Shakespeares Othello: A Man of Honor, but Infected with Inferiority Complex - Essay Example

Shakespeare’s Othello: A Man of Honor, but Infected with Inferiority Complex In William Shakespeare’s play, the protagonist Othello appears to be the victim of his own doubt which is essentially induced more by his inferiority complex than by Iago. His tragic downfall is basically the outcome of his emotional obsession with his race in the white society of Venice. At the depth of his heart, he suffers from inferiority complex; as a result, Iago could victimize him easily. Though he loves Desdemona, he ultimately fails to keep faith her because he himself feels a type of insecurity about the society. Since Desdemona belongs to this society, Iago successfully redirects Othello’s suspicion towards her. Othello subconsciously supposes that Desdemona is one of the members of the society that would rather enslave him, if he did not have the military skill. As a result, he thinks that Desdemona could betray easily because of his racial inferiority. So, in a sense, his respectable position in the white society is also the platform of his own destruction. Indeed Iago knows this the race-induced anxiety of Othello’s mind very well. Therefore, he successfully manipulates it to bring about his destruction. The following speech of Othello is quite emblematic of his inferiority-induced distrust for Desdemona: This fellow’s of exceeding honesty And knows all quantities, with a learned spirit, Of human dealings……………………… …………………Haply, for I am black And have not those soft parts of conversation That chamberers have, or for I am declined Into the vale of years—yet that’s not much— She’s gone, I am abused, and my relief Must be to loathe her.………………….. ………………….Look where she comes If she be false, heaven mocked itself. I’ll not believe ’t. (Shakespeare Act III, Scene iii 257-278) In this soliloquy, Othello expresses his wavering belief in his wife Desdemona’s chastity. He feels that he have been cheated by her because of his race, as he says, “Haply, for I am black / And have not those soft parts of conversation/ That chamberers have” (Shakespeare Act III, Scene iii 257-278). Here Othello clearly reveals the insecurity that he feels deep in heart. He compares himself with other courtiers who are civilized and well-conversed than he is. He also touches on another possibility that Desdemona might cheat on him because he is old. But immediately, he dismisses such possibility and retains his earlier assumption that Desdemona might have betrayed him because of his race. But at the end of this soliloquy he reasserts his faith in Desdemona: “If she be false, heaven mocked itself./ I’ll not believe ’t.” (Shakespeare Act III, Scene iii 257-278) Here one thing is vividly remarkable that Othello never doubts Iago’s rumor. Throughout the whole play, it seems that he hears and believes Iago’s words without any much question. Even more, he attests that Iago is an extremely honest man who has a deep insight into human nautre, as he says, “This fellow’s of exceeding honesty/ And knows all quantities, with a learned spirit, / Of human dealings” (Shakespeare Act III, Scene iii 257-278). In this regard one may ask why a wise general fails to question Iago’s integrity and whether Iago is expert enough to deceive the experienced general. Indeed there is no doubt that Iago is an expert manipulator. Though as an experienced general Othello should have questioned Iago prior to doubting his wife, he fails to do so because he might have been blindfolded partly by the fact that Iago belongs to the white society for whom he nourishes a sense of revere from the very starting of his free life in it. But he is mainly blindfolded by his distrust for the society. Though he never condemns the society directly, he holds himself his racial status responsible as an inborn sin or guilt of him. Such racial inferiority complex makes him insecure in the face of Iago’s manipulation. In a racially-fragmented society, Othello have procured the renowned position by dint of his military prowess. Yet he is in constant endeavor to evade his racial past. Instead of being judged on his race, he tries to be recognized by the society through what he can do for it. He wants that the society should evaluate him in term of his military skill. Though he holds an honorable rank, he sensitively remains secluded from it. In reality his isolation is a result of the fact that he does not racially belong to the society. This Othello’s social isolation is vividly evident in his speech in the final scene of the play. While killing himself, he rehearses how he killed a Turk in