Of all the characters we have examined thus far, Iago is by far the most evil. Perhaps, one of the reasons he is so vile, in addition to his lack of remorse and the way he uses people as instruments to accomplish his own selfish goals, is because we never discover Iago’s true motives. Is he a racist? A psychopath? Revenge for possible affairs? Or for being passed up for a promotion? Well, it is likely a combination of all of them, but for brevity, I will dive into the latter two.
As soon as Othello starts we see the scheming of Iago and Roderigo as they discuss Othello’s marriage to Desdemona; this is where we see Iago’s first motive to bring down Othello. Iago is angry because Othello passed him up for a promotion to lieutenant and instead choose, “a great arithmetician, one Michael Cassio” (I. i. 20-21); Iago was instead promoted to ensign. In Shakespeare’s day, a lieutenant is the second in command and “could represent the general by wielding his power” (Hall 296) and the ensign carries, “its ‘colors’ – its standard or flag – and its reputation” (Barret 296). It would appear that Iago has no taste for being the “reputation” of the Othello’s army; all he wants is the power. Additionally, Iago is enraged by the fact that Cassio is significantly less competent than him in warfare since he has “never set a squadron in the field” (I. i. 23) and is “mere prattle, without practice” (I. i. 27). In other words, the closest Cassio has been to battle was when he read the Caesar’s commentaries. In fact, promoting Cassio to Lieutenant could be potentially hazardous to the Army since a lieutenant is supposed to be one of the most experienced men so he could carry out Othello’s duties in his absence; perhaps Iago is trying to destroy Othello for his blatant disregard for the men’s safety by promoting Cassio rather than himself. A more likely reason Iago could have wanted the powerful lieutenant spot was because he was planning on destroying Othello anyway after receiving the promotion. Since the lieutenant is the number two, all Iago would have to do is kill Othello or remove him in some other manner – such as convincing him to murder his wife – and suddenly he’s general.
When you look at everything Iago has done, it cannot help but be wondered, why Desdemona? In his soliloquy in Act I Scene 3 Iago says to himself,
“I hate the Moor;
And it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets
He’s done my office. I know not if’t be true;
But I, for mere suspicion in that kind,
Will do as if for surety.” (I. i. 369-373)
Therefore, at the mere mention of infidelity in his own marriage, he is going to remorselessly destroy Othello’s marriage with Desdemona. Nowadays this seems like a melodramatic response to a rumor but since infidelity throws “into doubt the husband’s authority in the household, his ownership of his children, and thus his masculine honor” (Hall 285) since it had “potential to disrupt bloodlines and inheritance” (Hall 285). Having wronged Iago before, first in his professional advancement and now in between his sheets, he therefore taking the rumors of his wife’s infidelity as seriously as possible and hopes to be “evened with him, wife for wife” (II. i. 279). Later in the same soliloquy, having his own seeds of jealousy planted prior to the play, Iago states that he also fears Cassio with his “nightcap” as well (II. i. 287). Iago is saying that he think Cassio has also slept with his wife, in addition to Othello. We know that Iago thinks this is true because Shakespeare’s soliloquies are insights into the thoughts and souls of his characters as they see their situation.
We are beginning to see that jealousy over his wife’s rumors of infidelity – and subsequently bringing Iago dishonor –are the real causes of Iago’s thirst for revenge. Cassio’s promotion at the hands of Othello is merely icing on the cake and makes them perfect targets for Iago’s wrath.
References
Barret, Robert. Theory and Practice of Modern Wars. Othello: Texts and Contexts. By William Shakespeare. Kim F. Hall. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007. 296. Print.
Hall, Kim, ed. Othello: Texts and Contexts. By William Shakespeare. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007.Print.
MLA formatting quotations. Purdue OWL. Online Writing Lab. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/ owl/resource/747/03/