Shakespeare himself once said, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so”, making it clear he was conscious of the fact that there is no bad; there is only what people perceive negatively. In his play Othello, protagonist and army general Othello acts in such a way that may cause people to question whether he was truly bad or only a victim of circumstance. Many of the experiences Othello goes through raise the question of whether he suffers from a mental disorder or not. Based on the text, the conclusion can be made that Othello suffers from a borderline personality disorder due to his inability to maintain close personal relationships, his constantly changing personal goals, as well as his irrational shifts in mood.
Borderline
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Borderline personality disorder can be described as, “...a serious mental illness that centers on the inability to manage emotions effectively. The disorder occurs in the context of relationships: sometimes all relationships are affected, sometimes only one” ("BPD OVERVIEW."). Over the course of the play, Othello manages to ruin every one of his relationships, especially those with people closest to him such as Desdemona and Cassio. While the symptoms of his disorder were prevalent beforehand, Iago’s manipulation of Othello was the catalyst of the events that preceded it. After a high stress, very intense event, it is hard for people with this disorder to return to normal ("NAMI."), which can be seen in Othello’s actions following his encounter with Iago. Iago manipulated Othello into believing his lies about Desdemona. After Iago convinces Othello of Desdemona’s truancy, Othello says, “Her name, that was as fresh / As Dian’s visage, is now begrimed and black / as mine own face” (Shakespeare 3.3.403-405). Previous to this encounter, Othello had already been insecure in his and Desdemona’s relationship due to the obvious differences between them. When his worst fears were confirmed with Iago’s conspiracy, he was plunged into a world of jealousy and rage. He was so hung up on this idea that it consumed his every thought and he was never able to see the truth of the situation. He figured that what Iago said made sense so he sought no further truth to the situation and refused to listen to reason when Desdemona offered it. Also, many that suffer from borderline personality disorder can have very productive work lives, but their personal lives may have severe problems, which can be clearly seen in Othello and Desdemona’s relationship ("BPD OVERVIEW."). Additionally, a potential cause of this disorder is, “A history of early loss or traumatic abandonment is
In the beginning Othello is seen as a calm collected man when put into an awkward situation, such as being ridiculed by his wife’s father in thinking that Othello has used some sort of magic to gain Desdemona 's infection. Othello’s calm collected ways start to deteriorate after he is convinced by Iago, a deceiving evil man that Desdemona has slept with Cassio. Othello’s self control no longer exist once he is fully convinced that it is in fact true that Desdemona has been unfaithful. His sense of what is real and what is not real is thrown out the window. Othello starts to become extremely jealous of his used to be beloved Cassio, and after considering giving back his spot as liternuanat he denies him that. He starts to become cold and distant towards his wife, and starts to call her out of her name. As Othello continues to lose control the people around him start to doubt his abilities of being able to protect Cyprus, and even his wife starts to doubt him, and agree with her father. No one knows who this man is anymore, he has started to act in an insanely matter. He can longer be his true self and take on the responsibilities of being general as he starts to crack. With Othello being faced with evil, him being calm is no longer an option for him because he can’t face the fact that the person he loves so dearly is cheating on him. Going back the they handkerchief, the symbol of his love for her. Othello seeing Cassio with Desdemona’s handkerchief sets him over the edge becoming truly convinced that his wife has betrayed him. Even when Desdemona and her maid Emila, Iago’s wife, has told him countless times that she has not been unfaithful, he is so far gone from reality that he does not believe either one of them. With the state of mind he’s in he cannot bear the thought of another man touching his wife. Othello and Iago plan to kill Cassio and Desdemona. After he
In a passage from William Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago dramatizes a subsequent conflict between Othello and Desdemona when he warns the former of a green-eyed monster, the manifestation of jealousy. As the play progresses, Othello becomes more like this beast that Iago told him about. Instead of being the honorable and respectable character he was, Othello now displays a more questionable personality, one that causes him to doubt his wife of infidelity. Even though Iago does play a role, it is mostly due to Othello’s insecurity that transforms him into a monstrous person.
In the light of the various descriptions of an unstable person, Iago is a psychopath with his manipulative choice of words. He tells people things that they want to hear and he says it in a manner that makes him appear exceptional. “ I humbly do beseech you of your pardon, For too much loving you.” (3.3.106) In act three, Iago pretends to be Othello’s confidant, and he wants Othello to suspect his wife is having an affair. Iago has a pseudo relationship with Othello the entire duration of the play.
The question asked by Hamlet “To be, or not to be?” (III.i.57.) analyzes the deeper thoughts of the young prince of Denmark. In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the battle between living life or dying runs repeatedly through Hamlet’s head. In this famous soliloquy, Hamlet ponders the feelings going through his head, during his monologue, on whether he should live with the disruptions in his life or end it all at once. Hamlet’s life, both fulfilling and depressing, made him act out more when it came to interacting with other people. With all the people who admired him, he still managed to push everyone away using his sarcastic antics to degrade them intentionally. Not only does he portray this type of personality to people, but the change in so
English poet Alexander Pope said; “Our passions are like convulsion fits, which, though they make us stronger for the time, leave us the weaker ever after.” In the play Othello the Moor of Venice, Othello is faced with many different situations where he must decide if he will choose responsible behavior or to follow his passion. Throughout the play, the decline of Othello is very apparent; he began as a man who put work in front of all personal problems and made sure to put others in front of his own well-being. While following his passion gave him a feeling of temporary power, in the end, that is what led to his downfall. Love for Desdemona and soon after, envy and anger for Desdemona took control of Othello’s life in Cyprus. These feelings lead to Iago being able to take advantage of Othello which eventually lead to Othello’s demise.
