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IAGO AS THE EMBODIMENT OF EVIL
Article · August 2015
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IAGO AS THE EMBODIMENT OF EVIL
Alaeddin Nahvi
English Instructor, Art University, Tehran
ABSTRACT:
Page | 509 Iago has the ability to turn man’s inner nature against itself, to extrapolate the bad and eradicate the
good. Iago is a man without an “active conscience;” he has no capability for guilt or remorse for his
actions. He has no better nature; his evil extends all the way to his very core. He takes pleasure in
manipulating others so that they will harm one another. In Othello, Iago fits all of Haybron’s
descriptions. He is the very embodiment of what Haybron defines as evil, and there are many scenes
where this evil is highly apparent.
Iago’s most famous soliloquy takes place in Act 2 Scene 3. In the beginning of the soliloquy, Iago
ironically asks how he can be a villain; however, he then states:
Divinity of hell!
When devils will the blackest sins put on,
They do suggest at first with heavenly shows,
As I do now. (2.3.350-353)
Iago compares himself to a “devil;” he is aware of his own evil, aware that he is dismissing the natural
state of morality, but he chooses to be evil anyway. He is at the very core an evil person, and this bothers
him little. Furthermore, in his scheming he takes pleasure in watching Othello, Desdemona, and Cassio
unknowingly hurt one another. Iago takes sadistic pleasure in his schemes; there are no good qualities in
his nature. He understands Desdemona’s loyalty to Cassio, turning her “virtue into a pitch,” using her
positive traits to bring out the most negative traits in Othello.
Othello does carry one quality that Haybron mentions; he carries strict expectations of how people
should behave, and when they do not behave according to these expectations, he is quick to carry out
punishment.
KEYWORDS: Jealousy, Evil Nature, Savage Nature, Self-deception
INTRODUCTION
Shakespeare has an ability to compose plays of deceit, trickery, love, revenge, and jealousy. In Othello,
one of his most recognized tragedies was evolving around the central theme of jealousy.
The theme of jealously goes with love as it is with real life. Love consumes all those who take part in it
and in Othello’s case; his love for Desdemona has blinded him. And it gave Iago a chance to corrupt him
so easily. The wicked emotion of jealously, not only resulted in the deaths of three of Othello's main
characters, it caused the sudden deaths of innocent characters as well.
The first theme that can be found in this play is jealousy. This theme can be said act as the backbone of
the entire play. All the events that happen in the play until that leads to Othello’s downfall are actually
triggered by this form of mischief- jealousy. In this play, jealousy portrays by three characters which are
Iago, Roderigo and Othello. Iago’s jealousy originates from his dissatisfaction towards Othello who
happens to promote the lieutenant post to Michael Cassio, the less experience soldier, instead of him (line
8-22). This then drives Iago to plan revenge on Othello in order to gain back his reputation. Iago’s
jealousy is actually the most critical issue in this play.
Things would goes differently if Iago has respond in positive way about the promotion and Othello and
Desdemona would have live happily with their marriage.
In Roderigo’s case however, his jealousy is derives from his disappointment of watching
Desdemona (his first love) falls into Othello’s hands. In comparison to Iago, Roderigo’s jealousy
basically is harmless because looking back at Roderigo’s ability, he is incapable to plan or even to
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perform evil tricks on his own. His jealousy is mostly fuels up by Iago who uses him as a pawn in order to
play his evil tricks. For instance, in Act II, Iago purposely provokes Roderigo by telling him about
Cassio’s feeling towards Desdemona so Roderigo will take action and create a trouble that he knows will
put Cassio’s reputation at risk.
Still, Roderigo is not the only person who is affected by Iago’s jealousy. Jealousy is like a disease that
Page | 510 will spread from one person to another which if not prevent can cause destruction to all. This is exactly
what happens in this play. Iago’s hatred and jealousy towards Othello drives him to deceive many people
around him including Othello. As part of his evil plans, Iago cunningly uses both Roderigo and Othello’s
weakness which is Desdemona to entrap them in his wicked schemes.
The story he makes up to Othello about Desdemona and Cassio results to another form of jealousy in the
play which at the end leads to the death of Desdemona and finally Othello himself. These events show
that Iago’s character plays as the main contributor to the theme jealousy.
There are several views on why Othello becomes jealous enough to murder his wife. Some
believe that it is insecurity about his race and his place outside of Venetian society. Some believe that it is
a deep-rooted sexual insecurity that drives him to murder. Another more cynical theory is that Othello is a
kind of “noble savage,” and that underlying his noble image is a capability for extreme violence due to his
country of origin. Although a critic can select evidence that supports each of these theories, they do not
present a coherent view of human nature as portrayed by Shakespeare.
