Love in Othello Essay

Love between two persons may never be as ironic as in Othello, a play written by William Shakespeare. This play is about Othello that is the main character who is in love with Desdemona. Othello in the play is called Moor which means Muslim from northwest Africa; this is somewhat the reason why Desdemonas father did not accept their true love. Though, even after going against Desdemonas fathers will, she in the end is murdered by her own love, Othello. Othello is a brave soldier and very loyal to his wife but an Emotional Fool as well. The reasons that led to the ultimate downfall of Othello were that he arrived to conclusions without much thinking or any evidence, he trusted Iago blindly and lost faith in his wife as internal reasons, and being a black and being an attractive general in army as external reasons.

The first reason that led to the downfall of Othello was that he did not make decisions wisely and he arrived to conclusions without any evidence. Othello married to a beautiful woman, Desdemona, and had a personal assistant working for him, Iago, who is the principal element of Othellos downfall. Apart from his success in the battlefield, Othello was a very loving husband and possessive as well. He was also very emotional because he could never allow or even try to imagine his wife with some other men. So Othello under the evil influence of Iago was confirmed that his wife had an affair with Cassio who is a lieutenant and a friend to Desdemona. Some may argue that the sin of Iago - to plot the downfall of the Moor - is worse because it blossoms in a diabolical, calculating mind, as opposed to the sin of Othello which is committed because he has become a mere pawn in Iago's hands, blinded by hurt, ruined by his own naivety(Mabillard 2). Because Iago who hated Othello of commanding him and, in addition to that, being of black origin, he could not digest his success and position. A preliminary assumption may be that, because Othello kills his beloved wife after the devious machinations of Iago, then perhaps Othello is as much a victim of Iago's evil as Desdemona is of Othello's wrath( Mabillard 2). Therefore, Iago with his evil ways successfully managed to convince Othello that his wife was in love with Cassio and manipulate him as he wanted. At the end, he made Othello to come to conclusions that his wife is unfaithful without sufficient evidence. Thus, Othello did kill Desdemona because of some wrong thoughts that he even did not want them to be proved.

The second reason that led to the downfall of Othello was that he trusted Iago too much and lost faith in his wife. Iago as being his assistant spent much time with him and understood Othello to the core including his emotional strength in making him believe in some lies. Thus, Iago was a very smart person, as a matter of fact, smarter than a general in army because it is due to his manipulation that Othello killed and was killed ironically. Othello, on the other side, was not as smart and easy to be fooled. Since he had relied on Iago very much, who from the inside was jealous of him, Iago took advantage of this trust and misguided Othello in believing that his wife had an affair with Cassio. Othello takes every word Iago says like it is truth, and whenever he does question Iago, Iago's quick wits keep him uncovered by weaving all his lies together( "Othello - Character Analysis Of Iago" 1). Therefore, Othello believed Iago and after asking for evidence, Iago managed to trick Othello again in order to be successful in spreading his mischief. On the other hand, Desdemona loved Othello more than anything else in her loving life to the extent she went against her fathers will because she wanted to live with Othello. Othello also loved her so much, but due to the mischief spread by Iago in which he was successful, Othello started believing that Cassio, who was a loyal lieutenant to him, was involved in an affair with his wife, Desdemona. This struck Othello with immense shock and pain and hurt him to the core that he instead of looking into the fact if there was actually an affair of his wife with Cassio or not, he lost faith in his beautiful wife who loved her more than anything. Therefore, Othello in the end killed his love with his hand incorrectly.

The third reason that has affected Othello to do an unthinkable action is that he was a black and a general in army and that could lead him as an external reason of downfall. As it was shown in the play, Othello was admired by all soldiers and that may give him so much pride. It can be claimed that what actually causes Othello to commit murder is not his being mentally weakened and manipulated by Iago, but rather his own pride and lack of confidence which he allows to gain control(Mabillard 3). When he just felt that his wife was unfaithful to him and thought of being a general who is attractive and qualified in army, he determined to do an action without thinking. Othello is a strong leader, self-assured in his ability to handle military matters, but he is insecure with his personal qualities (Mabillard 3). Being a general affected him so much and on the other hand, Iago was working on him mentally; these two together had a great impact in Othellos decision. Being a black was a reason for Othellos downfall. Iago took advantage of Othellos black color against him. According to the play, it can be understood that Othello was so much in pressure by Iago Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe. Arise! Arise!(1051). This prejudice may have damaged his self-esteem, where he believed he was unworthy of Desdemona (Othello - Character Analysis Of Othello" 1). Thus, these external reasons led to the downfall of Othello as he could not realize until the end that he was being used against himself and his love.

Love, this important issue, as an affectionate bond between two individuals, is valuable only if the two have faith and trust in each other. In the play, the main role of Othello, who the play is based on, the story ends with a tragedy. This play had an ironic tragedy because under the manipulation of Iago, Othello lost faith in his wife of being loyal to him. Othello believed so much in Iago and because he made decisions without any evidence or without thinking enough. Living in a patriarchal society, being a black, and an attractive general who was admired by so many soldiers in the army and all of the mentioned reasons together made the downfall of Othello.