Othello's War

OTHELLO ESSAY- IMPORTANCE OF WAR

Othello is a man of war- it is all he has ever known and he has now proved himself a worthy soldier, which has given rise to the status he holds. His tales of battles and hardship are the determining factor in Desdemona’s initial adoration towards him. And without his heroic achievements in war, Othello remains an ‘outsider’ in the society of Venice. Therefore war essentially defines him as a character, and becomes highly important throughout the play. In both the extracts we see Othello as a man dominated by war, who acts with the approach of a soldier, all the time being manipulated by Iago in a ‘psychological’ war.

In Act one, scene three, Othello presents himself as a soldier, and acknowledges that
By undertaking “these present wars against the Ottomites”, he places his familiar military role over that of his new found role as Desdemona’s husband. He does not seek her advice on an upheaval to Cyprus, but simply assumes that he is the commander in the relationship, as he would be on the battlefield. We also see that Othello places little importance on loyalty, but rather focuses more on military conquests, for he is in fact sent to fight his own people. From this we can see that war dominates his mind- the professional is more important than the personal. Essentially he is a mercenary, and it can be argued that he is seen as expendable by the Venetians, as a “substitute of most
Initially Othello’s tales of war and exoticism are what draws Desdemona to him “she loved me for the dangers I had passed”. However, because of Othello’s military background, he is inexperienced in dealing with relationships and cannot detach from the role of military general, and when faced with the accusations against Desdemona, he responds with the manner of a soldier. Essentially, he acts before he thinks, and instead of being judicious and fair, he responds rashly. On the battlefield this would not be a negative trait, as one does not necessarily have the time to contemplate decisions, but it is harmful to his marriage with Desdemona, his friendship with Cassio and his reputation, and it is one of the flaws that leads to his downfall. During the play it is the men of war who dominate the women- initially Emilia’s loyalty is to Iago, she speaks of how she would do “nothing but to please his fantasy”, although towards the mid-point of the play she realises her mistakes and instead turns her loyalty towards Desdemona. Desdemona also has little say in this environment, and makes a disastrous mistake by involving herself in the soldierly business of Cassio. War is also a connection between the characters- Othello trusts Iago as he has fought alongside him, and therefore he cannot trust Desdemona in this way, Iago of course uses this to his advantage. However the real