculous. Iago states that because he saw Cassio wipe his beard with a handkerchief that Othello gave to Desdemona, Cassio and Desdemona must be having an affair. More disturbing is that Othello believes Iago’s lie. Although Othello never saw Desdemona cheat on him, nor did he see Cassio with such a handkerchief, Othello immediately takes Iago’s fabricated story as truth. Envisioned as a sweet and innocent lover, Desdemona’s image is shattered by Iago’s trickery, thus preventing Othello from seeing Desdemona’s true self. Once a part Iago’s fake world, Othello thinks Desdemona is cheating on him. When Iago forces Othello to jump to conclusions about his wife by concocting lies Othello curses Desdemona stating, “Damn her, lewd minx! O, damn her, damn her! I will withdraw To furnish me with some swift means of death For the fair devil”(III, iii, 491-494). Othello refers to her as a lewd minx, demonstrating his thoughts about her cheating on him. But in reality, Desdemona embodies a pure wife sent from heaven. When alone with Desdemona, Emilia, Iago’s wife, poses the hypothetical situation of cheating on one’s husband for the whole world. Emilia explains how she would cheat on her husband for the world because afterwards she would be able to correct her wrong and make her husband a monarch. However, Desdemona answers, “No, by this heavenly light! ... Beshrew me if I would do such a wrong For the whole world”(IV, iii, 69-82). Clearly, Desdemona would never dream of being unfaithful to her husband no matter the reward. Since Othello is unable to distinguish between Desdemona as a cheating whore rather than a loyal wife, he tumbles down a path of moral self-destruction, while slandering many others.

In addition to Desdemona, Othello’s original lieutenant, Cassio, is also wrongly accused by Othello to be immoral and villainous simply because Othello cannot see the truth and would rather believe an appearance. After Iago provokes Cassio into a drunken fight with the governor of Cyprus, Othello dismisses Cassio from his service. Because he truly loves Othello, Cassio is desperate to win back the trust and friendship of his general. Cassio speaks of this matter to Othello’s wife, hoping Desdemona will be able to persuade Othello into forgiving Cassio. Speaking the truth, Desdemona tells Cassio, “You do love my lord; You have known him long, and be you well assured He shall in strangeness stand no farther off Than in a politic distance”(III, iii, 10-13). The honest Desdemona reveals the truth by agreeing that Cassio is committed to serving Othello. Led by false appearances, Othello comes under the impression that Cassio has actually stolen Desdemona away. When Iago first tells Othello that Cassio has seduced Desdemona, Othello demands, “Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore! Be sure of it. Give me the ocular proof”(III, iii, 375-376). The conversation then shifts from reality to appearance,

IAGO: In sleep I heard [Cassio] say, ‘Sweet Desdemona, Let us be wary, let us hide our loves!’ And then, sir, would he grip and wring my hand, Cry ‘O sweet creature!’ then kiss me hard...

OTHELLO: O monstrous! Monstrous!

IAGO: Nay, this was but his dream.

OTHELLO: But this denoted a foregone conclusion. ‘Tis a shrewd doubt, thought it be but a dream. (III, iii, 435-448)

Just a few moments earlier, Othello demanded ocular proof from Iago, yet Iago describes a dream of Cassio’s that never actually occurred. Somehow, this is not only soothes Othello, even after Iago tells Othello that it was only a dream, Othello shows his vulnerability to deception by saying that even a dream hints at reality. Eventually, Othello arrives at the conclusion that Cassio is the enemy and tells Iago, “Within these days let me hear thee say That Cassio’s not alive”(III, iv, 488-489). Although Othello has no logical reason to mark Cassio as an enemy, Iago’s deception leads Othello astray. Since Othello cannot identify for himself his true friends and enemies, Othello loses a dear friend when he dismisses Cassio from his mind.

Because Othello cannot see through fake appearances, he suffers a major tragedy. Although Iago makes Othello’s friend and wife appear to be enemies, it is really Othello’s incapability to distinguish between appearances and reality that cause him to suffer. Othello loses the love of his life, Desdemona, a devoted servant, Cassio, and his reputation as a hero. Othello eventually kills Desdemona and sends Iago to murder Cassio. After realizing his error in judgment, Othello laments his losses and commits suicide. This downfall, orchestrated by Iago, could have all been prevented if Othello had been able toe distinguish reality from appearances. Unfortunately, Othello was not able to identify his true friends and his enemies which caused the good general to do evil things. Shakespeare’s Othello proves how important trust and love are in a relationship. Real trust and love are needed in order for a relationship to grow. False loving qualities that only appear to be real will never be able to substitute for real feelings. With a strong bond of love and trust, deception and lies can be avoided.