Insecurity
Othello's public insecurity that makes him jealous of Cassio
Othello's insecurity about his skin color and heritage is a tragic flaw
Iago enjoys inflicting his own fears and insecurities onto others
Critics have argued that the hero’s tragedy comes about because he can never be anything except an outsider; he is in an untenable position as a black man serving a white patriarchy. These critics would argue that it is absurd of Othello to expect to carve out a place for himself in his adopted society because its members will never truly accept him. This may be a reason for Othello's jealousy as it stems from insecurity. He is insecure about being an outsider to mainstream society.
Karen Newman says "power and potency of a different monstrous sexuality". She suggests that Renaissance culture inherently demonises racial and sexual difference as monstrous. In particular, she notes that the white male characters - specifically Iago - feel threatened by the monstrous - symbolised by Othello. This is because Othello, married to a white woman, would be able to use his power to diminish his partner's whiteness. As a result of such fears and jealousy against inter-racial marriages, Othello's character would be considered as naturally monstrous. This may suggest that other male characters are insecure of their sexual abilities.
For much of the play, Othello resists, ignores, or seems indifferent to the racism that dogs him. But eventually he internalises Iago’s and others’ idea that his Blackness makes him barbarous. This belief, as much as his conviction of Desdemona’s guilt, allows Othello to kill his wife. When he turns the race weapon against himself, he dooms both himself and Desdemona.
In Act 4, he crumbles. Othello discusses his race throughout the play—usually in response to something a white Venetian says—but here he makes his first negative reference to it, suggesting that perhaps his Blackness is to blame for his lack of conversational ability. It is a quiet moment, but a hugely significant one. It marks a turning point: Othello has fallen victim to the same racist logic (or illogic) that rules the thinking of people such as Iago and Roderigo. Like those men, Othello wants to place the blame for his feelings of inferiority somewhere and winds up laying that blame not where it belongs (in this case, at Iago’s feet), but on his own skin. The floodgates have opened, and now Othello is in danger of believing all of Iago’s racist nonsense. In the next lines, Othello compares himself to a toad living in a dungeon, as if he has begun to suspect that his Blackness makes him a loathsome animal, somehow less than human.
When Othello feels his wife's supposed sexual infidelity has soiled his good reputation, he compares his once good name to his "begrimed and black" face. In other words, 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.
By this moment in the play, Othello seems to have internalised the racist ideologies of other characters. He sees himself as a soiled (and soiling) black man.
Some versions of the play read "Her name, that was as fresh / as Dian's visage is now begrimed and black / as my own face." This substitution may oppose the idea that Othello is buying into the racist insults.
Only when Othello buys into the absurd idea that his race inherently makes him dangerous does he begin to creep toward the possibility of doing violence to his wife. When he sees himself through society’s eyes, as a barbaric interloper, Othello begins to despise himself, and it is that self-hatred that allows him to kill what he loves most. Othello is the only man in Venice with a different colour skin, so he feels insecure about being born black. Othello knows he lived in a world where the white people are the majority of the population. He is worried about what others will think him marrying Desdemona, so they eloped at the beginning of the play. Othello believes Iago so easily about Desdemona is cheating on him because he does not know why she chose him over a man that is her own skin colour. Othello says “Haply, for I am black”.
Iago is eaten up with sexual jealousy. He says he hates Othello because he suspects the general has "twixt my sheets … done my office". There is no evidence in the text to suggest he has been cuckolded, either by Othello or Cassio. This may make a man insecure due to toxic masculinity and thought that he isn't sexually satisfying Emilia so she looks elsewhere.
Iago may be insecure in his own masculinity and hence has to demean women to make up for his low self-esteem. Iago shows his sexism when saying “you are pictures out of doors, Bells in your parlors, wild-cats in your kitchens, Saints m your injuries, devils being offended, Players in your housewifery, and housewives' in Your beds”. It means: women are models of propriety when they go out, sweet conversationalists with guests, and angry Spitfires to their servants. They claim to always be the injured party, fly into a rage at an adverse comment and are idle in matters of housework and penny-pinching with their sexual favours.
