Iagos Success in Convincing Othello - Essay Example

Iago’s success in convincing Othello to hate his wife attributes to the male attitudes towards women in the play. In the beginning, Othello appears to trust his wife Desdemona, to the extent of admitting his love for her in the presence of her father, Brabanzio. Brabanzio’s attitude to women is evident when dealing with his daughter (Shakespeare 24). Brabanzio learns that his daughter and Othello are secretly married when Iago and Rodrigo inform him of his daughter’s disappearance. When Brabanzio is sure that his daughter is missing, he commences a mission to search for Othello with the help of officers. Desdemona’s father blames Othello of stealing his daughter through the use of witchcraft before the senate; however, the senate is unconvinced on the matter. In this situation, Brabanzio considers his daughter as a person who cannot make her own decisions. He portrays his daughter as a naive character, thus, portraying all women as naive persons incapable of making their own decisions (Shakespeare 27). Desdemona defends her husband by indicating that their marriage was genuine, a situation that irritated her father. Brabanzio’s character indicates that women should not make decisions in the absence of men, and are, therefore, inferior. Shakespeare’s play, Othello, depicts men as superior, with society having a male dominion. Most males are superior citizens, holding central positions in the military. Women act as second class citizens used by men as objects. Othello’s character, as evident in the play, causes Iago to manipulate him to the extent of hating his wife. The portrayal of women as naive characters is evident where Iago and Rodrigo conspire with a purpose of destroying Othello’s marriage. Rodrigo believes that by offering money to Iago, he would succeed in winning love from Desdemona. In the play, men treat women as affectionate wives. For example, Emilia tries to grab Desdemona’s handkerchief for the purpose of giving it to her husband, Iago. This is a portrayal of the care women have for their partners despite the unfair treatment towards them (Shakespeare 30). Iago manages to get the handkerchief from his wife, although the wife is unwilling to give it to her because she is suspicious of Iago’s intentions of needing the handkerchief. Iago uses a commanding tone to make his wife leave the room as he gets the chance of taking the handkerchief. The treatment of Emilia by her husband seems undesirable and indicates the negative attitudes and relationships that men have with their women. The dominance of men is evident in the play with the display of power struggles between men. Iago’s determination to help Rodrigo is beyond measure because he uses wit to ensure that Othello hates his wife. Iago uses the handkerchief to frame Desdemona as an unfaithful wife by planting the handkerchief in Cassio’s house. Iago does this in order to convince Othello of Desdemona’s infidelity. Rodrigo’s determination to ruin Othello and Cassio is immense, although, the intentions of loving Desdemona become fruitless (Shakespeare 32). It is intriguing how Rodrigo is willing to use his money to destroy others for selfish reasons. Rodrigo’s behavior depicts the negative attitudes that men have on women. He thought that money could help him get Desdemona, hence, reducing women to objects. Desdemona is seen as a powerful figure to Othello, although Iago convinces him of her infidelity. Othello’s feelings of betrayal by his wife after Iago manages to convince him are evident in his words when he utters, “I was happy before they tasted her sweet body”. This shows that Othello had a different attitude towards women since Iago managed to outwit him. Iago’s attitude towards his wife is evident where he underestimates his wife’s knowledge of his plot to destroy others. Despite the attitudes portrayed by men, women in the play display qualities contrary to the perception of men. Men expect women to be submissive although they do not show respect to their women (Shakespeare 76). However, as evident in Emilia’s utterances, she is in defense of women by acting differently. The character played by Bianca indicates the role of women in the play. Bianca is a prostitute who serves Cassio, with the expectations of being married to him; but his promises for marriage are nothing but deceit. Although the portrayal of women is negative, there are cases that women are portrayed positively, for example, Cassio’s expressions on Desdemona indicate praise of her positive personality. However, this expression contradicts with Cassio’s behavior because he deceives the prostitute that he will marry her. Iago’s relationship with women is vast; his hatred for women is evident where he uses harsh words to refer to Emilia, his wife (Shakespeare 195). Iago utters in the presence of his wife that ‘women are pictures out doors’, demonstrating his disrespect for women. The male dominance and attitudes have contributed to Othello’s demise of his love for his wife. The male has showed dominion in the play with Iago and Rodrigo’s plot of destroying Othello’s relationship succeeding. The insecure nature of Othello made him vulnerable to the intentions of Iago and Rodrigo. He considered himself as an outsider in a place crammed with people of a different race. Iago’s success relates to the already present negative perception of men towards women. Through the use of deceit, Iago manages to convince Othello that his wife is unfaithful. Although there is little variance in the play as for the way the society treats women, Othello is forced to display the negative attitude painted to him by Iago. The variance of women roles in Shakespeare’s masterpiece emanates from Emilia’s show of independence. The racial origin of Othello must have affected his faith for his wife because he felt insecure. Othello does not discover the deceit and hate that Iago has for him because of Iago’s ability to feign the virtue of honesty to Othello. The play displays differences in gender plus race. The treatment of women is harsh because men believe that women are naive and deceptive (Shakespeare 167). Othello’s racial difference and perception of women were an overall cause of his violent nature in the end of the play. Work Cited Shakespeare, William, and Gayle Holste. Othello. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's Educational Series, 2002. Print. Read More