In the play Othello, there are many jealous and selfish characters. Each of the characters at one point or another let their jealousy take over. It seems like they all have these plots and plans on how to hurt another character in the play either physically or emotionally, as an act of selfishness, so that they can feel better about themselves. One main character who seems extremely jealous in this play is Iago. Infact, probably the most jealous. Many bad things happen because of Iago. The first bad thing that Iago did, was tell Barbantio (Desdamona's father) that Desdemona has married Othello, the Moore. Iago was mad at Othello, because Cassio had made Othello a higher position and not Iago. Iago thought that he was the one who qualified for the position as general, not Othello. Iago was jealous because of this, so he decided to tell Barbantio about Desdemona and Othello. This was bad, because Barbantio did not know yet, and something like that should have been said by his own daughter, not someone who was not part of the family. The way Iago went about telling him was also bad. He called to his house in the middle of the night. He yelled it to Barbantio from downstairs into his window in a rude manner. " quote from Othello here." He wanted Barbantio to be upset about what had happened, and most of all, he wanted Barbantio to be mad at Othello and do something bad to him.
The play “Othello” by William Shakespeare was written in 1604 during the Elizabeth era. Othello is one of the most extraordinary characters in all of Shakespeare’s dramas. He enjoyed unheralded success in the combat zone, which gave him the reputation as one of Venice’s most competent generals. Even though he has great success in the battlefield, he has a dramatic flaw that causes a downfall in his life. The dramatic flaw that causes his downfall is jealousy. This was brought on by a simple persuasion of Iago, the evil character in the play. Even though Iago used extreme manipulation to get Othello to be jealous, Iago did not really have to try very hard to get Othello in a jealous state of mind. Othello was blinded by his jealousy which led him down a path of constant questioning of his wife and his friend Cassio. Throughout the play we see his dramatic flaw sink him deeper and deeper into a cloud of doubt which eventually leads him to kill not only his love of his life but also himself.
Othello, through Iago’s manipulation and Desdemona’s compliments to Cassio, starts to mistrust his wife because he is convinced she is having an affair and becomes convinced to the point he can not believe his wife’s faithfulness. Iago’s disrespect and cruel views towards women enables him to manipulate Othello because he does not care about the fates of women and would rather not deal with them. Also, Iago hurting his wife both mentally and physically illustrates his mistrust towards his wife because he does not believe his wife is faithful and he hurts her, in efforts to prove his superiority. Lack of communication between spouses in relationships can bring many arguments because they are unwilling to admit their mistakes or admit something bothering them and once it all these emotions boil up inside it can lead to the argument becoming worse. These intense arguments can lead to spouses acting upon emotions, which they will later regret their actions during these fight, but in the moment they are too blinded by emotions realize their mistakes. Miscommunication can also lead to others being labeled based on other’s perspective of the person, which is bad because they might not act that way, but if the person does not confront them then they will always assume the other person’s view of a person is correct, instead of learning the truth by meeting the
due to his race are vast, for example at the start of the play when
In the play “The Tragedy of Othello” by Willian Shakespeare, Othello Changes from an intelligent and confident person to a senseless and insecure person. This change in his personality occurs mainly because: Iago plans to ruin his relationship with Desdemona, he was an Outsider, he had bad judgement when it came to trusting people and failed to see reality, his negative thinking about himself and his relationship with Desdemona.
From this point on, Othello insecurity manifests into a seemingly irrational fear of being cuckolded, and his self-perceived worth diminishes exponentially. Othello comments on the likelihood of Desdemona cheating, by explaining how it may be “for [he is] black / And have not those soft parts of conversation / That chamberers have…” (3.3.280-282) Othello’s frustration with the threat of being cuckolded puts strain on his relationship with Desdemona, and she quickly becomes a victim of domestic abuse. For example, Othello acts as an interrogator, demanding to see the handkerchief which he gave her that symbolizes faithfulness and commitment towards Othello. (Quotation) When she is unable to produce their symbol of trust, Othello’s anger manifests inside him. The audience is shown a stark contrast to Othello’s typically cool, collected and composted nature. This abrupt and irrational change in behaviour is emphasized when Othello strikes Desdemona in front of Lordovico, (4.1.245) Othello’s
From the beginning, Othello is noble, quick to act, judicious, trusting, and gives much weight to the importance of duty. These are all traits that serve to make him great at the beginning of the play, and later, ironically, become key elements in his downfall. These aspects can be considered the internal causes of Othello’s tragic flaw. “Othello's nature is all one piece. His trust, where he trusts, is absolute.
Throughout Othello’s journey, it is apparent he had many drastic changes in his behavior and how he reacted to people as he became more and more upset. He went from being a gentle and calm character, to a paranoid and insecure character, to an out of control and enraged monster. In the end, he finds out the truth as to what was really going on, ultimately resulting in Othello’s suicide.
“Where Id is, there ego shall be” (Freud, S.S. 1932). This is particularly relevant for the play Othello by William Shakespeare. In Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality, he stated that the human psyche is a tripartite model composed of three elements. This psychoanalytic theory is extremely applicable to the Othello. The three main characters of this text of Othello have a remarkable resemblance to Freud’s analysis of human psyche, despite the fact that these two texts were written in different eras. Furthermore, the setting of Othello is also congruent with the concept of the human mind as a known and predictable conscious part and an unknown and sinister unconscious mind. Overall, Othello mirrors Freud’s psychoanalytical criticism concepts almost exactly. However, there are some facets of this text which refute Freudian Psychoanalysis.
In society there are always people who are easily manipulated and possess poor judgment. This leads them to make wrong decisions and negatively affect their lives and the lives of the people around them. The reason for Othello’s tragic downfall was because of his poor judgement, his easily manipulated conscience and his jealousy and obsession with. These traits displayed why Othello was responsible for the play’s tragic outcome.