The degree to which Othello is responsible for the tragic outcome of this play can be debated in consideration of the villainous nature of the character who have influence over his loved ones and his own mind. The manipulative presence of Iago thoroughly influenced Othello’s mental state, emotional state, and physical actions as a result of the former two. Because Iago was so purposefully manipulative, Othello’s actions were not understandable, but to a certain extent, out of his control. Though he very well may have “overreacted,” his actions were strictly a consequence of a firm, outside stimulant that was not a fault of his own.
Iago’s first form of manipulation was the purposefully involvement of Roderigo. Roderigo was, to be fair, initially unhappy with the circumstances. However, his anger was not excessive to the point of action. This is to say that it was Iago’s emotional manipulation in fueling the fire that was Roderigo’s anger through simple conversation to act. Not only does Iago emotionally and mentally manipulate Roderigo to the point of irrational emotion, he commits to aiding Roderigo in his attempts to defeat Othello in whatever way he can in order to compensate for the injustice of Othello winning the heart of Desdemona rather than himself. Iago’s commitment in this way is clearly not out of a sense of false loyalty, but his own selfish motives of revenge over Othello because of his personal experiences with Othello himself.
Iago approaches his manipulation of Othello mentally and physically, and then goes on to do the very same thing to Othello that he does to Roderigo by rhetorically manipulating him. By convincing Othello, slowly rather than with rash, charged emotion, that Desdemona is committing adultery against him, he allows the information to seep into Othello’s mind and become a possibility. His approach to this manipulation is incredibly calculated, and therefore, it is an acceptable notion that Othello would slowly go crazy given that he begins to accept, due to Iago’s influence, that the love of his life is not being faithful to him.
Iago’s physical action that ultimately affects Othello is his intentionality in stealing the handkerchief, knowing all the significance that it carries. Othello sees every subsequent event after discovering the possibility that Desdemona is committing adultery as a form of proof of some sort. Because of the timing in which the incident with the handkerchief occurs would obviously affect him deeply. Furthermore, Iago takes advantage of his weaknesses in health, and provides almost physical evidence to the fake adultery by staging his interactions with Cassio. Iago uses weaknesses of multiple characters in this instance to take advantage of Othello, and because his intentions were so strategic, he is successful. Othello’s anger is overwhelming, intense, and extremely charged. However, the consequential nature of his wild emotions in this case makes sense.
The responsibility of Desdemona’s death seems to lie on Othello, as he was irrational and chose not to listen to the truth of situation. However, for the past several scenes and interactions with every character, Othello was convinced for multiple valid reasons that his wife is blatantly lying to him as well as cheating on him, so his refusal to listen is logical.
Othello acts wildly, rashly, and emotionally. The ultimate blame for the tragic outcome, however, does not fall on Othello. Iago’s persistent manipulation and corrupt approaches to all of his interactions with every character he meets, including his “best friend” and his wife, is the ultimate explanation and cause for the tragic outcome. Othello certainly could have handled the situation more maturely, but at the end of the day, it is difficult to blame a character who has been so intensely and wildly manipulated.
