UNIVERSITY OF THE EAST – Manila College of Engineering Module No. 3 WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S OTHELLO AND PAUL KIVEL’S RECOVERY HORIZON THEORY Submitted by: ANDES, James Michael M. MANALILI, Renz John Paul S. BAUTISTA, Alfonso L. MIÑEBE, Dave Gabriel C. BORJA, Enrico Jr. L. ROSALDO, Akia Danielle M. DELA ROSA, Eid Nolyn C. TORREJA, Ken Gio Franz A. DRIS, Franz Lenard S. VENTURA, Ryan Kelly P. EBUSEO, Christine May I. VILLAMOR, Andrei Matthew MABASA, Charles V. Submitted to: PROF. FERNANDO Z. BAUTISTA I. THEORY Paul Kivel is an American writer, educator, and a social activist. He focuses on preventing male violence and a co-founder of the Oakland Men’s Project. He is also called “an innovative leader in violence prevention. In his career, he mainly focused on writing, education programs, training programs that are designed to help prevent male and youth violence. One of his works is a theory called Recovery Horizon Theory. In this theory, Paul Kivel tackles recovery through four (4) stages – awareness, wholeness, discovery, transformation. Each stages are associated with each action as well. AWARENESS THINKING WHOLENESS FEELING DISCOVERY SENSING TRANSFORMATION DOING Awareness and Thinking covers the character’s awareness on his situation. This includes processing of what is happening in one’s life; to what situation he is in. his awareness leads him to come up with possible decisions he should make in order to deal with his situation. Wholeness and Feeling discusses one’s way of processing his situation through various senses. It also him process his situation for the next stage. This stage gives him confirmation of what situation he is in through senses such as seeing, hearing, and touching. In Discovery and Sensing, one is processing his feelings. In this stage he evaluates everything that has happened. This helps and leads him to transformation Lastly, on Transformation and Doing, one is doing things that help him recover from his situation. This stage is highly influenced by the previous stages. This stage tackles how someone deals with situation through various actions. II. DISCUSSION SYNOPSIS Before Othello begins, Roderigo has been pursuing Desdemona, a Venetian noblewoman. One night, he hears from his soldier friend, Iago, that Desdemona has secretly married his General, the Moorish Othello. Iago bears a grudge against Othello for overlooking Iago for a lieutenant position. Instead, Othello chose Michael Cassio, leaving Iago only at the low rank of ensign. Iago urges Roderigo to continue his pursuit of Desdemona. He knows Senator Brabantio, Desdemona's father, will dislike having Othello as a son-in-law. So late at night, Iago and Roderigo wake Brabantio and tell him the news of Desdemona. Brabantio angrily summons the militia to arrest Othello. At that moment, officers arrive to summon Brabantio to an urgent meeting of the Senate. The Senate is concerned about the imminent threat of a Turkish invasion fleet on Cyprus. Full of fury, Brabantio goes to the council. Brabantio interrupts the council, claiming vengeance against Othello. Othello is already there because he has just been put in command of the forces to repel the Turks. Othello explains how his stories of military prowess have helped him earn Desdemona's love (good storytelling is the most important trait in a companion, after all). Afterwards, Desdemona is called to reinforce the tale and defend her marriage. Following Desdemona's defence, her father disowns her, and she chooses to go with Othello on his campaign. She plans to travel in the care of Lieutenant Cassio and with Emilia, Iago's wife. In Cyprus, Montano, the governor of Cyprus, and his soldiers greet Cassio, Iago, Desdemona, and Emilia as they disembark. Othello soon arrives with news that storms at sea have dispersed the Turkish fleet. A night of celebration is proclaimed. Roderigo confesses doubts about his potential to woo Desdemona, but Iago assures him that there is hope. He urges Roderigo to challenge Cassio to a duel that night, since (as Iago claims) Desdemona is actually falling in love with him. When the night comes, Iago gets Cassio drunk, and Roderigo incites his anger. Montano, the governor, is stabbed during his attempt to contain Cassio. Othello is angered by the fight and blames Cassio, stripping him of his recently conferred officer status. The next day, Iago convinces Cassio to ask Desdemona for help in regaining his post. When Cassio asks, Desdemona innocently agrees. Meanwhile, Iago has sown seeds of jealousy in Othello’s mind, suggesting that Desdemona is overfond of Cassio. With no reason to suspect Iago of bad intentions, Othello begins to watch his wife. Othello becomes angry when Desdemona cannot find the first gift (a handkerchief) he had ever given her. The handkerchief is embroidered with strawberries and especially important to Othello. But Desdemona had not lost the handkerchief. Iago had instructed Emilia, his wife, to take it. Iago then hid the handkerchief where Cassio would find it. When