He uses racial slurs towards Othello, such as “These Moors are changeable in their wills”, which played with typical ideas of the time that people of colour were indecisive. In addition, he talks about the marriage between Othello and Desdemona by saying “a frail vow betwixt an erring barbarian and a supersubtle Venetian”. When he uses words like erring, he is suggesting Othello is a dysregulated person. He also calls him a barbarian, suggesting he is uncultured and lesser. In Ancient Rome, the barbarians were described as brutes that were constantly fighting. If Iago respected Othello and saw him as an equal, then he would not refer to him as a barbarian. Furthermore, when Iago first warns Brabantio, he again describes Othello in a disgusting way. Comparing an old black ram to a white ewe is the same as comparing dirt to snow. When Iago describes Othello ‘tupping’ Desdemona, he is suggesting that when they are having sex together, Othello is making her dirty, similar to when you mix snow and dirt, creating a muddy mess. A white ewe signifies a sort of pure innocence, and when Iago calls Othello a black ram, he degrades Othello to the title of a beast or an animal. Iago is basically indicating Othello is a black animal out to steal Desdemona’s innocence.
Iago may be commenting on Othello's marriage since he is insecure about his own marriage. Shakespeare hints throughout Othello that Iago has deep and profound love for Desdemona, even though, ironically, he hates her as well. Jealousy of someone an individual loves is the worst jealousy of all, which is why his love eventually shifts into hatred. Iago mentions that he is attracted to Desdemona himself, saying “I do love her too”. He may be insecure that she chose to marry Othello rather than himself.
This perhaps opposes Coleridge's comment “The motive-hunting of motiveless malignity". This suggests Iago has no real reason for acting the way he does. Arguably, Iago's insecurities and jealousy is reason for his evilness. First, Iago is a racist and does not approve of the fact that Othello is a Moor, highlighting his irrational tendencies. Subsequently, Iago is jealous and believes Cassio was rewarded with the promotion Iago deserved, adding anger to his hatefulness. He also subtly tells the audience how he is envious of –and angered by –Othello’s marriage to Desdemona, which may be caused by his disgust by interracial relationships. Finally, Iago is afraid that Othello has had intimate relations with his own wife, Emilia.
Iago is insecure of his position as "ancient" within the military. He was in the running for a promotion but Cassio was picked by Othello. Iago says Cassio has "never set a squadron in the field" and has much less experience. This may be why Iago decides to frame Cassio in his plot to get revenge for the promotion. It may also be why Iago hates Othello and says "I follow him to serve my turn upon him". Iago says "I hate the Moor" which may be as a result of not acknowledging his past loyalty and work in the military with the promotion. the importance of honour and reputation to the male protagonists as it was a sign as strong masculinity at the time.
The character of Othello is pulled toward what he terms Cassio's courtly and aristocratic beauty which Iago describes by saying, "he hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly." Othello in the play feels a sexualised insecurity and jealousy towards Cassio this manifests itself in Othello appointing Cassio second in command despite the fact that he is a inexperienced and unproven gentleman far removed from the grit of battle.
Act 3 Scene 2 is the shortest scene in the play, but it is of great structural significance: Shakespeare makes the decision to immediately precede Othello’s descent into jealousy and insecurity in Act Three, Scene Three with an image of him as the commander of Cyprus, observing the fortifications, confident and in charge (including of Iago, who he commands to send a message) – this is emphasised by the ‘Gentleman’ whose final line is “we’ll wait upon your lordship.” This ordering of scenes allows the audience to see the contrast between Othello in the public and domestic spheres, and the extent of his loss of control as he submits to Iago as the next scene progresses.
The following scene has Iago saying “I see this hath a little dashed your spirits” which may suggest a clear and obvious change in Othello’s demeanour; in performance Iago’s bathetic understatement is sometimes played to cause amusement from an audience, as Shakespeare tightly controls the raising and intermittent diminishing of tension throughout the scene. His fall from being in control to being a victim of insecurity and jealousy is made obvious from the change compared to the previous scene.
Othello is seen as a brave and loyal soldier, but is initially presented as dark and dangerous by Roderigo and Iago. To Brabantio, Othello appears to have black magical powers, but in fact, the private truth is that Othello won Desdemona with stories of “disastrous chances … moving accidents [and] hair-breadth scapes”. Othello is concerned with his reputation and upholds a strict code of honour both privately and publicly. He dismisses Cassio as soon as he discovers his officer’s drunken actions. Similarly, as soon as he suspects Desdemona of adultery, Othello watches her like a hawk. Finally, the act of killing his wife is not an act of revenge for Othello, but of justice. He justifies his actions: “She must die, else she’ll betray more men”. Emilia initially believes that he killed Desdemona for no reason as Desdemona has appeared innocent to her throughout. Othello is an outsider who is intelligent and confident in military matters but socially insecure. He leads an intense life, swinging between triumph and dread. He is different from those around him, due to his origins and his life history, but he shares their religion, values, and patriotism to Venice. Caryl Phillips comments that "Othello feels constantly threatened and profoundly insecure".