One critical discussion quote that I found interesting was "His [Othello] jealousy and disillusion, to be sure, are entirely justified by the actual events and are not the result of deceitful slander, but they hit him with equally destructive force."
I said that Othello obviously makes himself suspicious enough that Iago doesn't really have to do much of anything. Even the littlest events (like the handkerchief) seem to upset Othello. He is responsible for his own misleading and suspicions. Iago places these ideas into his head, which are mainly illogical, yet Othello continues to believe them and act accordingly upon Iago's nonsense. Othello's mind has the ability to put him into a totally ridiculous state. He is so full of suspicions that his brain is eating away at itself and destructing little by little.
Tragic heroes are often at least partly responsible for their suffering, Carter.
ReplyDeleteIs he so insecure in his marriage to a younger woman of another race that he loses a reasonable approach to information that upsets him?
ReplyDeleteThere are definitely some comments that Othello makes that reveal these rather natural insecurities. Of course, he is an outsider, too, regardless of how much he has assimilated into Venetian society. Iago, the great judge of character that he is, senses this vulnerability, brings it to the surface, irritates it, and uses it to bring Othello under his control. Ironically, does the super confident Iago have similar insecurities?
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