Othello – Character Information

Virtues:

Othello is essentially a good man. From early in the play we learn that he
is a trusted soldier and a loving husband who remains calm under
pressure and is held in high regard in Venice.

Trusted soldier – he is asked to lead the army against the Turkish invasion
of Cyprus. He is described as “valiant” by the Duke, and “brave” by
Montano. He has led many successful campaigns in the past “My services
which I have outdone the signiory shall out-tongue his complaints”

Loving husband – he defends his actions in eloping, maintaining that their

relationship is sincere “I love the gentle Desdemona”. He treats her as an
equal, and respects her right to offer her own opinions “let her speak of
me before her father”. His first concern is for her when he agrees to go to
Cyprus “I crave fit disposition for my wife”. He trusts her implicitly “My life
upon her faith” despite Brabantio’s warning and his love for her gives his
life meaning “But I do love thee! And when I love thee not chaos is come
again”

Calm under pressure – he honourably & confidently refuses to hide from

Brabantio, as he knows his conscience is clear “I must be found: my parts,
my title and my perfect soul shall manifest me rightly”. He refuses to use
violence unnecessarily “Keep up your bright swords for the dew will rust
them” and skilfully quietens a dangerous situation. When Brabantio
accuses him of drugging his daughter, Othello agrees to answer the
charges laid against him “where will you that I go?”

Respected – the Duke admires Othello so much that he tries to convince

Brabantio to lay aside his racism and accept his new son-in-law: “I think
this tale would win my daughter too” “your son-in-law is far more fair than
black”

Despite having many suitors, Desdemona chose Othello as her husband

“to his honours and his valiant parts did I my soul and fortunes
consecrate”
Even Iago, who claims to “hate the Moor” admits that he is a good man
“The Moor…is of a constant loving noble nature and I dare think that he’ll
prove to Desdemona a most dear husband”

Flaws:

Othello is not without flaws however. He is too proud, too trusting, too
impulsive and extremely insecure despite his outward show of arrogance.

Pride & vanity – Othello is the first to suggest that Othello is self-centered
and arrogant “loving his own pride and purposes”. This impression is
strengthened when Othello boasts “I fetch my life and being from men of
royal siege”. Even his love for Desdemona could be interpreted as
extremely vain “She loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved
her that she did pity them”. Is it possible that he loves her simply because
she flatters his ego? {OR is their love deeper – does she understand him
and accept him in a way that no other woman ever has?} His later
behaviour towards Cassio & Desdemona is partially motivated by
wounded pride: “I’d rather be a toad and live upon the vapour of a
dungeon, than keep a corner in the thing I love for other’s uses”

Trusting – Iago uses Othello’s blind faith in other human beings to his
advantage “The Moor is of a free and open nature, that thinks men honest
that but seem to be so, & will as tenderly be led by the nose as asses
are”. Othello frequently mistakes appearance for reality, never delving
beneath the surface to seek a deeper, more complex truth. He only briefly
suspects Iago (“If thou dost slander her and torture me, never pray more,
abandon all remorse, on horror’s head horrors accumulate”) and when
Iago pretends to be offended Othello immediately back-pedals. Once he
decides that he was wrong to trust Cassio and Desdemona, he is filled
with a desire for revenge because they have taken away his faith in the
essential goodness and integrity of human nature.

Impulsive – As a soldier, Othello must be decisive. He must establish the

facts on the battlefield and quickly decide on his next course of action.
This trait works against him here. Although he insisted on being given the
opportunity to defend himself against Brabantio’s accusations, he does
not give Cassio the same fair trial: “Cassio I love thee; but never more be
officer of mine”. {Does this make Othello a hypocrite? Or simply a man
who values his reputation/cannot be seen to condone this behaviour?}
Othello’s impatience to know the truth and act on it is also evident when
he begins to doubt Desdemona “To be once in doubt is once to be
resolved…” “I’ll have some proof”. Yet he accepts Iago’s insinuations
about Cassio and Desdemona (asking “Why did I marry?”) even before
Iago offers his ‘proofs’ of the handkerchief & Cassio’s sleep talking.
Othello cannot bear uncertainty, and has a very simplistic view of human
emotions – either he loves her with all his heart or he hates her with an
equally passionate intensity “She’s gone, I am abused, and my relief must
be to loathe her”

Insecure – despite seeming confident, even arrogant on the outside,

Othello is actually quite insecure. He accepts Iago’s suggestion that
Desdemona was somehow abnormal or strange when she chose him as a
husband: “Not to affect many proposed matches of her own clime,
complexion and degree…one may smell in such a will most rank”
Bizarrely, Othello behaves in a racist manner against himself when he
accepts this as proof of Desdemona’s degeneracy, and instructs Iago “set
on thy wife to observe”. He is also insecure because he is an outsider in
Venetian society. He lacks experience and local knowledge when it comes
to Venetian women and so believes Iago’s assertion that they secretly
cheat on their husbands: “In Venice they do let heaven see the pranks
they dare not show their husbands”. Othello’s greatest insecurity is a fear
that his rich, white, beautiful, aristocratic wife doesn’t truly love him.
Perhaps he all too quickly believes the lies Iago tells him about his wife
because he secretly believes that the racist majority in Venice are right:
maybe a black man is an unattractive creature, not quite human,
unworthy of love.

