The Characters in Othello

1. Perhaps the most notable character trait in Othello is the one that seems the most anomalous--his trusting nature. Such a nature is unusual in a successful field general, someone who could be expected to trust only himself as a way of assuring success. Othello, however, places his trust in all his lieutenants, including Iago, someone who should not be trusted at all. If it were not for Othello's trusting nature, Iago's plot would not work at all.

Othello trusts Desdemona as well, which is why his belief that she has betrayed him has such a devastating effect on him. If he were a less trusting individual, he might be cynical enough to pass it off as no more than he expected from her. Since he is not cynical but trusting, he is all the more hurt by this betrayal. He would not be looking for such a betrayal on his own and has instead been guided by Iago, and he does not mistrust Iago precisely because of his own trusting nature.

The unfolding of the play presents the viewer with the image of a great man seduced into mistrusting all the ideals and beliefs that have previously sustained him. Iago's analysis of Othello's character is absolutely correct, as Iago himself proves. Iago says that Othello believes in the honesty of people even though they may not be honest. Iago himself is the character Othello believes in the most, and Iago is deceptive. Othello's strength is also his weakness in that he is a man of ideals who believes in those ideals to the point wher

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hey are full They belch us (III.iv.117-120). Yet Emilia also loves her husband, though their precise relationship is unclear. She steals the handkerchief because he asks her to do so, though she does not know why he wants it. It is enough that he has asked for it, though she still chides him somewhat for not telling her why he wants it and indicates that it should be important or she will put it back. Desdemona as well would do whatever Othello asks of her, and indeed she does so, suffering when he believes she has been unfaithful and yet not knowing, as Emilia would, what to do about it. Emilia changes in the course of the play. At first, she seems world-weary and cynical, and her opinion of men reinforces this impression. She believes that men have faults which cause women to cheat on them, and thus she would accept if Desdemona cheated on Othello and blame Othello for it. Yet she also knows that Desdemona is not cheating, and at the end of the play she expresses her belief in Desdemona's innocence and nobility in glowing terms. The one act undertaken by Emilia that is to her discredit is when she steals the handkerchief and gives it to her husband. He uses it for his nefarious purpose, and yet she does

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