Iago's True Character

Of all the characters in Shakespeare's Othello, none is more complex and unknown to the audience than Iago. He is portrayed by every character as an honest and trustworthy person. Yet, as the audience is well informed by the end of the first act, he appears to be quite the opposite. He's a duplicitous character, honest and kind on the outside, but truly a pure, evil and malignant person on the inside. Throughout the entire play he turns all his friends, who trust him most, against each other. He does this by penetrating their deepest fears and concerns, using that to "make the net that shall emesh them all" (II. iii. 321-2) into a jealous web of hatred. There are many examples throughout the play that show clearly Iago's villainy, but the motives for his villainy become increasingly unclear to the audience as the play progresses. Iago gives several different possible motives to the audience throughout the play in his different soliloquies and while talking to Roderigo, but he never backs up these motives and for the most part never refers to them again in the play. Through evidence in the text, Iago was in fact an honest and caring person who suddenly turned villainous because he was deeply unhappy about the way his life was turning out. Things were not going his way: he did not gain lieutenancy, his rank in society was completely reliable on Othello, he was jealous of Othello's life as well as Cassio's, and most of all honesty was getting him nowhere. Iago is not a complete villain. The crimes and murders which occurred could not have happened without the inner villain which lurked inside the other characters in the play. Iago simply prompted a jealousy which was already there and therefore cannot be blamed for the actions of others.

Throughout the play Othello almost every character at one time or another referred to Iago as an honest man while the audience saw Iago cruelly and viciously lie and deceive one character after another, trapping them all in a jealous rage. Othello says, "A man he is of honesty and trust" (I. iii. 278) before allowing Desdemona to be in the care of Iago. Othello again says, "I know, Iago, / thy honesty and love..." (II. iii. 226-7) when asking Iago to tell him who started the drunken brawl between Cassio and Roderigo. Cassio says "Good night, honest Iago" (II. iii. 295) before leaving after the drunken brawl. Cassio says to himself "I never knew a Florentine more kind and honest" (III. i. 36-7) after Iago gave him advice about his job. Desdemona states "O, that's an honest fellow" after Emilia brings up the fact that Iago is worried about Cassio's job. Iago is seen as deceivingly honest throughout the entire play, but it is hard for one to believe that Iago's reputation for honesty has been based over a long period of time on deceit. Iago must have truly been an honest person prior to this plot against Othello and Cassio, and this proves that he was not always a villain.

Iago had probably been honest and kind his entire life, and now reaching the age of 28 ("I hath looked upon the world four times seven years" (I. iii. 304)), Iago saw that his life was not going the way he wanted. He felt he was of low rank and without that promotion from Othello he would remain of low status far beyond when he felt it was time for him to move up. "I know my price, I am worth no worse a place" (I. i. 10). That fear of remaining in a job for the rest of his life that he felt was for the less experienced, struck and scared him into an overwhelming feeling that he was running out of time. A comparison can be made to someone of the modern era. Iago felt the same way someone would who got stuck working at Burger King the rest of their life after graduating from high school and college, when the person had much greater plans. Yes, it is okay to work at Burger King as a starting point when one is young, but as one gets older he or she deserves a higher paying more responsible position. Iago felt this way. He felt jealous of Cassio over the lieutenancy and had a grudge against Othello for not promoting him. On top of that Iago's status was totally hinged on Othello who Iago felt had the competency of an "ass" in terms of making good decisions. "The Moor is of free and open nature / That thinks men honest that but seem to be so; / And will tenderly be led by th’ nose / As asses are." (I. iii. 367-70). "Make the Moor thank me, love me, and reward me / For making him egregiously an ass" (II. i. 281-2). Iago says these two statements in his first and second soliloquy when plotting his scheme against Othello and Cassio. Iago also feels jealous that Othello and Cassio are leading a better life than he is. Cassio is lieutenant and Othello is of high authority with a beautiful wife who Iago has feelings for, or so he says: "...And I dare think he'll prove to Desdemona / A most dear husband. Now, I do love her too;…" (II. i. 263-4).

Iago has been honest his entire life, and it is getting him nothing he desires. So he tries to get the life he desires be revenging against Othello and Cassio who have stopped him. Iago seems to the reader as jealous, bitter, vengeful, and fiercely rejecting the honesty and loyalty that have gotten him nowhere. So Iago turns to honesty's opposite, evil. Iago admits this himself:

O wretched fool, / That lov'st to make thine honesty a vice!... / ...To be direct and honest is not safe… / …I should be wise; for honesty’s a fool / And loses that it works for.” (III. iii. 372-80)

To prove in another way that Iago was once honest and has turned evil, he begins to go "motive hunting" after a motive to rest his conscience from the evil he is going to commit. In Iago's numerous soliloquies, he comes up with several possible motives for his plot, but he has no evidence to back these motives up and refers to them once before moving onto a different motive. Iago first says his motive for hurting Othello is that he promoted Cassio over him. And after the first soliloquy Iago never mentions this motive again. In fact, in the fifth act Iago states Cassio "hath a daily beauty in his life / that makes me ugly;" (V. i. 19-20). However, Iago has already been made lieutenant at this point in the play, so some other grudge against Cassio that partially makes up his motive must exist as well. Iago also suspects Othello and Cassio of being sexually involved with his own wife. However, Iago has no evidence of this theory and never mentions it as a motive again. He also can not be that upset about his wife, Emilia, having an affair, for he shows no affection for her at all in the play and ends up killing her in the