How Iago’s Jealousy Leads to The Tragic Events in Othello

Othello by William Shakespeare centres around the themes of prejudice, manipulation and deception that are driven by envy. These consisting themes misguide peoples perceptions and actions that result into the ultimate unfortunate death of Desdemona. Iago being a cunning man, he has no problem in using the people around him as his pawns to get what he wants, he studies people’s weaknesses and tears then down like a malevolent psychopath. The unique trust that Othello has for Iago allows room for betrayal and control from the inside. Othello as well as Desdemona are very critical characters of this play but both of them carry vulnerable attributes that collide with each other. Desdemona; as most women were back then, is very naive and obedient to her husband and Othello is a general that carries the nature of being impulsive and stubborn. Both Desdemona and Othello have been shied away from parts of reality and only know the world they live in.

Iago being a character that is very manipulative and cunning – he creates false statements about Cassio and accuses Cassio of having a dreams about Desdemona whilst he was with him “In sleep I heard him say “sweet Desdemona, let us be wary, let us hide our love…” and “…lay his leg over my thigh and sigh, and kiss and then cry “Cursed fate that gave thee to the Moor!”’

This shows the how wicked and manipulating Iago’s intentions are and how they were driven by jealousy when Iago got passed over the role as Lieutenant. William Shakespeare has explicitly constructed Iago’s character to play a very malevolent role which sparks emotion and feeling in an audience to grow a relationship with the characters and their decisions.

The Moor was vulnerable to manipulation because of the way he’s lived his life – he is a general that believes what people tell him and this is how Iago was able to plant the seed and grow a story in Othello’s mind that Cassio had been sleeping with his wife “Yet be content… Patience. I say. Your mind may change” his intentions here were to say “calm down, be patient things may change” to make himself seem trustworthy and this shows us as the audience how Iago is gaslighting Othello throughout the play. Iago had foreshadowed false statements about the affair in the beginning in order to seem innocent in Othello’s eyes and gives the situation the benefit of the doubt even though that is not Iago’s intent.

The trust that Othello has in Iago is impeccable, this is mainly due to the fact that Othello’s high regard he holds of Iago as a ‘trustworthy’ friend. ‘Honest Iago” is what Iago refers to himself of as well as Othello and others. Othello is a noble spirited man that assumes other people are just like him. Not only does Othello hold him at high regard but everyone else depicts him as a loyal, trustworthy man. Us as an audience get an insight into the way and reasoning behind why Othello is placing Iago at such high regards. With Iago knowing there is a strong trust bond between him and Othello, he is able to seize every opportunity to take advantage and to manipulate everyone around him, but more specifically Othello. Ironically the pathological lies coming from Iago through the play, is able to reinforce and strengthen the trustful bond Othello has for Iago.

William Shakespeare has centred around the idea that in the times of the year 1600, it was very common for the woman in a husband-wife relationship is to remain quiet and loyal, especially with Desdemona, she was quite a young naive girl that had been sheltered from reality most her life. Othello’s stubbornness and impulse decision making as a general with Desdemona’s naive-ness and obedience – play a big part of the tragedy downfall that results in Desdemona’s death. Even whilst on her deathbed she remains noble and maintains her love, trust and faith in Othello. Desdemona’s choice to keep her loyalty and faith in Othello even to the very end, shows the audience that she is a woman driven by her heart and is a woman who is true to herself and the man she vows before.

Although it is commonly believed that Othello’s jealousy is what leads to tragic events in Othello by William Shakespeare, it is actually Iago’s duplicitous behaviour that paved the way for any short comings from characters like Desdemona and Othello. Iago is very analytical and psychologically driven as he takes the time to study each person and uses their weaknesses against them for his own benefit. These character traits are very prominent and different to the rest of the characters and this positions the audience to feel indulged in Iago’s cunning psychological way of thinking. William Shakespeare has Iago represented as a the antagonist with malicious intents that would do anything to ruin the people around him at the cost of nothing. 

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