There have been many explanations for Othello’s downfall. Perhaps he has a savage nature within him,
just waiting to be exposed; perhaps it is his disposition towards selfdeception, that his ability to coldly
murder his wife is only possible because he has the ability to fool himself and see what he wants to see
rather than what is really there; perhaps it is a fear of loss of reputation and pride that drives him towards
evil; perhaps he truly is noble, but is driven by intense passion which overcomes his reason. Probably the
lack of self-knowledge is what causes him to turn evil, becoming a completely different person than what
he was in the beginning of the play, and it is this lack of self-knowledge and his capability for evil that
cause him to so easily accept Iago’s “poisonous” whisperings and suggestions.
The key to understanding a mind like Othello’s is through the work of the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung.
For Jung, “man is an enigma to himself,” and our key need is the ability for introspection. Jung pursued
his research and published The Undiscovered Self in 1958 after the rise and fall of dictators such as Hitler,
Stalin, and Mussolini. Jung observed entire nations slowly becoming prone to the evil influences around
them. He believed that we all have the capability for evil within ourselves, and it is only by recognizing
this capability that we can escape and see through the sometimes evil influences around us. Our fear of
the unknown interior prompts the individual to constantly attempt to deceive oneself into thinking that he
or she is always in the right. In Othello, Jung’s ideas cannot be clearer than what we see in the outward
influence Iago has over Othello.
Othello, a thorough extrovert, has no genuine capability for the introspection that Jung speaks of; it is his
outward focus that makes it only too easy for Iago to control and manipulate him. Othello is incapable of
recognizing his capability for evil. He is completely ignorant of his tendency towards self-deception; of
his absolute need for certainty that drives him to the brink of madness; of his tendency towards making
excuses for his actions, especially in his final speech; of the contradictions within him, and of his
overwhelming passion that drives him to murdering his innocent wife. As a voice from the outside, Iago
essentially does Othello’s thinking for him, driving Othello, ironically, into believing that it is Desdemona
and Cassio who are evil, while Othello himself is slowly turning into a monster. If we are to apply Jung’s
ideas directly, Iago functions like civilization: he creates chaos; he implants ideas into the individual’s
mind, thereby influencing the individual, and turning Othello’s own hidden nature against himself. Some
critics even believe that Iago is a projection of Othello’s hidden self due to his complete control over
Othello’s mind. Othello’s final speech is itself a form of self-deception: he blames fate, he blames Iago,
but he never blames himself except for loving “too well.” He turns an obvious negative into a positive,
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further reinforcing the defenses that he uses to direct responsibility elsewhere as opposed to his own
psychological make-up.
Othello is not simple or stupid, as some critics have suggested, but rather a man driven by pride and a
need to maintain his own reputation, a man given to passion and self-deception, a man easily led by
influences in the form of Iago, and a man unable to recognize his own capability for committing violent
Page | 511 and evil acts. Othello is essentially a play about human nature and its ability to turn against itself, and a
man whose inability to obtain self-awareness drives him towards an evil act that destroys not only his
earthly salvation, but his eternal salvation as well. Jungian analysis is appropriate for Othello because the
play focuses on psychological themes. The most important themes center around Othello’s and Iago’s
relationship as it develops in the play. To gain an accurate understanding of Othello, it is necessary to
understand Othello’s interior make-up. Other than soliloquies, we gain little access into his reasons and
motivations that lead to his downfall. Jung’s notion of psychological types gives us an accurate
understanding of Othello’s extroverted nature. We understand why he is so easily manipulated, and how it
could have been avoided if he were to gain a better understanding of himself. Selfknowledge, elements of
the introvert personality type, the ability for introspection, are all traits that Jung believes to be of the
upmost importance, but they are also traits that Othello cannot, or never does possess.
IAGO AND HIS COLD REASON
Any analysis of Othello’s character must also consider the character of Iago. In his article
“Cold Reason Overcomes the Power of Love,” Heilman explores the nature of Othello’s and
Desdemona’s love which provokes Iago’s attempt to destroy it due to his own inability to love. Iago
views love as a form of witchcraft, something that he cannot understand or control. Iago possesses little
emotion other than bitterness and hate, “Good sense, hard sense, common sense, no nonsense,
rationality—all these terms we may suppose, are ones which Iago might consider as defining his
perspective” (133). It is Iago’s use of reason that drives Othello’s passion, leading to Desdemona’s death.
