Iago vs Krogstad
Who’s to Blame? In the plays Othello, the Moor of Venice, written by William Shakespeare and A Doll 's House, written by Henrik Ibsen; we are witness to two marriages that slowly collapse throughout the play with both ending tragically. Many believe that the characters of Iago and Krogstad played a major role and are mostly to blame for the disintegration of the marriages. I agree that it was a man in both cases that caused the relationships to crumble, but which man is really to blame?
In Othello, Iago is a villainous person who is filled with hatred, jealousy and an undeniable lust for power. He influences and manipulates everyone close to him for the sole purpose of destroying their lives.
Motivated by hate and jealousy, Iago begins his manipulative ways on Othello by suggesting that his wife, Desdemona is having an affair with Othello’s newly appointed lieutenant, Cassio. Othello respects Iago as an honest and loyal person so he believes the circumstantial evidence that Iago presents to him, “by heaven, I’ll know thy thoughts”. (1337)
Throughout the play, Iago constantly fuels Othello 's suspicions until his jealousy and mistrust for his wife grow to the point that he finally kills her and himself. Iago is an evil person but that is all he is guilty of being. Othello was a proven warrior and was respected by high ranking officials because of his proven leadership. However, Othello was a bad judge of character and exercised poor judgment throughout the play by blindly and naively believing Iago’s lies. He did not trust the people that truly loved him and were most loyal to him. This character flaw was exploited masterfully by Iago, to the point that Othello became insanely jealous of the perceived affair between Desdemona and Cassio. In the play A Doll’s House, Nils Krogstad is a desperate man, but not necessarily an evil person. He has committed a minor indiscretion in the past which caused society to turn its back on him. He threatens to
In Othello, Iago is a villainous person who is filled with hatred, jealousy and an undeniable lust for power. He influences and manipulates everyone close to him for the sole purpose of destroying their lives.
Motivated by hate and jealousy, Iago begins his manipulative ways on Othello by suggesting that his wife, Desdemona is having an affair with Othello’s newly appointed lieutenant, Cassio. Othello respects Iago as an honest and loyal person so he believes the circumstantial evidence that Iago presents to him, “by heaven, I’ll know thy thoughts”. (1337)
Throughout the play, Iago constantly fuels Othello 's suspicions until his jealousy and mistrust for his wife grow to the point that he finally kills her and himself. Iago is an evil person but that is all he is guilty of being. Othello was a proven warrior and was respected by high ranking officials because of his proven leadership. However, Othello was a bad judge of character and exercised poor judgment throughout the play by blindly and naively believing Iago’s lies. He did not trust the people that truly loved him and were most loyal to him. This character flaw was exploited masterfully by Iago, to the point that Othello became insanely jealous of the perceived affair between Desdemona and Cassio. In the play A Doll’s House, Nils Krogstad is a desperate man, but not necessarily an evil person. He has committed a minor indiscretion in the past which caused society to turn its back on him. He threatens to
Cited: Ibsen, Henrik. “A Doll’s House”. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia, 12th Ed. New Jersey: Pearson, 2013. 1598-1650. Print. Shakespeare, William. “Othello, the Moor of Venice”. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia, 12th Ed. New Jersey: Pearson, 2013. 1290-1390. Print.