Othello

Unforgivable behaviour:

He asks Iago to have Emilia spy on Desdemona “set on thy wife to

observe”
He knows that either Iago is lying, or Desdemona is. Yet he never offers
his wife the benefit of the doubt, even though he claims to love & trust
her “my life upon her faith”

Othello does not demand justice. A fair hearing for the accused (which he
himself got after eloping with Desdemona) is never considered. He craves
revenge (“arise black vengeance from the hollow hell”), a less noble, more
volatile emotion.

Othello tests his wife’s loyalty secretly (“fetch me the handkerchief, my

mind misgives”) instead of openly confronting her and attempting real
communication.

He spies on Cassio (prompted by Iago) instead of openly confronting him.

Othello publicly insults & strikes his wife “subtle whore” “impudent
strumpet” “devil”

He refuses to accept Emilia’s reassurances that nothing is going on “if she

be not honest, chaste and true, there’s no man happy”. He has already
closed his mind to the possibility of her innocence.

When he finally accuses his wife “are you not a strumpet?” he ignores her
genuine protestations “no as I am a Christian”. He won’t tell her what it is
exactly she’s supposed to have done (it would be too humiliating to
repeat) and as a result she never gets the opportunity to prove her
innocence.

He orders the murder of a trusted loyal general (Cassio) and fools himself
into believing that he is the instrument of divine justice when he kills
Desdemona.

Othello absolves himself of blame, describing himself as an “honourable

murderer”. He is full of self-pity “demand that demi-devil why he hath
thus ensnared my soul and body” rather than self-loathing.
Othello’s suicide? For Cassio & a Shakespearean audience, this was a
brave noble deed (“this did I fear for he was great of heart”) because he
will writhe in the torments of hell forever paying for his crime. However a
modern audience may feel suicide is the easy way out. It allows him to
escape the consequences of his actions. As Othello says to Iago “I’d have
thee live, for in my sense tis happiness to die”.

Othello

A tragic hero?

There are many reasons why an audience might feel great sympathy for
Othello:

Othello is essentially a good man – see list above.

For no good reason and through no fault of his own, Othello has made an
enemy whose mission in life is to destroy Othello and everything he holds
dear: “O! you are well tuned now, but I’ll set down the pegs that make this
music”. This enemy is highly intelligent, extremely manipulative, a master
of deception, a skilled opportunist and worst of all, a trusted friend. It is
extremely perverse that Othello should confide in this traitor every step of
the way, and turn to him for advice. Each time he defends Iago (“an
honest man he is, and hates the slime that sticks on filthy deeds” “O
brave Iago, honest and just! That hast such noble sense of thy friend’s
wrong”) we feel sick to our stomachs. Yet every character in the play is
taken in by Iago (even his wife) and it is fair to say that without Iago, this
tragedy would not have occurred. For some people, however, it is
Othello’s very trusting nature that makes them dislike him. Perhaps some
audiences like to (probably unfairly) view Othello as a fool, because the
thought that we could be so taken in and corrupted by another human
being is too much to bear.
Othello’s behaviour makes sense psychologically:

(a)When he fires Cassio, although this is a rash decision, it is

understandable. After all, Cassio has injured one of Cyprus’ greatest
generals; has caused a brawl whilst on guard duty in a city just recovering
from war; has interrupted Othello’s first night with his new bride; and does
not deny the charges made against him – because they are true. Othello
cannot be seen to condone this behaviour & must protect both his
reputation & Cyprus’ fragile peace.