Iago exists to create chaos, which he instinctively seeks. Above all else, Iago recognizes that cold,
objective rationality can be used to create irrationality in others, an irrationality that is necessary to love,
but also to jealousy. Heilman asserts that Iago views witchcraft in unison with love. “The magic in the
web” of the handkerchief is an extension into the entire drama of the play. For Iago, reason and wit must
be used to conquer the irrationality of witchcraft. However, Iago’s vow to never speak a word after being
detained in the final scene is symbolic of the end of this wit, as it can no longer be used against the inner
nature of man. Desdemona’s final speech after death demonstrates the end of worldly wit; love and
witchcraft will overcome wit and reason, despite the tragic consequences of the play. Heilman ends the
article by listing the similarities that Othello and Iago share:
An inadequate selfhood that crops up in self-pity and an eye for slights and injuries, an
un-criticized instinct to sooth one’s own feeling by punishing others (with an air of moral
propriety), the need to possess in one’s own terms or destroy, an incapacity for love that
is the other side of self-love. (136)
The main point of the article is the contrast between love and reason: that cold reason can
overcome the power of love, but that love can continue after death, while reason cannot. Othello and Iago
both share a capability for evil, and therefore it becomes necessary to explore theories of evil in order to
find differences between the two characters.
THE NATURE OF EVIL
It is easy to see why so many critics of Othello assume Iago to be a projection of Othello due to Their
similarities. It is never really clear whether Iago has any kind of self-awareness other than the awareness
of his ability to hate. What is most frightening about Iago is that even if he did have extreme amounts of
selfawareness, it is likely, highly likely, that he would still commit evil. He is the epitome of evil; and in
examining the nature of evil, it is necessary to keep Iago in mind in comparison with Othello.
In his article “Evil Characters,” Daniel Haybron attempts to define evil in order to make a judgment on
whether a character is truly evil in fiction. He begins by suggesting that the evil character judges how
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people are supposed to think, act, and behave. To be truly evil, one must have a need to ommit evil on a
regular basis. More so, the evil character “takes pleasure in seeing people do evil to one another” (134).
He enjoys witnessing and contributing to “the pain of others,” he does not possess an “active conscience,”
he has no better nature, “evil permeates his character right down to the marrow” (132-38).
The evil person does not wish to change even if he is aware of good morality; he chooses to be evil
Page | 512 willingly; he does not even have to bother to justify his acts. Haybron’s article focuses on extreme cases
of evil. Therefore it is easy to turnto Iago as an example of what is evil.
Iago compares himself to a “devil;” he is aware of his own evil, aware that he is dismissing the natural
state of morality, but he chooses to be evil anyway. He is at the very core an evil person, and this bothers
him little. Furthermore, in his scheming he takes pleasure in watching Othello, Desdemona, and Cassio
unknowingly hurt one another. Later on in the soliloquy he states:
For whiles this honest fool
Plies Desdemona to repair his fortune,
And she for him pleads strongly to the Moor,
I’ll pour this pestilence into his ear—
That she repeals him for her body’s lust,
And by how much she strives to do him good,
She shall undo her credit with the Moor.
So will I turn her virtue into pitch,
And out of her own goodness make the net
That shall enmesh them all. (2.3.353-362)
Iago takes sadistic pleasure in his schemes; there are no good qualities in his nature. He
understands Desdemona’s loyalty to Cassio, turning her “virtue into a pitch,” using her positive traits to
bring out the most negative traits in Othello. Given the extreme kinds of evil mentioned in Haybron’s
article, it is difficult to apply any one of them to Othello. But Othello does carry one quality that Haybron
mentions; he carries strict expectations of how people should behave, and when they do not behave
according to these expectations, he is quick to carry out punishment.
OTHELO’S LOFTY EXPECTATIONS ON OTHERS BEHAVIOR
In order to examine the idea of evil further, we once again must return to Othello’s emphasis on
reputation. After Cassio is tricked into getting drunk, and as a result, gets in a fight with Roderigo,
Othello is quick to remove him from his position as his lieutenant, despite his close personal friendship
with him: “Cassio, I love thee,/ But never more be an officer of mine”(2.3.248-249).
Othello judges Cassio based on one incident, and is quick in punishing him for not living up to his
expectations on how people should act and behave. Cassio’s reputation has been lost as he himself states:
Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself,
and what remains is bestial. My reputation, Iago, my reputation! (2.3.262-264)
The reason Iago is such a successful schemer, at least through most of the play, is the ability his own
jealousy provides him with of recognising the potential for the same feeling in others, and to exploit it to
gain his own ends. Moreover his jealousy seems to be his only fault, he is not dishonest in other respects,
we have no reason to believe that he is anything but valiant in the battlefield, nor that he is unfaithful to
his wife. And since this jealousy is generally unstated to anyone but the audience (he tells Roderigo that
he hates Othello, but Roderigo is not likely to tell anyone else), his fellow characters have really no
reason to distrust him, and thus he is able the better to use them.
