They don’t seem to know each other very well eg Desdemona is sure that Othello would never become jealous. It’s an immature relationship, unlike that of Antony and Cleopatra, who are well aware of each other’s faults! Their knowledge even of themselves can be patchy. Othello comments that he’s old enough not to feel ‘the young effects of passion’ yet he’s adolescent in many of his emotional reactions. Their love is incredibly idealistic; it’s difficult to see how it could survive in the real world and makes them very vulnerable.
Desdemona’s possible infidelity – NB even the implication of a wife’s infidelity could seriously injure her husband’s reputation and could undermine his authority. Apart from the inevitable embarrassment at being the butt of jokes about cuckolds, the implication would be that if he couldn’t govern his wife properly, he wouldn’t be able to govern an army or state. Elizabethans believed strongly in political, social and domestic hierarchies, all of which intertwined to create ultimate order.
Iago cleverly blends elements of truth in his lies eg Desdemona can deceive – she deceives her father by running off to marry Othello but she’s not a liar by nature. She has integrity and faces her father when possible. She lies about the handkerchief but the audience can understand why – Othello is bullying her and she wants to avoid unpleasantness; she may well be a bit afraid of him.
Desdemona is impulsively good; in agreeing to help Cassio she pesters Othello – she’s too helpful! He jokes that she’ll make him lose patience by nagging – she’s unwise. She’s attractive and loving and given lyrical lines and touching scenes eg when she asks Emilia how she can win Othello back. Othello is fundamentally idealistic in his approach to Desdemona but when he fears that she has been unfaithful his language becomes very sensual – images of taste and smell are often juxtaposed with images of foulness and corruption
Jealousy leads to a temporary perversion of his passion. Jealousy isn’t necessarily a defining feature of Othello’s character. In The Winter’s Tale Leontes is a man whose jealousy is a ‘diseas’d opinion’; it’s self-engendered and self-perpetuated, unlike Othello’s. Leontes has been married for years and should know his wife and he’s surrounded by people who tell him Hermione is innocent. Othello’s attitude is perhaps symptomatic of vulnerability due to being middle aged, newly married, an outsider and of a different race – there are a number of complicated factors. Othello only has Emilia to counteract the poison of Iago’s suggestions; it’s natural that he should trust Iago, whose word he takes in preference to that of a ‘simple bawd’.
Killing Desdemona – we can interpret Othello’s actions as a fatal expression of uncontrolled anger, a response to what he perceives to be justice, or a mixture of both, each fuelling the other. When he realises that he has committed murder and not justice, he kills himself, again responding to the perceived demands of justice. When he kills himself, he shows the courage and control of the warrior, rather as Macbeth ultimately reasserts his warrior values in facing justice and certain death at the hands of Macduff. Othello believes that he’s sending himself to torment and eternal separation from Desdemona. He asks that his great love and perplexity be recorded but not extenuated.
The relationship between Iago and Roderigo is built almost entirely on exploitation. Roderigo believes he has found a loyal friend and confidant who will help him win Desdemona, but the audience quickly realises that Iago sees him only as a “fool” and a “purse”. Roderigo’s romantic obsession makes him gullible; he is willing to hand over his money, jewels and dignity because Iago feeds him a steady diet of empty promises. In their scenes together, we see a grotesque parody of friendship: where genuine friendship would involve honesty and mutual care, Iago offers only manipulation and contempt.
Roderigo functions as a useful tool for Iago’s larger plot. Iago uses him to stir up Brabantio at the beginning of the play, to finance his schemes throughout, and eventually to act as his weapon against Cassio. Each time Roderigo expresses doubt or threatens to walk away, Iago reels him back in with a mixture of flattery, bullying and false logic. This dynamic exposes how easily someone desperate for love or status can be controlled by a stronger, more cynical personality. Roderigo’s emotional dependency on Iago mirrors Othello’s misplaced trust, but in a more pathetic, almost comic key.
The relationship ultimately reveals Iago’s capacity for casual cruelty. Roderigo is not his main target – he is simply collateral damage. Yet Iago has no hesitation in stabbing him when it becomes convenient, silencing the one person who could expose him. Roderigo dies realising too late that he has been used and discarded. Their relationship therefore demonstrates one of the play’s central ideas: that evil often advances not through open violence at first, but through the quiet exploitation of weak, naive people who think they are in safe hands.
The relationship between Desdemona and Emilia is one of the most moving in the play. At first they seem like opposites: Desdemona is idealistic, sheltered and romantic, while Emilia is older, more experienced and sharply aware of how men mistreat women. Despite these differences, there is genuine affection between them. Emilia is more than a servant; she acts as Desdemona’s confidante, listening patiently as Desdemona worries about Othello’s changing behaviour. In their conversations we see Desdemona’s innocence tested and Emilia’s tough realism coming to the surface.
The famous “willow” scene in Act 4 highlights the depth of their bond. As Desdemona prepares for bed, sensing on some level that disaster is near, she turns to Emilia with childlike questions about infidelity and marriage. Emilia replies with startling honesty, suggesting that men’s failings often drive women to betray them and that wives have the same desires and emotions as husbands. Desdemona is shocked by this perspective, but she doesn’t reject Emilia; instead, the scene shows two women trying to make sense of a world where male power constantly endangers them. Their relationship gives the audience a rare glimpse of female solidarity in a deeply patriarchal environment.
Tragically, Emilia’s earlier involvement in Iago’s plot – stealing the handkerchief and handing it over without asking enough questions – contributes to Desdemona’s death. However, Emilia ultimately chooses loyalty to Desdemona and to the truth over loyalty to her husband. When she discovers what has happened, she openly defies Othello and exposes Iago, even though she knows it may cost her her life. In doing so, she becomes Desdemona’s final defender and voice. Their relationship therefore charts a movement from everyday companionship to heroic sacrifice, and it underlines how women in the play are forced to navigate love, loyalty and survival in a world stacked against them.
The relationship between Iago and Othello is one of the most disturbing aspects of the play because it is built on absolute trust on one side and absolute deceit on the other. Othello repeatedly refers to Iago as “honest Iago” and treats him as a loyal subordinate whose judgment can be relied upon. As a soldier, Othello is used to depending on his officers in battle, and he transfers this habit of trust into his private life. Iago cleverly presents himself as blunt, plain-spoken and reluctant to speak ill of others, which makes Othello see him as the one man who will tell him the truth.
Iago, however, knows exactly how to weaponise this trust. He understands Othello’s insecurities about his race, age and lack of social polish, and he drip-feeds suggestions that play directly into these anxieties. Crucially, he never directly accuses Desdemona at first; instead, he poses questions, hints at “Venetian women” being deceptive, and claims to be protecting Othello from unpleasant knowledge. This performance of concern makes his lies seem like an act of friendship. The intimacy of their conversations – full of shared secrets, oaths and vows – gives Iago enormous power over Othello’s imagination.
As the play progresses, the balance of power in the relationship shifts completely. Othello declares he is “bound” to Iago forever and kneels with him in a kind of twisted marriage ceremony, effectively giving Iago control over his thoughts and actions. By the time the truth comes out, Othello feels not only betrayed by Iago but also humiliated by the realisation that he has allowed himself to be led “by the nose as asses are”. The relationship ends in horror: Iago refuses to explain himself and falls into silence, while Othello turns his desire for justice on himself. Their relationship thus exposes how devastating it can be when trust is given to someone who understands you deeply but chooses to use that knowledge against you.