Othello Presentation Notes

Speaking Notes

In the Roaring Girl, Moll has no real ties to the society she interacts with, which allow her to remain morally better than the corrupt society which judges her. Due to this separation she is untouched by the behaviour and remains the “other”.

 

Within Othello, Othello is identified as the “other” of the society, as a morally strong man, and a great warrior. However unlike Moll, Othello injects himself into the societal structure through the elopement with Desdemona. Marriage then becomes a weapon through which characters like Iago and Desdemona use to manipulate and transform him into the “other” that their society has created: which is a dark and savage man.

 

I will explain how he is injected into the society in marriage:

            Upon finding out that his daughter has escaped from him to marry, Barbantio is furious and goes to the Venetian Court for justice. After explaining his case the Duke and the Senators, they tell him the following:

“…the bloody book of law/ You shall yourself read in the bitter letter/ After your own sense –yea, though our proper son/ Stood in your action.” [I.iii.69-72]

Which in essence allows Barbantio to punish the one who stole his daughter in anyway he sees fit. Although after finding out that it was Othello that has married Desdemona the offer is revoked by the senate and the marriage is accepted, since the state needs him for the impending war in Cyprus. Not only is the offence forgiven, but Barbantio is somewhat reprimanded for his behaviour.

            “And, noble signor,/ If virtue no delighted beauty lack,/ Your son-in-law is far more fair than black.” [I.iii.290-292]

 

Once married Othello is manipulated by two people, the first obviously Iago and the second is less obvious Desdemona.

 

Desdemona

-she uses her position as the general’s wife to affect matters of state. For example when Cassio is removed of his military position, she swears to him that she will do all in her power to affect Othello’s judgement. She says in [III.iii. 19-28] that she will plead his case to Othello and “…talk him out of patience;/ His bed shall seem a school, his board a shrift; / I’ll intermingle every thing he does with Cassio’s suit.” [III. Iii. 23-26]

This interjection into the societal masculine sphere is one of the causes for her death in the end. Although that is not the only time she steps beyond her bounds as woman; During the meeting with the Venetian court in Act 1, she is even so bold as to ask to accompany her new husband to Cyprus, thought it maybe dangerous. This unusual request is accepted and she is allowed to join her husband. This was not an everyday practice for the soldiers of war since they would not be able to battle as well if they were preoccupied by family matters.

-Another reason she is murdered in the end is to correct the injustice of betraying her father when she eloped with Othello. Once she has died Order is restored.

Iago (also manipulates Othello)

-Not only does he feel cheated out of the job of lieutenant by Othello and Cassio but he hints at times that he believes Othello has slept with his wife. These two factors drive his hate and the revenge on the Moor.

-He uses marriage and its trust of faithfulness to manipulate Othello. The murderous plot is kindled through unjust rumours that Cassio has been sleeping with Desdemona. Iago states:

“Look to your wife; observe her well with Cassio./ Wear your eyes thus, not jealous nor secure./ I would not have your free and noble nature,/ Out of self-bounty, be abused.” [III.iii. 212-215]

Towards the 4^th act, Iago tortures Othello with such false accusations that Othello falls ill into a seizure due to the anger he feels for being cheated. Nurturing the seed of jealously Iago speaks the following words while the Moor is in the trances:

“Work on,/ My medicine, work! Thus credulous fools are caught,/ And many worthy and chaste dames even thus, all guiltless, meet reproach.”[IV.i.42-45]

With these words spoken Othello is fully transformed into the savage that Igao has defined him as in the beginning of the play.

 

Othello who was once seen as a Great warrior and a morally strong man becomes corrupted by the society he trusts so much. In the Transformation Othello losses his otherness and becomes comparable to Iago, the member in the society he trusts the most.

Lodovico states the following upon seeing the new Othello-

“Is this the nature/ Whom passion could not shake? Whose solid virtue/ The shot of accident nor dart of chance/ Could neither graze nor pierce?” [IV.i.258-261]

Othello even recognizes that he has lost his old self when he says:

“Oh, now, forever/ Farewell the tranquil mind! Farewell content!”[III. Iii. 364-365]

When he is in the final stages of transformation, he looks to Iago and says “Thou teachest me”[V.i.34]. It is through this plea that Othello becomes what the society had identified him as a violent dark man.

Through his education with Iago, he also accepts Iago’s views of what marriage is and comes to regret his marriage. He abandon’s all his views of how honest and true Desdemona is (which he stated at the beginning of the play), for Iago’s negative view of women; which states that no woman can be trustworthy.

“Oh, curse of Marriage,/ That we can call these delicate creatures ours/ and not their appetites”[III.iii.285-286] Othello even states “Why did I marry?” [III.iii.259] showing his regret for his interaction with the society which corrupts him.

 

In conclusion, Othello who was seen as an other at the beginning of the play is injected into the society through marriage and is corrupted by its members. Paniced and turned savage Othello then looks to escape from its grips and chooses to murder his wife in order to recover his otherness.