Othello's Weakness

At the beginning of Shakespeare’s Othello we are given evidences to the great warrior Othello has been in the past.  These are given through the way he speaks and how others speak to him and of him.  Unfortunately, these strengths as a general do not transfer over into his personal life.  The entire play is an evidence of Othello’s weakness in marriage as a husband.

Even though Iago hates Othello, he still respects Othello as a great general.  Why else would Iago be so jealous that Othello chooses Michael Cassio to be his second-in-command?  It is not just Iago who respects him, apparently his strength is well known.  Othello himself boasts that Bronatio can accuse him of whatever he wants because the “services which [Othello] has done the signiory shall out-tongue his complaints” (1.2.20).  This means that the governing body of Venice recognizes all the fine military services Othello has accomplished for them and that even if Brobantio’s accusations were true, they would defend Othello.

Othello used his strength as a war general to gain his wife.  He told her war stories to woo her: “These things to hear would Desdemona seriously incline” and “she’d come again, and with a greedy ear devour up [Othello’s] discourse” (1.3.170-174).  If it weren’t for his strength in battle, Othello would have never won Desdemona, would never have married, and wouldn’t have found his true weakness that eventually led to several deaths including his own and Desdemona’s.

Othello’s biggest weakness in marriage, I believe, is that he doesn’t put enough trust in his wife.  When two people get married, they are agreeing to put each other above everyone else.  Othello fails at this, as he always goes to Iago first for advice and not to his wife, Desdemona.  He takes all his information second, third, fourth hand from Iago instead of just asking his wife and getting the firsthand account.  This is just really confusing.  Is it that Othello doesn’t trust his wife?  He probably trusts his wife at the beginning, or he wouldn’t have married her, but he is so scared of being hurt that he won’t take any risks.  He’d rather get false information from “honest” Iago than take a risk and confront his wife.

Othello does a little foreshadowing in Act 3. Sc. 3 before all heck actually breaks loose:

“Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul

But I do love thee! And when I love thee not,

Chaos is come again” (3.3.100).

Othello is slightly frustrated with Desdemona at this point, but Iago hasn’t been in his head yet.  When Othello says “chaos is come again” I don’t believe he’s plotting her murder and his suicide at this point.  What I think he means is that his life would be chaos without her in it.  It’s just a romantic little thing to say.  Unfortunately, when he no longer loves her, chaos does come, out of Othello’s own weakness in putting too much trust in the not-so-honest Iago and not his guiltless wife.

            When Iago plants the idea in his mind that Desdemona is cheating on Othello with Cassio, Othello is too quick to believe him.  He tries to act cool, to give his wife the benefit of the doubt—“Make me see ‘t, or at least so prove it That the probation bear no hinge nor loop To hang a doubt on, or woe upon thy life!”—but his needing solid proof with no room for doubt and his death threats to Iago last a very short time.  Very quickly, Othello goes mad with jealousy and vengeance towards his innocent wife.

            It’s unfortunate to watch a person who is so strong at giving orders and commanding respect become so gullible and desperate.  Othello’s past cannot redeem him from how he reacted to rumors and false accusations.  He treated his marriage like a battlefield, his wife like the enemy.  If Iago says she’s sleeping around, she must be and if she is I must kill her—perhaps this is what Othello thinks as he carries out his devious plan.

Othello puts far too much trust in the one person who is vying for his demise.  Iago is the antagonist; he’s the driving force that makes everything fall to pieces.  Yet, Othello trusts his word absolutely.  He does not believe his own wife when she says she is innocent.  Instead, with his veins pulsing with rage, he smothers her to death.  Only after she is dead do the pieces begin to fall into place in Othello’s mind that Iago is dishonest and his wife, Desdemona, was true.  By then it is way too late.