(b) At the beginning of the temptation scene, Othello is a devoted

husband: “Perdition catch my soul but I do love thee! And when I love thee
not, chaos is come again”. By the end of the scene, he is consumed by a
desire for revenge “Arise black vengeance from the hollow hell”. Yet at
many points during this scene we feel sorry for him. He is filled with
confusion, torn between grief (“she’s gone, I am abused”), anger (“…and
my relief must be to loathe her”) and disbelief (“if she be false, O! then
heaven mocks itself. I’ll not believe it”)

After all, the more you love and trust someone, the more it will hurt if they
betray you. Furthermore, Iago is cleverly manipulating key facets of
Othello’s personality. Firstly, he is insecure. He has begun to doubt his own
judgement of character – after all, it seems he was wrong about Cassio
(drunken lout!). He finds it hard to understand why Desdemona chose
him, rejecting those of “her own clime, complexion and degree”. Deep
down he feels unworthy of her love, & Iago seems to sense this. Secondly,
he is an outsider to Venetian society. He feels socially (and possibly
sexually) inexperienced & therefore accepts Iago’s insinuations that
Venetian women frequently cheat on their husbands yet are experts at
hiding their deception. After all “she did deceive her father” in marrying
Othello. Thirdly, he is very trusting. He places great sentimental value on
his mother’s handkerchief & thus sees it as the ultimate betrayal to give it
away. Fourthly, he has a vivid imagination, and cannot cope with the
intense jealousy and anguish which floods over him when Iago presents
him with vivid images of his wife with another man “then laid his leg over
my thigh, and sighed and kissed” “with her, on her, what you will”. Fifthly,
he is proud of his achievements on the battlefield & of the fact that
Desdemona married him “for she had eyes and she chose me”. His
wounded pride (understandably) cannot accept the idea of sharing her
“I’d rather be a toad and live upon the vapour of a dungeon than keep a
corner in the thing I love for other’s uses”. Finally, he is a man of action
who is used to making decisions quickly & acting on them. He craves
certainty “would I were satisfied” which partially explains why he rushes
to judgement without investigating further.

Once Iago corrupts Othello’s feelings for Desdemona and transforms him
into a jealous monster hell-bent on revenge, Othello suffers terribly. He is
desperate to prove Iago wrong and is tormented when Desdemona cannot
produce it “fetch me the handkerchief, my mind misgives”. He is so
distraught by the thought of Cassio and Desdemona together “Lie with
her! Lie on her!…Is it possible? – Confess – Handkerchief – O devil!” that
he has an epileptic fit. When he thinks he overhears Cassio speaking
disrespectfully about Desdemona (he was actually talking about Bianca)
and sees Bianca giving Cassio the handkerchief, any remaining doubt
about their guilt is washed away. Yet he still loves Desdemona, and is torn
between these tender feelings “a fine woman! a fair woman! a sweet
woman!” …”the pity of it Iago” and a deep inner pain, manifested as rage,
at her betrayal “let her rot, and perish, and be damned tonight; for she
shall not live”. When he strikes Desdemona our sympathy is at it’s lowest
ebb yet, but we can still understand his actions: he overheard and
misinterpreted her when she said “I would do much to atone them for the
love I bear to Cassio”. He lists all of the hardships he would have been
willing to endure for his beloved wife – sores, shames, poverty, captivity,
scorn – but the one thing he cannot endure is having his heart so cruelly
broken, his love so cruelly discarded (Act 4, scene 2). When the time
comes to kill Desdemona, Othello almost changes his mind. It is
heartbreaking to watch him kissing her “O balmy breath, that dost almost
persuade justice to break her sword!” because we the audience know that
all of this suffering is in vain. His desire to save her immortal soul is
touching “have you prayed tonight?” Although we despise him for killing
an innocent, he is in the grip of passionate, uncontrollable emotions:
Desdemona describes how his whole body shakes as he gnaws his lip and
rolls his eyes. He feels no satisfaction once the deed is done “O
insupportable! O heavy hour”. When the truth finally emerges, Othello is
filled with horror and shame: “this look of thine will hurl my soul from
heaven, and fiends will snatch at it” “wash me down in steep down gulfs
of liquid fire! O Desdemona! Desdemona! dead!”.

Our final assessment of Othello’s character is largely coloured by the final

scene:
We despise him for killing Desdemona, and for glorifying his vigilante
behaviour as some kind of divine justice YET we admire his efforts to save
her eternal soul & the anguish he feels whilst carrying out this gruesome
task.

We disapprove of his arrogance in describing himself as an “honourable

murderer” as this suggests that he doesn’t fully accept responsibility for
his actions YET we empathise with his overwhelming grief “cold, cold, my
girl”

We understand his rage at Iago “demand that demi-devil why he hath

thus ensnared my soul” YET this strengthens our impression that he is
looking to lay the blame entirely at someone else’s feet.

His final speech is self-indulgent and self-pitying in the extreme “one that
loved not wisely but too well, of one not easily jealous, but, being
wrought, perplexed in the extreme” YET his grief (his subdued eyes “drop
tears as fast as the Arabian trees”) and awareness of what he has lost
“threw a pearl away richer than all his tribe” are truly tragic to behold.

Othello’s suicide: A brave noble deed (“this did I fear for he was great of
heart”) or the easy way out? (“I’d have thee live, for in my sense tis
happiness to die”). You decide.