JEALOUSY
Everyone in their life has experienced jealousy. People feel this emotion when they think they may lose
something they have. Also when a person feels jealous about someone or something, other feelings can be
combined with this emotion. Some people may experience the feelings of betrayal, insecurity, sadness
and anger when they feel jealous. However, jealousy is commonly described as an expression of love.
Many people believe that if someone is jealous of a person it is because they feel love for them. People
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can feel jealous for different reasons. This feeling is not only related to relationships and love. In many
cases, even friendships and any social relations are also affected by this emotion. In the play Othello by
William Shakespeare, the word jealously is constantly used. The character Iago destroyed a circle of close
friends by manipulating their lives. His actions are driven by his envy against everyone around him. In the
play the characters Iago and Othello are the perfect example of how a person’s extreme jealousy destroys
Page | 513 any type of relationship, a marriage, friendship and even themselves.
Extreme jealousy can be more dangerous than a sharp knife. In the play Othello, the marriage of Othello
and his wife Desdemona is harmed by the extremely jealous behavior of Othello. He was poisoned with
words by Iago. He was his honest and faithful friend. Iago said : “Look to your wife; observe her well
with Cassio / Wear your eyes thus, not jealous nor secure / I would not have your free and noble nature, /
Out of self-bounty, be abused. Look to ‘t…” (3.3.207-255). In this quote Iago mentioned to Othello that
he should watch his wife’s behavior closer with his Lieutenant Michael Cassio. Othello listened to his
words because he considered Iago an honest man. Iago planted the seed of doubt in Othello’s heart. He
also created fake evidence that would seem to confirm Desdemona’s infidelity. Iago talked to Othello:
“She may be honest yet. Tell me but this: / Have you not sometimes seen a handkerchief / Spotted with
strawberries in your wife’s hand? / Othello: I gave her such a one. ‘Twas my first gift./ Iago: I know not
that; but such a handkerchief I am sure it was your wife’s- did I today / See Cassio wipe his beard
with…” (3.3.445-455). He made Othello believed that his wife gave Cassio the handkerchief as a gift.
This handkerchief was the symbol of Othello’s love for Desdemona. And by giving the handkerchief to
Cassio, Othello believed his wife had cheated with him. One critic described their love as magical
because it defied Iago’s wit and wisdom (Stockholder 265). However, the critic also states “It is even
more dangerous to confuse the handkerchief, which can be lost, copied, stolen, with the human love it
represents; for their love was more than the handkerchief”(Stockholder 265). I agreed that Othello and
Desdemona loved each other, but it was very ironic to put all those feelings that they had for each other in
to a material thing such as the handkerchief. I agree with the author’s words because love cannot be
materialized in to anything, a ring, chain a handkerchief are all gifts and they are given to make some one
happy or to show the love that they have to one another, but gifts are material. I believe that a material
thing can be replaced, however, love is irreplaceable. Othello’s jealousy and hate was so intense that he
failed to differentiated their love from the symbolic object such as the handkerchief.
At the end Othello believed Iago’s lies instead of his wife, Desdemona. In this case words and intrigues
from another person outside of the marriage created many conflicts of trust and jealousy. When Othello
thought that his wife cheated with Cassio, he decided to take justice with his hands and kill him and his
wife. Othello asked : “How shall I murder him Iago? (4.1.158). Iago advised Othello how to kill his wife
and Cassio. He said that because he wanted Othello to make an irrational decision, Othello was vulnerable
and angry. And Iago’s intentions were to make Othello’s fall to the ground and to see him defeated. Iago
said to Othello: “Do it not with poison. Strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated. /
Othello: Good, good! The justice of it pleases. Very good. / Iago: And for Cassio, let me be his
undertaker. You shall hear more by midnight ”(4.1.158-198). By advising Othello on how to kill his wife,
he reminded him the rumor that Desdemona cheated on him in his own bed, and those words increased
the anger and irritation in Othello, and in a way it gave him more courage to kill his wife. Iago on the
other hand would satisfy his revenge against Cassio. Once again Iago proved to Othello his loyalty and
friendship by keeping his secret and by trying to kill Cassio. Othello: “ ‘Tis he. O brave Iago, honest and
just,/ That hast such noble sense of thy friend’s wrong!”(5.1. 32-33). In this quote Othello believed Cassio
was dead, by Iago’s hand. He spoke of Iago as a brave and honest friend. He thanked him for this action.
In his critique Derek Cohen described this scene:
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The sinister delight Othello takes in the poetic beauty and rightness of this exaction savors of sexual
excitement. The thoughts the image arouses center on Desdemona’s sexuality, the contaminated bed and
the lying throat being encircled by his strong hands, the surrender of that body to the greater power of his
own. (98)
Page | 514
Othello was a man that saw in his head the picture of his wife sleeping with another man in his bed. Also
he imagined himself choking her with his hands. By doing that the two situations are connected in the
same location. The author suggested that by choking Desdemona, Othello recovered the male power he
had lost. I agree with the author because in a way Othello was encouraged by his tormented emotions to
have revenge on Desdemona’s infidelity. And by killing her in the same bed he would destroy these
actions by taking her life. However, I don’t agree with Othello’s decision, because he let Iago’s words
disturbed his reasoning. Othello though the worst of his wife because of Iago’s comments and rumors. He
let a person who was a stranger inside the marriage to had control over his relationship.
