Clark 1 William Clark ENGL 105B Professor Mark Rose 13 February 2018 Othello: Understanding Character Motivation Through the Comparative Analyses of Hypothetical vs. Actual Modes of Speech, Paralleled with a Comparative Examination of the Influences of Divine Wrath, Social Reduction, and Marital Infidelity A lingering question among academics is Othello’s inner motivation, or what propels him towards his ultimate downfall. Is Othello motivated more by the loss of Desdemona’s love or by the humiliating loss of his own social stature? Are they mutually exclusive? Could it possibly be both, and if so, which is the more determining factor? Through the figurative language, modes of speech, water metaphors, and biblical allusions in Scene 4, Act 2, Lines 48-65, Othello provides a definitive clarification of his motives by invoking hypothetical versus actual modes of speech, mirrored with comparative reactions to divine wrath, social reduction, and the (supposed) marital infidelity of Desdemona. This brief, yet highly critical, passage definitively answers the question of Othello’s primary motivation as well as demonstrating that the key determinant in his tragic response to Iago’s treachery has little to do with his personal concern for social standing, but rather his soul-crushing heartbreak over the loss of Desdemona’s love. This passage is composed of two separate but related juxtapositions, with both components involving pain and loss. The first component revolves around divine wrath, the reduction of social stature, and marital infidelity. The second component involves Othello Clark 2 considering pain and loss through the paradigm, or lens, of hypothetical versus actual modes of speech. In the first component, there is divine wrath, or the “sores and shame” (4.2.49) that one might receive from an angry god. Second, there is the loss of social standing amongst peers, or the “time of scorn” (4.2.54). Finally, there is the pain resulting from betrayal and infidelity, or where Othello has “garnered up [his] heart” (4.2.57) only to have it decimated by Desdemona’s (supposed) duplicity. It is this last transgression, this heartbreak and loss of love that drives the passage, the play, and ultimately, Othello himself. It is what really hurts him. Othello claims that he could survive the torments of heaven with a “drop of patience” (4.2.53) and that he could bear scorn and humiliation with even less difficulty, or as he states, “well; very well” (4.2.56). However, Othello can “bear no life” (4.2.58) without the love of Desdemona. Scorn is of little consequence and is dismissed almost as an afterthought. This is proven by the fact that he speaks of it only in the hypothetical. But if the Shakespearean reader is going to entertain hypotheticals, it is critically important to remember that hypotheticals do not actually exist. Categorically and by definition, that is what makes them hypotheticals. Theoretical divine wrath and public scorn, as opposed to the material pain of infidelity, live only in the abstract realm of the possible. This passage begins in the hypothetical, with Othello considering the Job-like torments of “sores and shames” (4.2.49) raining down upon his bare head. He goes on to state that if they ever do come to exist he could tolerate them stoically with but a “drop of patience” (4.2.53). He then moves on to the hypothetical “time of scorn,” (4.2.54) which again, he claims that he “could…bear that too; well, very well” (4.2.56). Critically, Othello defining these torments as non-existent hypotheticals shows that, in his mind, they do not exist. Othello says, in hypothetical terms, “Had it pleased Clark 3 heaven...” (4.2.48). He does not say, in actual terms, “As it pleases heaven...” Othello also hypothetically states that “Yet I could bear [scorn] too…” (4.2.56). He does not say “Yet I am bearing scorn too.” There is considerable semantic greenbelt between “Yet I could” and “Yet I am.” Linguistically and conceptually, “Had” and “could” comprise two entirely different meanings than “As” and “am.” For further proof of what Othello privileges, compare his use of the word “bear.” Othello claims that he could bear the loss of pride, dignity, and honor “well; very well” (4.2.56), but that he could “bear no life” (4.2.58) without the love of Desdemona. Conversely, and in consideration of opposing viewpoints, one cannot speak of pride, dignity, and honor without considering the effect of the chivalric code on Othello. But what effect should we expect it to have had on him? Othello was not born into Europe’s highly stratified social structure, but rather as a Moor in North Africa. It is quite presumptuous, even egotistical, to expect Othello, who follows only a warrior’s code, to feel bound to or obligated by European rules of chivalry or decorum. The foppish Venetians fully recognize this separation of social identities as well, considering him only as just one more exotic Other. They see in him only his utility as a solder. He is not now, nor ever will be, one of them. Brabantio proves this in the first scene by his outraged response to his daughter’s marriage. Finally, an analysis of this passage would not be complete without consideration of its water metaphors, where, once again, Shakespeare provides us with locutionary elements for comparison. Water often serves as a metaphor for life, but in this passage, it also represents Desdemona’s love. At a subconscious level, Othello is possibly having premonitions about his future. He is envisioning the withering death of both his life as well as his love, and his speech reflects that. Othello can only see life-giving water in terms of “drops,” (4.2.53) not rivers. He sees his “fountain” (4.2.59) drying up, and even when the heavens do send rains they are Clark 4 composed only of “sores and shame” (4.2.49). Cisterns, normally used for the containment of water, are now suitable only for “foul toads” (4.2.61). Everything related to water has had an element of death and desiccation added to it. Even the shame of poverty can only be “Steeped…to the very lips” (4.2.50) yet never drowned. This passage conclusively shows that it is being “discarded” (4.2.60) by Desdemona, and not the cuckolding loss of social stature, which provides the dominant downward thrust for Othello’s ultimate demise. Ranking, according to their significance, the three types of pain and loss considered in the passage, public scorn would come in a distant third, well behind biblical torments and even further behind Desdemona’s (supposed) abandonment. Othello’s use of the hypothetical versus actual modes of speech, along with his use of water metaphors and biblical allusions, provide further and final proof of his inner motivation. It is sadly ironic that in the enduring battle amongst academics for determining Othello’s dominant motivation for his actions and whether it was love or pride, once again, love has conquered all. Clark 5 Work Cited Shakespeare, William. Othello. The Pelican Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Orgel. Penguin Books, 1999. Clark 6 Othello, Act 4, Scene 2, Lines 48-65 Had it pleased heaven 48 To try me with affliction; had they rain'd All kinds of sores and shames on my bare head. Steep'd me in poverty to the very lips, Given to captivity me and my utmost hopes, I should have found in some place of my soul A drop of patience: but, alas, to make me A fixed figure for the time of scorn 55 To point his slow unmoving finger at! Yet could I bear that too; well, very well: But there, where I have garner'd up my heart, Where either I must live, or bear no life; The fountain from the which my current runs, Or else dries up; to be discarded thence! Or keep it as a cistern for foul toads To knot and gender in! Turn thy complexion there, Patience, thou young and rose-lipp'd cherubin,-Ay, there, look grim as hell! 65 50 60