The Blame Game

Placing guilt can be a difficult concept, especially when it seems multiple people are at fault. Like an episode of Law and Order, works of literature can have a wide suspect pool in terms of who is at fault. While Shakespeare’s Othello is not exactly an episode of Law and Order, there is still major divide in discussion about whom is at blame. The reason for varied opinions over who is responsible for the tragic outcome of the play is because of a divide in opinion over how blame itself is placed. To explain further, consider this:

One person lies to another. As a result, the person who believes the lie does something drastic that cannot be undone. Who’s to blame?

With this in mind, I feel that Othello is at fault for the tragic outcome of the play because while Iago did consistently lie to him, it was Othello’s poor judgement and rashness which resulted in his choice to kill Desdemona and ultimately, himself.

            In many ways Iago did pull the strings in his relationship with Othello by gaining his trust only to betray the general, choosing to “follow him to serve [his] turn upon [Othello]” (1:1)*.  Although Iago’s lies set Othello’s actions in place- his insistence of Desdemona pursuing an affair with Cassio deeply and quickly enraged the general- it was Othello who decided to pursue his course of actions. Upon misinterpreting Cassio’s, Othello immediately concluded that Cassio and Desdemona must “rot, and perish, and be damned” (4:1). Othello’s heart “[was] turned to stone” (4:1) because of what he believed happened; a change occurred inside Othello that would set him down a violent path. He was obviously led to this choice to harm Desdemona by Iago’s lies, but the shift within himself is what brought Othello to reason that Desdemona and Cassio had to die. Much of Othello’s intense anger stemmed directly from observing Cassio holding Desdemona’s handkerchief. To him, the handkerchief was clear proof of an affair. However, like many of the events that occurred which convinces Othello that Desdemona was having an affair, they were not even directly caused by Iago.

In many cases, things appeared to simply fall into place for Iago. Early on, Desdemona and Cassio blatantly display their close friendship  in public. “With as little a web as this” (2:1), Iago’s plan to destroy Othello’s life practically happened by itself. “[Cassio] took [Desdemona] by the palm” (2:1) and whispered in her ear, thus casting suspicion on the pair with little help from Iago. Even Othello's fateful decision largely came from witnessing Bianca shouting at Cassio for possessing Desdemona's handkerchief and Iago never intended for this to occur. While he did plan to convince Othello that Cassio's comments about Bianca were in fact about Desdemona, Iago did not foresee Bianca storming in much less her pulling out the handkerchief.  So much of what caused Othello to kill his wife did not even happen because of Iago but instead by coincidence (or fate, but this is an entirely different discussion). Desdemona also repeatedly urged Othello to give Cassio his job back and often vouched for Cassio's admirable qualities. Iago did not encourage Desdemona to do this at all. Instead, she elected to repeatedly discuss Cassio's bravery and nobility with Othello. How can Iago be guilty when so much of what pushed Othello to kill Desdemona was simply coincidental?
Additionally, Othello's own poor judgement and rashness led to his downfall. By taking time to speak with Desdemona, it is possible the matter of her infidelity could have been sorted out with ease. Instead, he jumped to conclusions based on the words of Iago and a few chance occurrences. Often in life, we must take responsibility for our own decisions and choices. Othello's choice and execution of Desdemona's fate was from his own accord. Thus, Othello is to blame for the play's outcome.