Extreme jealousy can destroy a marriage. It is normal to feel jealous about your significant other, because
when people get married, they create a commitment to one another. And this sometimes is put to the test
by different situations. Othello’s jealousy created a gap in the relationship with his wife. The simple
thought of her breaking the commitment to the marriage by having an affair with another person created
the feeling of anger and resentment. Othello judged his wife and disrespected her with words. “ Othello: I
took you for that cunning whore of Venice/ That married with Othello. [Calling out.] You, mistress, /
That have the office opposite to Saint Peter/ And keep the gate of hell!”(4.2.93-95). He called her a
whore, a mistress and he even called her a demon. By doing this action Othello not only judged her
actions, he also found her guilty of an hypothesis of a infidelity. One critic blamed Desdemona for
Othello’s behavior with her. She suggested that Desdemona has, of course, the gifts of a natural virtue,
but they are not enough, because, as was said of Caesar’s wife, “A woman must not only be free from that
fault, but also from all suspicion thereof”. And it is on the evidence of her misinterpreted actions that
Desdemona is convicted at the tribunal of Othello’s justice (Loftus 134). However, Desdemona was
innocent of all the accusations from her husband and Iago. But her guilt was based on that she was
suspected of the accusations based on the evidence, and it made her responsible in her husband’s eyes.
These allegations affected the couple’s relationship in many ways. It broke the bond of trust and respect
that they had built during the relationship, and made the situation escalate to a tragic end.
OTHELO AS EXTROVERT
Othello possesses all of the traits outlined by Jung in describing the extrovert. He “readily
accepts” Iago’s schemes and suggestions concerning Desdemona’s supposed adultery. Like
many critics have noted, it is almost as if he were ready to accept the possibility of Desdemona’s
adulterous affair with Cassio even before Iago’s manipulation of him. In Act 3 Scene 3 when
Iago first succeeds in planting doubt and suspicion in Othello’s mind, Othello’s outlook on his
marriage completely changes:
I am abus’d and my relief
Must be to loathe her. O curse of marriage!
That we can call these delicate creatures ours,
And not their appetites! I had rather been a toad
And live upon the vapor of a dungeon
Than keep a corner in the thing I love
For others’ uses. (3.3.267-273)
In this one extended conversation, Othello has already become suspicious and mistrustful of his
wife. There is absolutely no proof of Desdemona’s guilt, yet Othello is already calling marriage a
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“curse.” He compares himself to a toad living in a “dungeon” to think of sharing possession of
his wife. However, the contradictions of his character are many, and the final murder is his final
attempt to gain possession over Desdemona on his own terms.
Othello is overly concerned with the “figure one cuts,” and in his bombastic speeches he
makes a “great show” of himself. In the beginning of the play, Othello is forced to give a speech
Page | 515 to the court explaining his marriage to Desdemona. Although he begins humbly enough, telling
of his life and the beginnings of his relationship to Desdemona, it soon turns into boasting about
his accomplishments in the military:
The tyrant custom, most grave senators,
Hath made the flinty and steel couch of war
My thrice-driven bed of down. I do agnize
A natural and prompt alacrity
I find in hardness; and do undertake
These present wars against the Ottomites. (1.3.229-234)
Othello, in his epic speeches, succeeds in making a “great show” of himself, which, other than
his military exploits, is perhaps the reason why he is so respected in society. But perhaps the
greatest example of his concern with the “figure one cuts” is at the end of the play, in his last
epic speech:
I pray you, in your letters,
When you shall these unlucky deeds relate,
Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate,
Nor set aught in malice. Then must you speak
Of one who lov’d not wisely, but too well. (5.2.341-344)
Even after the murder of Desdemona, even before the murder of himself, Othello’s last concern
is with his legacy. This speech is the last “great show” of himself, his last concern is of the
“figure one cuts.” His actions turn into “unlucky deeds.” They are not due to his interior nature,
but only to “luck.” Once again after his act, he does everything in his power to negate his
responsibility for what occurs. From Iago, to fate, to luck, he is unable to face hard truths about
himself.
Furthermore, his conscience only arises when others are present after the murder of
Desdemona. It is only then that he has “moral misgivings.” Returning to the last scene after
Desdemona’s murder, once again his main concern is his reputation. He can only view himself
through the eyes of others. Because of this fact, he recognizes that he has done an evil deed. It is
only after others appear that he grieves, maybe for Desdemona, but mostly for himself.
