Othello's Profile:
Hometown: Bengazi, North Africa
Sex: male
Interested In: heterosexual (straight)
Sex: male
Interested In: heterosexual (straight)
Friends and Family: Desdemona (wife) /desdemona.html; Casio (lieutenant); Barbantio (father-in-law); Iago (ensign)
/iago.html
About Me: Commanding Officer in the Venetian Army; experienced warrior; faithful husband; excellent leadership skills; likes power and luxury; likes to indulge; he thinks of himself of a great warrior, but not a good speaker.
Othello's views of women are more complex than Iago's. Othello loves and often praises Desdemona in the play. He tells Iago, "But that I love the gentle Desdemona, I would not my unhoused free condition Put into circumscription and confine for the sea's worth" (1.2.25-28)
"My name, that was as fresh as Dian's visage, is now begrimed and black as mine own face (3.3.54)"
This is one of the most important passages in the play. When Othello suspects that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio (in reality she is not), he suggests that his "name," or his reputation, is now soiled and "begrimed" because of his wife's supposed infidelity.
Othello feels his wife's supposed sexual infidelity has soiled his good reputation, so he compares his once good name to his "begrimed and black" face. Othello associates the blackness of his own skin with something dirty and stained, which is exactly the kind of thing that the racist Venetian characters (like Brabantio) have been saying all along.
On the surface, Othello appears to be self-confident, stable, determined, and in control of his affairs. In actuality, he is introverted, self-conscious, and insecure. This is made evident by the fact that Iago is successful in manipulating Othello into believing lies.
Prior to arriving in Venice, according to his own account of his past, Othello had an impeccable reputation. He proves that his reputations means a lot to him when he says, "For nought I did in hate, but all in honour." Having married a wealthy white woman of social status, who is eventually perceived to be unfaithful to her husband, leads to his reputation becoming tarnished. Othello's reputation is further undermined by Brabantio, who refers to it as "general mock." .
Othellos perceives women as unfaithful, and even if his views of women had been more favorable when he met Desdemona, he allowed himself to be influenced by Iago in a negative way. So eventually he comes to doubt Desdemona, and finally kills her.
"My name, that was as fresh as Dian's visage, is now begrimed and black as mine own face (3.3.54)"
This is one of the most important passages in the play. When Othello suspects that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio (in reality she is not), he suggests that his "name," or his reputation, is now soiled and "begrimed" because of his wife's supposed infidelity.
Othello feels his wife's supposed sexual infidelity has soiled his good reputation, so he compares his once good name to his "begrimed and black" face. Othello associates the blackness of his own skin with something dirty and stained, which is exactly the kind of thing that the racist Venetian characters (like Brabantio) have been saying all along.
On the surface, Othello appears to be self-confident, stable, determined, and in control of his affairs. In actuality, he is introverted, self-conscious, and insecure. This is made evident by the fact that Iago is successful in manipulating Othello into believing lies.
Prior to arriving in Venice, according to his own account of his past, Othello had an impeccable reputation. He proves that his reputations means a lot to him when he says, "For nought I did in hate, but all in honour." Having married a wealthy white woman of social status, who is eventually perceived to be unfaithful to her husband, leads to his reputation becoming tarnished. Othello's reputation is further undermined by Brabantio, who refers to it as "general mock." .
Othellos perceives women as unfaithful, and even if his views of women had been more favorable when he met Desdemona, he allowed himself to be influenced by Iago in a negative way. So eventually he comes to doubt Desdemona, and finally kills her.