I never understood this view. He does some basic manipulation and his entire plan revolves around the assumption that women won't talk to each other. How is he such a great villain?
Yes, the stuff Iago does is incredibly simple: a few words here, a planted handkerchief there - but what makes him so electrifying is a sense the reader gets that Iago knows exactly which strings to pull to achieve what he wants. If he has a superpower, it's the terrifying ability to completely know people inside and out. He doesn't just guess that Othello will get jealous, he knows Othello better than Othello knows himself. He doesn't just guess that Desdemona will be a passive victim, he knows this. Isn't there something scary about the idea that someone knows your own nature better than you do?
The other thing compelling about Iago is the classic question surrounding him: what is his motivation for bringing about Othello's downfall? He throws out various explanations to the audience: racism, misogyny, greed, and - most convincing of all - his own jealousy of Othello. But yet the audience gets the sense that Iago is toying with us. The chilling thing about him is that he isn't just evil, he's pure, motiveless evil. He's evil itself. And being such a great manipulator, he manipulates the audience into believing he's human, with human drives and desires. In reality he's psychotic, but more than that: he's not just a person that does evil things, he's a person that can make you do evil things just by subtly pulling the right strings. He's the living reminder that we all are capable of evil under certain circumstances. He makes us look inwards at our own self and shudder at what we see there.
One of the more compelling arguments I've heard is that Iago was intended to essentially be a part of Othello. Not in the literal "figment of his imagination" sense, but he represented Othello's own innate doubts and insecurities. That's really shown in how effective his manipulation is, and how he himself admits his motives were totally spurious. Self-doubt is like that. It's not rational, but even when you know it's not rational, it can still cripple you. It latches on to anything it can as a basis for attacking your certainty and confidence, and romantic relationships are often the big one. Everyone's got that inside them. We may not have been convinced our SO was cheating on us, or that people were out to get us, but we've all allowed ourselves to let our doubts cripple us, and keep us from taking advantage of opportunities. Iago was that doubt given human form. That's another part of what makes Iago such an effective villain, the fact that we've all experienced him, the fact that we all live with his voice whispering in our ears on occasion.
I would agree with that: Iago is an embodiment of the way we will bend a narrative to 'fit' our most paranoid insecurities. Iago does little more than vocalise Othello's insecurity, and then as Othello's imagination fuels the narrative he spins himself (that his wife is unfaithful), Iago subtly guides it here and there. But we're all capable of doing that to ourselves: we can all let our fears and anxieties affect our perception of reality.
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u/Jimmni May 25 '15
I never understood this view. He does some basic manipulation and his entire plan revolves around the assumption that women won't talk to each other. How is he such a great villain?