Finally, and most importantly, he hides his inner nature “under veils of unconsciousness.”
He is never able to examine his motives, his suspicions, his reasons for thinking the way he does.
It is this blindness, being an enigma to himself, that make him capable of murder. There are
several moments in the play that lend Othello an opportunity for introspection. In Act 3 Scene 3,
he gets close when he states to Iago:
Why? Why is this?
Thank’st thou I’d make a life of jealousy?
To follow still the changes of the moon
With fresh suspicions? No! to be once in doubt
Is [once] to be resolv’d. Exchange me for a goat,
When I shall turn the business of my soul
To such [exsufflicate] and [blown] surmises,
Matching thy inference. (3.3.176-179)
He recognizes the horrors of living with constant suspicion; he demands proof before truly
believing in Desdemona’s innocence. But regardless, his passions control his thinking, his fear
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overcomes his reason, and if he had any kind of self-awareness, he would have recognized these
attributes within himself during this crucial moment.
IAGO AS INTROVERT
While Othello is a blatant extrovert, in many ways, Iago has many qualities that qualify
him as an introvert. Jung describes the introvert as follows:
Page | 516 He is easily mistrustful, self-willed often suffers from inferiority feeling and for this
reason is also envious…He therefore suspects all kinds of bad motives, has an everlasting
fear of making a fool of himself…for everything must be judged by his own critical
standards. He often prefers to see the worst in people rather than their better qualities.
(109)
Iago and Othello are completely different in this respect, with Othello being obsessed with his
image in the eyes of others, and Iago’s focusing on Othello’s negative qualities and drawing
them out through manipulation.
Iago possesses many qualities that Jung believed to be applicable to the introvert
personality type. Many critics have believed that Iago is a kind of motiveless villain, but this
overlooks several key scenes in the play. In Iago’s second piece of dialogue in the play, he shows
envy at Othello’s choice to make Cassio his lieutenant instead of him:
In personal suit to make me his lieutenant,
Off-capp’d to him; and by the faith of man,
I know my price, I am worth no worse a place
------------------One Michael Cassio, a Florentine
(A fellow almost damn’d in a fair wife),
that never set a squadron on the field,
nor the division of battle knows
------------------And I, of whom his eyes had seen the proof
At Rhodes, at Cyprus, and on [other] grounds
Christen’d and heathen, must be belee’d and calm’d
By debitor and creditor—this counter-caster,
He (in good time!) must his lieutenant be,
And I ([God] bless the mark!) his Moorship’s ancient. (1.1.9-33)
Like the introvert that Jung describes, Iago is easily made envious. A clear motive is his
resentment at not being made lieutenant instead of Cassio; because of the battles in which he
took part with Othello, Iago believes that he deserves the position. However, his envy is not the
only aspect that qualifies him as a possible introvert, but a feeling of sexual inferiority as well.
In Act 1 Scene 3, Iago confesses his suspicious nature to Roderigo, worrying that Othello
may be sleeping with his wife. How he came to this conclusion is unclear, but it does suggest
feeling of sexual inferiority in comparison with Othello:
I hate the Moor,
And it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets
[H’as] done my office. I know not if’t be true,
But I, for mere suspicion in that kind,
Will do as if for surety. (1.3.384-390)
Iago admits his suspicious nature, but these lines do more than just give us insight into Iago’s
sexual inferiority; they also portray an even more insightful view into Iago’s mind—that he has
some form of self-knowledge and ability for introspection, an ability that Othello does not
possess. Even later Iago suspects Cassio as well:
I’ll have our Michel Cassio on the hip,
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Abuse him to the Moor in the [rank] garb
(For I fear Cassio with my night-cap too),
Make the Moor thank me, love me, and reward me,
For making him egregiously an ass,
And practicing upon his peace and quiet
Page | 517 Even to madness. Tis here; but yet confus’d,
Knavery’s plain face is never seen till us’d. (2.1.305-312)
Iago lives in his own world, presenting a face to society that differs greatly with his real self. But
once again we are presented with Iago’s sexual insecurity, the duality of his nature, and his
awareness of exactly who he is. He knows he is a “knave,” but he accepts it. He embraces the
darkness within; he does not fight it, but embraces it, takes pleasure in it, revels in the power he
has over others because of his capability for evil and his twisted intelligence in knowing how to
extrapolate the worst attributes that might be found in people.
There are numerous passages in the play that portray Iago’s self-awareness. In Act 1Scene 1, Iago
professes the duality of his nature to Roderigo:
Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago.
