Othello's Inexperience with Love

Although it was written around 1604, William Shakespeare's Othello reflects many of the hot-button social issues faced in the 21st century (Kernan lxiii). No issue takes more precedence than that of Othello's race. Set in Venice, Othello the Moor is culturally out of his element. The loyal general's blackness immediately becomes an issue amongst the Venice elite, as Othello has eloped with and married the senator's daughter. As soon as the couple returns to Venice, it becomes clear that a black man, no matter how respectable or valiant, is not welcome to marry a Venician woman. Shakespeare's play is devised to let the viewer decide if Othello's race is to blame for his demise, and many Shakespeare analysts certainly debate this possibility. While it can be argued that Othello eventually becomes the beast that he is accused of being, his race is not an explanation for the ending tragedy. Rather, Othello is ultimately a fallen, self-deluded hero whose inexperience with love, rather than his ethnicity, drives him to murder.

Othello is naive to believe that his life will not change once he shares it with Desdemona. He declares that she will not interfere with his ability to lead, but does not realize that after marriage, his power will no longer be more prevalent than, or separate from, his love. Othello expects love to be a grand addition to his life. He does not expect Desdemona to challenge his authority, and he certainly doesn't think he will have a problem balancing his responsibilities with the love of his life. The cunning and sly Iago is determined to leave Othello with nothing, and he knows that by taking away his love, he will also take away his power. When Othello chooses Cassio for lieutenant instead of Iago, Iago plots against Othello; he is determined to convince Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him with none other than Cassio. Iago knows that Desdemona is his soft spot, and that if he loses her love, it will drive him to madness and he will, in turn, lose his power. In her article, ‘I Wooed thee With My Sword’: Shakespeare’s Tragice Paradigms,” Madelon Gohlke Sprengnether concludes, “Were it not for Othello’s initial vulnerability to Desdemona he would not be susceptible to Iago’s machinations” (193).

Prior to his marriage to Desdemona, Othello was considered a noble military man with the respect of the Venice elite. Once Iago begins to poison the ears of those around Othello, however, that begins to change. Act I begins with Iago and Roderigo in a Venice street. Their goal is to wake the senator, Brabantio, and tell him that his daughter has been taken away by a thief, “an extravagant and wheeling stranger / Of here and everywhere” (1.1.133-134). Brabantio awakes to their loud voices below his windowsill; it is obvious that Iago and Roderigo are determined to cause a scene. When Brabantio comes down to see what the problem is, Iago speaks of “an old black ram … tupping [his] white ewe” (1.1.85-86). He insinuates that Othello's race is shameful to the royal family. Brabantio is easily influenced by Iago and Roderigo's use of the words “thief” and “devil” and Iago's comparison of Othello to a “Barbary horse” (1.1.108-109). As he tries to make sense of the chaos, he deduces that Othello must be an enchanter of sorts. He's simply trying to explain what he perceives to be unexplainable, what he believes to be against the rules of nature. Because Iago and Roderigo are representative of Brabantio's people, he realizes what chaos this union might create within the state. “For if such actions may have passage free,” he says, “Bondslaves and pagans shall our statesmen be” (1.3.97-98). Iago's energy and use of words in Act I influence Brabantio and company to question Othello's nobility. Because Othello is a noble man with few noted failures, Iago must use an irrational element like race to define and humiliate him.

Othello, while valiant and noble, is also boastful, and expects himself to be as successful at love as he is at war. He is certain that his good deeds to the state will outweigh Brabantio's complaints of his marriage to Desdemona. He claims he comes “from men of royal siege” and has a “perfect soul” (1.2.21-30). When called an enchanter, Othello explains that he wooed Desdemona with tales of battle and travel and is only responsible for practicing the magic of love. This proves that he cannot distinguish between his military duties and his romantic life. Othello seems to believe that he can master the art of love as well as he's mastered the art of battle, and that neither can shake him. But while he's well-versed in the rules of the battlefield, he's clueless about the rules of love. “Little of this great world can I speak / More than pertains to feats of broils and battle,” he says (1.3.86-87). It is to be expected that Othello should turn to fellow men for advice in and out of battle, therefore, when Iago speaks to Othello about his troubles with Desdemona, he says Othello should listen to him because he is experienced with Venician women (3.3.201-205). Unfortunately, Iago's advice and prodding only leads to a deterioration of Othello's capacity for judgment.

By the final act, Othello proves that his inexperience with love will surely lead to his demise. While race may have driven Iago's revenge plot, it is not the cause of Othello's tragic fate. Only two characters' opinions of Othello have remained the same throughout the entire play. Iago still hates Othello, but Othello perceives him to be his most loyal friend. Desdemona still loves him, but he kills her. With the two people nearest to him, he is deluded. As Othello and Desdemona argue about his aim to kill her, we see Othello's inexperience with love echoed by his wife's pleas: “That death's unnatural that kills for / loving,” she says (5.2.42-43). Othello, however thinks his actions just: “...maks't me call what I intend to do / A murder, which I thought a sacrifice” (5.2.64-65). Othello's military experience explains why he would not see death as murder. Desdemona, who knows little of “broils and battles,” knows more about love, and therefore, cannot understand her husband's actions. It must also be noted that if Desdemona is inexperienced in military practices, she should never interfere with Othello's business with Cassio nor any other matter involving the state. Desdemona's request for Othello to reinstate Cassio as lieutenant (after being demoted for public drunkenness) comes just as Iago tells Othello of his wife's affair with Cassio. Even though she was oblivious to the plot against her, Desdemona should have never intervened with military affairs. Othello and Desdemona might have made a monumental couple had they been compliments to each other's strong suits. Instead, Othello allows love to influence his power, and Desdemona allows power to influence her love.

In his final soliloquy, just before killing himself, Othello, having learned of Iago's betrayal, proclaims, “…must you speak / Of one that loved not wisely, but too well” (5.2.339-340). He realizes that he loved the wrong person most, that he spoiled his vows to Desdemona by exchanging vows of revenge with Iago, and that his ignorance will cost him his life. He also laments throwing “a pearl away / Richer than all his tribe” (5.2.343-344). Regardless of his race, his love with Desdemona is the greatest achievement of his life. Othello's loyalty to service lifts him up out of slavery, and once he is able to escape the culture that imprisons him, he marries a Venician senator's daughter, a woman of profound sophistication. Until then, his race had not been a factor in his success. Only when he tries to balance his responsibilities with love does Othello falter. He is naive to think his marriage will have no affect on his duties. In the same respect, Desdemona may not be cuckolding Othello, but she does attempt to share in his power. Whether this is appropriate or not, Othello does not expect to have his lover challenge his power. Ultimately, Othello is a fallen, self-deluded hero whose inexperience with love, rather than the characteristics of his race, drives him to murder. His realization of the love he lost subsequently drives him to suicide.


Works Cited
Kernan, Alvin. “Introduction.” The Tragedy of Othello, the Moore of Venice. 2nd ed. New York: Signet Classics, 1998.

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello, the Moore of Venice. 2nd ed. Ed. Alvin Kernan. New York: Signet Classics, 1998.

Sprengnether, Madelon Gohlke. “’I Wooed Thee with My Sword’: Shakespeare’s Tragic Paradigms.” The Tragedy of Othello, the Moore of Venice. Ed. Alvin Kernan. 2nd ed. New York: Signet Classics, 1998.