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Spurred on by the apparent knowledge that Iago has killed Cassio, Othello goes into Desdemona's bed
chamber and smothers her with a pillow. He is convinced that he is doing the right thing: sacrificing her
so as to protect other men from her evil ways.
Emilia finds him just after he has done the deed. She calls for help and Othello is arrested. Then, of
course, the truth comes out: Othello had been duped by Iago. He stabs himself, taking his own life in
remorse.
WHY WAS OTHELLO SO EASILY CONVINCED?
Othello himself provides THREE reasons why Desdemona might have proved to be unfaithful to him, and
these reasons point to psychological weaknesses within his own character:
OTHELLO'S BLACKNESS
Othello was a Moor and therefore dark of skin although by no means black. Indeed, Shakespeare
obviously confused the appearances of Moors and Black Africans, indicating that his audience too was
ignorant of the difference.
Moors would have had a difficult time in the Elizabethan mind-set and were treated with suspicion. They
were always regarded as "the other".
They were, in fact, culturally different from the other Europeans because they came from a Moslem
background and therefore had Moslem traditions, even though they had converted to Christianity.
Indeed, Moors tended to keep to themselves, maintaining their own identity and customs. There was even
suspicion that their conversion from Islam many centuries earlier had been one of convenience (to prevent
being killed) but that they remained at heart Moslem.
Second, blackness in itself was suspicious. Western society right up until the 18th century was imbued
with the idea that white was pure while black was the colour of evil.
Brides wore white. The devil was black. The black sheep of the family was the outcast. Black people
were
the biblical "sons of Ham" and therefore outcasts and slaves.
A Black person was therefore not equal to a White person in Western society.
UNSOPHISTICATION
The entire basis for the plot of this play was that Othello lacked sophistication. He was not naturally
imbued
with the traditions and manners of Venice but relied on others to guide him into how to act.
Once he had been removed to Cyprus, therefore, he was out of his depth. He could handle warfare and
command soldiers. Once the war with the Turks was over, however, he was expected to act as Governor
to the island but he knew not how.
He had promoted Michael Cassio to the rank of lieutenant because he could rely on the man in battle.
On
the other hand, he naturally trusted Iago in matters of etiquette. The moment he landed on Cyprus,
therefore, he turned to Iago for support, and accepted his advice without question.
OLD AGE
It is clear that Othello is advanced in years. He said so himself but, in any case, young people did not get
to command armies.
His wife, however, is young and he is afraid that her eye will be captured by the advances of any
handsome
and refined young man.
In this, of course, he does not understand women but judges them as if they were men. This is
comprehensible given that Othello exists in a world of soldiers.
Men mostly look to women who are younger than themselves. It is not often that one will find men
marrying
a woman who is significantly older than they.
Othello somehow believes this of Desdemona. He expects her head to be turned by men of youth,
especially by a man who enacts all the customs of Venetian society, a man such as Michael Cassio.
Cassio is not only young but he reveals all the Venetian manners and etiquette, such as his repeatedly
kissing his fingers.
In conclusion, Othello feels insecure in his marriage and will readily believe any suggestion that
Desdemona could be unfaithful. He therefore does not need much proof -- just enough to cement the
suspicions which he already harbours.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
"It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul, --
Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars! --
It is the cause. Yet I'll not shed her blood;
Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow,
And smooth as monumental alabaster.
Yet she must die, else she'll betray more men."
- What does Othello mean when he says, "It is the cause", a statement he repeats three
times? (4)
[Need help?]
Othello is attempting to convince himself -- or, indeed, already believes -- that killing Desdemona is
something that he is obliged to do. He is not doing it out of jealousy or pride or hurt but rather because
it
is a quest which falls upon him to do.
Originally, when Iago led him down this road, he was deeply angry and jealous. By now, however, he has
managed to convince himself that he is not murdering Desdemona at all but is rather saving the world
from
her temptations.
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- Comment on Othello's reference to "you chaste stars!" (4)
[Need help?]
The stars were believed to have a controlling power which dictated fate. It is fate therefore which forces
Othello into this action. But, he says, fate is innocent and pure, and fate therefore dictates that anything
that is not pure must be purified through death.
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- Why does Othello not want to kill Desdemona with his dagger but would rather smother her to death
with a pillow? (2)
[Need help?]
It would seem that, even now, Othello is obsessed with Desdemona's beauty. Even in killing her,
therefore,
he does not want to damage that beauty in any way.
Killing her with a dagger will cause an ugly red and bloody blotch on her chest, whereas smothering her
will leave her body in its pristine, white beauty.
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- Why does he refer to Desdemona's skin as being whiter than snow and as smooth as "monumental
alabaster"? (4)
[Need help?]
Desdemona's skin is very, very white, of course. That is a point made throughout the play. Snow and
"monumental alabaster", however, are both cold and the latter is hard.
Is Othello referring to Desdemona's coldness? To her harshness in that she had cuckolded him? Or is
he, as at least one commentator says, contrasting her whiter than white skin with his own darker than dark
being?
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- According to Othello, Desdemona had to die. He could have banished her to a convent, a common
punishment for a wife who was bringing shame to her husband. Why then was it necessary for her to
die? (2)
[Need help?]
Othello believes not only that Desdemona has harmed him (for which deed banishment to a convent would
have sufficed) but that she was a danger of seducing all men. He must therefore kill her so that all men
may be saved.
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"Put out the light, and then put out the light:
If I quench thee, thou flaming minister,
I can again thy former light restore,
Should I repent me: but once put out thy light,
Thou cunning'st pattern of excelling nature,
I know not where is that Promethean heat
That can thy light relume."
- What does Othello mean when he says, "Put out the light, and then put out the
light"? (4)
[Need help?]
The first light he wishes to put out is the flaming lantern which he is carrying. The second is the light of
life
in Desdemona.
In other words, Othello wishes to kill her in darkness so as not to see the results of his own actions.
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- What is the "flaming minister"? (2)
[Need help?]
The "flaming minister" is one of those hand-held torches which has a flame burning on a medium
of pitch.
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- Othello's intention is to kill Desdemona in darkness. Why? And why does he eventually not kill her
in
darkness? (4)
[Need help?]
Othello wishes to kill Desdemona in darkness so that he doesn't have to watch her dying moments, or
perhaps is afraid of being seduced once again by her beauty.
He does see her beauty, however, and is seduced by her. He starts to kiss her, even to make passionate
love to her. He therefore kills her without having first extinguished the torch.
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"Ah balmy breath, that dost almost persuade
Justice to break her sword! One more, one more.
Be thus when thou art dead, and I will kill thee,
And love thee after. One more, and this the last:
So sweet was ne'er so fatal. I must weep,
But they are cruel tears."
- If you were to produce this play, how would you have Othello act out these words? (6)
[Need help?]
In your answer, you would need to take note of a very erotic side to this murder. Othello starts to kiss
Desdemona, and then he kisses her over and over with more and more passion: "One more, one
more", he says, then again, "One more, and this the last".
Does he go any further than this? What does he mean by "I will kill thee, and love thee after"?
Necrophilia?
And don't forget his weeping: "I must weep, but they are cruel tears." How violently would you have
Othello weep? And why does he weep? For himself? For the loss of Desdemona? Tears of betrayal?
Of course, be aware of the audience for whom your version of the play is being produced. Remember
the
children!
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