In following him, I follow but myself;
Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty,
But seeming so, for my peculiar end;
For when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In complement extern, tis’ not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at: I am not what I am. (1.1.57-65)
Iago is aware of his dual nature, the discrepancy from his interior nature to the exterior mask he
puts on for the world. Perhaps most frightening is the fact that Iago seems perfectly content with
who he is. His self-awareness does no good for him morally, which illustrates a crucial
distinction by Shakespeare in terms of Jungian psychology as well as the structure of tragedy.
Jung states that through self-knowledge and recognizing the possibility of evil within, we can
prevent ourselves from becoming evil. Iago recognizes his evil, but rather than negate its
existence, he embraces it. This is where Othello and Iago truly differ, but regardless, Othello’s
fall is inevitable without self knowledge.
CONCLUSION
Friendships between men are affected by the emotion of extreme jealousy. Men also have suffered in one
way or another the consequences of a jealous person or a friend. Iago was jealous of his friend Cassio,
because, he was not promoted to a lieutenant like he thought he would be. Cassio was promoted instead of
him. In McCloskey’s article he states “Iago, a Venetian soldier of so good reputation that he is know to
everyone as ‘honest Iago’, feels bitterly and deeply that he has been done a gratuitous injustice”(25). Iago
felt that Othello was unfair to him. And in a way his jealousy was also driven by the injustice of losing
the lieutenancy to Cassio. I agree with the author because Iago was more prepared for this job. He had
more battle experience and he deserved to be lieutenant more than Cassio did. Iago said: “Nonsuits my
mediators. For, ‘certes’ says he, / ‘ I have already chose my officer’. / And what was he? / Forsooth, a
great arithmetician, / one Michael Cassio, a Florentine, / A fellow almost damned in a fair wife…”
(1.2.15-34). In this quote Iago expressed his anger towards Othello’s decision, he was furious that a
foreign person was chosen to be a lieutenant. Iago’s anger and envy sent him in to a jealous rage. He was
so angry that he wasn’t promoted by his friend Othello, Iago planned a strategy to destroy the lives of all
Othello’s closest friends. He also notes that “In pursuit of his end of justice Iago employs the method of
craft and intrigue, and in pursuit of revenge, the method of psychological suggestion”( McCloskey 27).
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The author and I agreed with the idea that Iago uses a plot against Othello. Iago uses his skills and
intelligence to obtain his revenge against Othello. He hated Othello the most that he decided to get even
with him for his unfair decision. Iago said “But for my sport and profit. I hate the Moor; / And it is
thought abroad that twixt my heets. He’s done my office” (1.3.365-367). In this quote he states once
again that he hated Othello. However he also mentioned that Othello had some affair with his wife
Page | 518 Emilia. Iago also said : “And nothing can or shall content my soul / Till I am evened with him, wife for
wife, / Or failing so, yet that I put the Moor / At least into a jealousy so strong that a judgment cannot
cure…”(2.2.262-288). I don’t agree that Othello slept with Emilia before; it was just a false rumor that
Iago invented to have more reasons to hate Othello. However, McCloskey pointed out that this is one of
the main reason Iago’s revenge was so powerful (27). He also states “Without difficulty he soon has
Cassio’s place, and then he goes on to satisfy the second reason of his hate, that is, jealous suspicion of
his wife’s fidelity, which becomes the more powerful as he cannot control it”(27). In this quote the author
blamed Iago’s jealousy toward his wife to be blamed for Iago’s uncontrollable behavior. For this reason I
don’t agree with his statement. Iago was a person that did not care or love his wife. He never showed any
feelings or respect for her in the play.
Iago’s jealously was also present in the close friendship between Cassio and Othello. When Iago made a
plot against Othello he included Cassio as one of his players. The irony was that Cassio didn’t know his
role almost until the end of the play. He did this so that way he could take away Othello’s trust and
respect from Cassio. McCloskey also states “To satisfy his hate he has two ends to accomplish: to get
lieutenantship away from Cassio and to abuse Othello with the same suspicious jealousy which corrodes
his own soul”(26). In this quote the authors reaffirms that Iago’s jealously was because of his wife, but
also he said that Iago
needed to satisfied his anger and hate against both of these characters.
Many feelings described what jealousy did to the relationship between Iago and Othello. Iago felt that his
boss and friend was doing better than him. Othello was a general, who had the respect of others. He had a
beautiful wife who loved him. And he also had Cassio, a loyal and sincere friend. Nonetheless, many
critics looked at this jealously and concluded that the reason why Iago hated Othello with that passion it
was because Iago had a homosexual feeling for Othello. Frank Gatan agreed with Robert Rogers that Iago
indeed was a homosexual who was in the closet and didn’t know he had this sexual preference.
