Introduction
While Othello is the main character of Shakespeare’s play, another hero captures the audience’s attention to a great extent. The only fact that prevents Iago, the main character, from undergoing any change is that he hardly changes throughout the plot. However, due to his intricate manipulations of others with extreme caution and precision, Iago personifies a perfect villain.
Iago is one of the most impressive masters of deception and manipulation in literature. He possesses a unique understanding of the human psyche, which enables him to entrap everyone around him. Moreover, he manages to leave the audience in suspense as he never reveals the motives of his actions. Due to his exceptional cleverness and patience, Iago succeeds in creating a sequence of scenarios that he implements throughout the story. Iago lays his trap by taking advantage of Othello’s credulity, Desdemona’s innocence, and Cassio’s ambition.
Iago’s Manipulations in Othello
The main reason why Iago manages to deceive Othello and manipulate him is that Othello trusts him and is willing to believe anything he says. Hence, even though Desdemona is entirely faithful and innocent, Iago persuades Othello that she has betrayed him. It is not quite clear why Iago does all this since he never reveals his motives. Initially, he says he is angry with Othello for passing him over for the promotion.
On another occasion, Iago claims that Othello is having a relationship with his wife, Emilia (Shakespeare 1.3.326-347). Whatever the cause of Iago’s intricate lies, he is so convincing that Othello believes him and risks his relationships with his wife and, ultimately, his life. Iago is so successful in manipulating Othello because, throughout the plot development, he pretends to be Othello’s friend. While the events unfold further and further, so does Iago’s deceitful web grow. Iago’s seemingly good treatment is increasingly blinding Othello. Iago supplies new lies every time Othello seems to have suppressed his anger, which makes it easy for the villain to mislead Othello.
In the case of Desdemona, Iago’s method was successful due to the woman’s innocence and gullibility. When his plan to get Cassio drunk and make Othello fire him is realized, Iago plots another trick: he wants to set up Desdemona. As Iago knows she is a very kind and naïve woman, he advises Cassio to ask for her support to regain his position.
Iago’s trickery here is manifested by making it look to Othello that his wife is having an affair with Cassio. As can be seen, Iago’s lies are all so closely intertwined that it is impossible to speak about one plan without mentioning the others. Thus, in Act 2, Scene 3, when Desdemona promises Cassio her support, Iago’s wife steals the handkerchief, which is considered a symbol of conjugal fidelity in Othello and Desdemona’s family. Iago’s plan works superbly, and Desdemona’s purity does not let her even guess what disastrous outcomes will emerge from her conversation with Cassio. Therefore, Iago’s approach to leading Desdemona into his trap was to utilize intricate lies and manipulate her goodwill.
The way Iago deceives Cassio seems the most evident and practically does not arouse any sympathy. At least it certainly stirs up less compassion than the situations with Othello or Desdemona. Here, Iago plays the card of arrogance and ambition with a pinch of stupidity on Cassio’s part.
The primary reason Iago succeeds in deceiving Cassio is that he pretends to care about losing his position and intends to help him return to it. The best approach to further pushing Cassio to his death through lies is Iago’s appeal to Cassio’s feelings toward Desdemona. Iago knows that Cassio loves her, which is demonstrated by such references as “the divine Desdemona” and “our great captain’s captain” (Shakespeare 2.1.73, 2.1.75). Since the villain has already sown the seed of mistrust in Othello’s mind, the only thing left to do is make Cassio provoke himself in front of his captain. By making Emilia steal the so-called handkerchief of death and passing it to Cassio, Iago gains his goal. Cassio’s dullness and ambition, reflected in his desire to regain his position with the help of Desdemona, ultimately help Iago to deceive him.
Conclusion
Iago’s manipulation of Cassio, Othello, and Desdemona is the driving force behind the tragedy. However, his plan is unsuccessful as he overuses his maneuvers and does not notice how people start guessing who the real evil is. When Emilia realizes that her husband has encouraged the sequence of events that led to Desdemona’s death, she tries to inform Othello about it.
Even though Iago stabs her, she manages to speak the truth, making Othello regret murdering his innocent wife. Since Iago’s overall purpose supposedly was to gain Cassio’s position, it can be concluded that he failed. His plan falls apart due to too much deceitfulness on his part and too much loyalty on the part of other characters.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William. Othello. Edited by Norman Sanders, Cambridge University Press, 2003.