Desdemona urges her husband to reconsider Cassio’s demotion, Othello gets jealous and suspects her of infidelity. Iago continues to inflame this jealousy. He encourages Othello to listen in on, and misinterpret, part of a conversation between Cassio and his mistress, Bianca. Cassio and Bianca discuss how Cassio obtained the embroidered handkerchief that he then gives to Bianca to copy. Othello’s agitation at what he hears brings on an epileptic fit. After recovering, he orders Iago to kill Cassio. Desdemona cannot understand Othello's change of attitude towards her. Othello even strikes her in the presence of her relative, Lodovico, who has arrived as an ambassador from Venice. As she prepares for bed, she talks with Emilia, singing to relieve the distress she feels at losing the trust of her husband. Meanwhile, Roderigo has begun to suspect Iago is not quite the friend he seems. Still Iago persuades him to attack Cassio that night (again, to be able to court Desdemona). In the fight that ensues, Iago goes undetected and wounds Cassio. He then enters again as himself to accuse and kill Roderigo for the act of wounding Cassio. Othello comes to his sleeping wife's bedroom to murder her as punishment for her supposed adultery. He smothers her with a pillow as she asserts her innocence. Emilia alerts the household, causing Iago and others to come to the scene. Othello defends himself, mentioning the handkerchief as evidence. Emilia realises what has happened and betrays Iago‘s plots against Othello. Iago, reacting to his wife's accusations, stabs and kills her. Iago is arrested and sent to trial after Othello wounds him (he doesn't even die). Othello, facing the inevitability of his own trial, uses a hidden weapon to commit suicide. The play ends with Cassio reinstated and placed in command as Governor of Cyprus. SHAKESPEARE’S OTHELLO AND PAUL KIVELS’ RECOVERY HORIZON THEORY AWARENESS THINKING AWARENESS – THINK Lago duped Othello into thinking his wife "Desdemona" and his old subordinate Cassio were having an illicit romance behind his back. This has lead Othello to become upset and moody. This motivated Othello to develop rage and jealously. WHOLENESS FEELING WHOLENESS – FEELING His rage and jealousy got worse when (SEEING) Othello witnesses Cassio give the handkerchief to Bianca with his own eyes. The same handkerchief he gave to Desdemona. The situation got worse when (HEARING) Othello overheard the conversation between Iago and Cassio about her affair with Bianca but was misled to think that it was Desdemona who are they talking about. These situations led Othello to come up with the conclusion that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. DISCOVERY SENSING DISCOVERY – SENSING In Othello the discovery is used on a grand scale. First is the hero's mistaken discovery that Desdemona is unfaithful to him. This has led him to feel extreme anger that resulted into violence towards Desdemona. This was succeeded by his counter discovery that he has been deceived and that his wife is innocent. This altered Othello’s situation leading him to killing himself due to regret. TRANSFORMATION DOING TRANSFORAMTION – DOING Othello’s transformation was caused by Cassio’s. The situation controlled by Cassio has caused Othello to completely change from being a wise, rational man to a jealous and vengeful person. The tragic flow of Othello has pushed him to his limits causing him to kill the love of his life, Desdemona. Later pn, when he found out that he was deceived by Cassio, he surrendered to his fate by taking his own life. III. CONCLUSION William Shakespeare is known for his tragic plays. To name a few, Romeo and Juliet, hamlet, and Macbeth. Othello is not an exception. Othello showed its patrons how deception can alter someone’s life and how it could permanently affect someone’s life. Paul Kivel’s Recovery Horizon Theory helped the readers of Othello to further understand how Cassio’s deception changed Othello as the story progress. The Recovery Horizon Theory tackles different stages of recovery including the steps that a person does during these stages. Though Othello was not able to recover positively from what happened, it can be said that Othello recovered through acceptance of his fate by taking his own life. It was his way of taking over his life for the last time. Hoping that it would be enough as a redemption for Desdemona’s demise. IV. REFERENCES Famous Quotes | Othello | Royal Shakespeare Company. (n.d.). https://www.rsc.org.uk/othello/about-the-play/famousquotes#:~:text=O%2C%20I%20have%20lost%20my,and%20what%20remains%20is%2 0bestial.&text=The%20meat%20it%20feeds%20on.&text=Farewell%20the%20tranquil %20mind%3B%20farewell%20content. Othello: Full Book Summary | SparkNotes. (n.d.). SparkNotes. https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/othello/summary/ Othello: The Moor of Venice. (n.d.-b). Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespearesplays/othello-moorvenice/#:~:text=Iago%20is%20furious%20about%20being,Desdemona%2C%20and%20t hen%20kills%20himself.