“According to Wangh the real reason why Iago seeks revenge is a unconscious one: he is paranoid
personality suffering from repressed homosexuality who unknowingly regards Desdemona as a rival for
the love of Othello”(Rogers 206). The author explains that I ago created a mechanism of protection
against his feelings for Othello. And in a way that’s why he imagined jealousy of his wife (Rogers 206). I
disagree with both of them. Iago was not a homosexual. When he spoke about his love to Othello, he
meant to gain his affection and trust. Iago: “My lord you know I love you / Othello; I think thou dost; /
And, for I know thou’rt full of love and honesty…”(3.3. 129-131). In this quote Iago repeated his love for
him, but as a friend. Othello answered with the same affection. And that’s why he believed his words,
because, Iago was for Othello his best friend and his right hand man. Also Othello expressed his love and
care not only to Iago but also to Cassio and in the same way. Othello: “I know, Iago, /Thy honesty and
love doth mince this matter, / Making it light to Cassio. Cassio I love thee, But nevermore be officer of
mine”(2.3. 220-223). Othello said to Cassio that he had affection for him. But his actions were wrong he
was not going to be able to work for him anymore. I wanted to illustrate with those quotes that Othello
treated his close friends with respect but also with affection. In the play there is no physical evidence that
implied that Iago, Othello, and Cassio engaged in homosexual behavior.
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Iago was the perfect example of what jealousy can do to a man. He had everything in his life: Good
friends, a good job and a wife. However, he envied everything around him. “Iago becomes an Elizabethan
Machiavel, who is not bothered by moral values in the ordinary sense” (McCloskey 28). And he is
“possessed of a keen intellect and cold emotional nature, a practical knowledge of psychological
processes and a ability to manipulate men, an opportunistic boldness and a unmoral attitude toward
Page | 519 things, he has precisely the qualities best fitted to success in battle” (McCloskey 28). I agree with this
statement because the author compared Iago’s actions in his personal life with the ones he used in battle.
And that’s why those battle skills are so important for his role in the play, because Iago was intelligent in
control, and an influential man that changed everybody’s life after they met him.
Iago did not stop his revenge until he got what he wanted, which was damaging the relationship between
Othello and his wife. He drove Othello into a crazy jealous state of mind. He also destroyed the special
friendship between Cassio and Othello by creating a rumor of an affair among Othello’s wife Desdemona
and Cassio. He damaged the trust and respect between all the characters in the play. Iago even lied to
himself in order to feel that he was doing the right thing by taking revenge on Othello. As I discussed
before, he mentioned that Othello slept with his wife, that way he had more reasons to hate Othello. Iago
talked to himself: “And nothing can or shall content my soul / Till I am evened with him, wife for wife, /
Or failing so, yet that I put the Moor / At least into a jealousy so strong that a judgment cannot
cure…”(2.2.262-288). Iago convinced himself to damage Othello’s life. In his mind and in his heart he
believed he had all the reasons to be against him.
In the end, the play describes how extreme jealousy corrupts both men’s life. Othello let his emotions
control him, his intense jealousy not only damaging his relationship with Desdemona, but it also pushing
him to his limits. He was so blinded with hate and repulsion towards his wife that he killed her without
compassion, even after she begged for her life “O banish me my lord, but kill me not!.../ Kill me
tomorrow; let me live tonight!”(5.2.78-82). She fought for her life with these words, but in that scene
Othello’s hate won against his love for her . After knowing the truth of Desdemona innocence he blamed
himself for been so foolish, but also blame Iago. He judged himself for his actions and killed himself.
Before his death Othello said to everyone: “Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate, / Nor set down aught
in malice. Then must you speak/ of one that loved not wisely but too well; / Of one not easily jealous but,
being wrought…”(5.2.352-365). In his speech before his death Othello blamed his actions to jealousy. He
died knowing that he was tricked by Iago’s words, but most importantly he recognized that he let that evil
seed grow into a powerful tree in his heart and mind. Othello wasn’t the only one to blame for his tragedy.
Iago blinded Othello and guided him in to his trap. Iago also destroyed himself driven by greed and
resentment against Othello. His feeling for revenge was overwhelming that he lost all the values that he
had that everyone admired about him, especially Othello. However, McCloskey gave Iago credit “There
is, nevertheless, something magnificent about Iago... He is so consistent in his drawing from start to
finish, so plausible in his motivation, and so in character in his actions that he is artistically a great
creation”(30). I have the same opinion about him. I could hate, blame and disagree with everything that
Iago did in the play, but it can’t be denied that he was a very clever person in the play. Iago succeeded
with his plans, he destroyed the love, lives and marriage between Desdemona and Othello. He also broke
the friendship, trust and admiration between Cassio and Othello. And without knowing it, he destroyed
himself driven by a non stoppable thirst of jealousy and he was left with nothing.
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