one battle. It essentially refers to his alien-status in the society: “Set you down this, / And say besides that in Aleppo once, / Where a malignant and a turbaned Turk / Beat a Venetian and traduced the state, / I took by th’ throat the circumcised dog / And smote him thus”. (Shakespeare V.ii.341-354) In this scene, by drawing a parallel between him and the Turk, he powerfully states that forever he will remain a stranger to the society. Referring this alien status of Othello, Albert Rolls comments as following, “Othello's status as a Venetian, according to the tenets of this doctrine of cultural transformation, is a consequence of his living in Venice…But Othello does not remain a Venetian for the entire play.” (3) Therefore, Othello the former slave still remains a slave in the head. Perpetually he views his white fellows as someone superior to him. He is habituated to satisfy what they expect from him. Therefore, such indisposition to satisfy the white society prevents him from putting Iago’s rumor into question. He satisfies the society’s need not only the war but also the society’s tendency to view the black people as ferocious brutes. He once says: “Her father loved me; oft invited me; / Still question'd me the story of my life, / …../ It was my hint to speak,--such was the process; / And of the Cannibals that each other eat, / The Anthropophagi and men whose heads/ Do grow beneath their shoulders.” (Shakespeare Act I, Scene iii 4) Here he alludes that Desdemona’s father Brabantio shows interest not only in his military skill but also in his stereotypical fancy story of the black people. As long as Othello proves to be useful to the Venetians, he is loved by them. But when he decides to cross the racial threshold, he is vehemently opposed by Brabantio. Referring this racial divide, Paul Robeson comments: “[Othello] was a general, and…could be valuable as a fighter he was tolerated…So soon, however, as Othello wanted a white woman, Desdemona, everything was changed….” (2) Again he has to satisfy the White society’s interest in the stereotypical stories of black fate and adventure. Othello tells those fantasy stories of ‘cannibals’, ‘anthropophagi’ etc in order to satisfy a white soul. Therefore, he is well-aware of the fact that his heroism, not his love, is welcomed by the society. Such suspicion for the society further fuels his distrust for Desdemona. Despite his love, he cannot be sure that Desdemona, a member of the society, could have settled for him. Indeed his love is inevitably entailed with his “perpetual fear of being abandoned and betrayed by the society as well as his wife” (Adler 329). In this regard, Tana Blum comments, Othello can believe Iago’s stories because deep down he himself doubts Desdemona’s love and loyalty – he can too easily believe that he’s not really good enough for her because he’s black and she’s white. He feels inferior and insecure. (1) Belonging to an inferior race, Othello could either believe or distrust any of the members of the white society. Though he should have questioned integrity of Iago’s words first, he fails to do it because Iago hurts the weakest point of his personality, his race. When Iago implicates that Desdemona could have shunned him because of his color, he believes it without any question: “Ay, there’s the point. As, to be bold with you, / Not to affect many proposed matches, / Of her own clime, complexion, and degree, / Whereto we see in all things nature tends” (Shakespeare Act III, Scene iii). However, Othello’s composed and reputable manners have a tendency to camouflage his psychological weakness and flaws. An in-depth analysis of Othello’s honorable, and manner will rather expose the fact that Shakespeare’s protagonist belongs to a realm where excessive idealism and self-restrain seriously affect his capability to distinguish the rumor from reality. (Adler 327-328) Indeed this inertia starts Othello’s tragic downfall. This inability to act and to face the truth is evident in his willingness to keep faith in Desdemona’s chastity and not to inquire into rumored infidelity: “If she be false, O then Heaven mocks itself, / I'll not believe it” (Shakespeare Act III, Scene iii 62-63) Works Cited Adler, Doris. “The Rhetoric of Black and White in Othello.” Shakespeare Quarterly, 25 (1974) 324-339 Blum, Tana. “Racism in Shakespeare's Tragedy ‘Othello’”, Suite101. 17 October 2010. Web. 10 December 2012. Available at Robeson, Paul. “My Fight for Fame. How Shakespeare Paved My Way to Stardom.” Pearson's Weekly, 5 April 1930. Web. 10 December 2012. Available at Shakespeare, William. Othello. New York: Della Classics, 1993 Read More