Discuss the problem
of race-relation as you find it in Othello.
The love relation in
Othello between the hero, the black Moor and Desdemona, a lady of white race
grew out of strong emotion in total ignorance of race relation. Othello, the
hero Of the play is obviously and simply a black man but his soul is so pure,
his mind so sublime that Desdemona's love for him completely overlooks the
blackness and she is' attracted by the qualities of his personality .She saw
his visage in his mind, not in the skin of body.
The cause of conflict
between Iago and Othello in their career as well as in their life is due to the
difference of their color. Iago being a man of white origin was naturally
jealous of Othello who held a higher position in the army than he, Besides, Othello
being favored and loved by a beautiful white lady also raised his sense of
lousy. He also grew jealous of him because of his failure in getting promotion
as a lieutenant under Othello in spite of recommendations of several
respectable citizens of Venice.
Further Iago could easily incite jealousy in
Othello and pour poison into his ears because, of his weak mind. Being a black
Moor Othello always suffered from an inferiority complex. He knew that
Desdemona's love for him was based on pity and his valorous qualities, and when
his mind was poisoned by Iago, he grew suspicious of Desdemona's pure love.
Othello enters the room reasoning about the justification for killing
Desdemona. He wants to kill Desdemona for some reason which he does not like to
name to the stars because they are "chaste" and they would blush to
hear it. Some critics say that Othello, as he enters the bedchamber, happens to
see his face in a mirror. The thought at once strikes him is that his black color
is the cause of his wife's faithlessness and this unchastity of hers he does
not like to name to the chaste stars.
Iago who has studied all the men around him,
knows exactly where Othello's weakness lies. He manages to see that the temptation
attacks Othello on his blind side. When Iago suggests that he does not
understand Desdemona well, Othello, a straightforward man, is tempted. He knows
Iago to be his well-wisher and so he believes in what he says. Iago works very
subtly on Othello's ignorance of the
ways of Venetian
society. He further poisons Othello's mind by saying that Desdemona's
acceptance of his love only shows her to be wild and wayward. All these secret
plans of Iago operate upon him very easily because of his already inferiority
complex, caused by color problem.
Thus the tragedy of
Othello is due to the problem of racial separation. Othello's confidence in
Desdemona could not withstand the severe blow Iago, because he was a black
Moor. In fact, Shakespeare has depicted the racial discrimination of his time
quite successfully through this play.
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