Roderigo In Shakespeare's Othello Essay

Some people don’t believe in love; the entire concept was made up by lonely hearts as an explanation, or even an excuse, for being overly-attached to people. Others, however, believe that the sole purpose of life is to love and be loved, and to have someone for whom you would do anything. Though there is a certain beauty behind both ways of thinking, it was to his dismay that Roderigo, from Shakespeare’s Othello, had confidence in the latter of the two. In fact, his character shows that too much of a good thing, which, in his case, was love, can be disastrous.
Whether it is intimate or not, love can generally be described as caring for someone so deeply that you would be willing to make sacrifices for them, and though Desdemona, the subject of Roderigo’s infatuation, did not return this particular emotion, he was more than infatuated with her. His entire character revolved around her; everything he said and did was in an effort to become closer to her. He viewed the relevance of his riches, reputation, and even his own life to be miniscule in comparison to Desdemona, as he paid his friend to set him up with her, tried to sabotage her existing marriage, sent her jewels, schemed to kill a man so she would not be able to leave, and even contemplated suicide when he believed he cannot
be with her.
Though this one-sided relationship with Desdemona, in which he was madly in love with and obsessive over her and she rejected him, somehow gave him a motivation to live, it was also his only, and rather costly, shortcoming.
In being foolish and easily manipulated, he was too blinded with the promise of love to realize the fact that he was being lured into a dangerous situation by Iago, whom he thought to be his friend. This overzealous attempt to be with Desdemona, in which he would assault and murder a former military lieutenant, however, became his last, as it resulted in him failing, being wounded by the former officer, and then fatally falling victim to treachery by the hands of
Iago. While being in love is primarily seen as a sublime and beguiling concept, Roderigo’s fervent love for Desdemona eventually became too overpowering, enveloping him and his mind to the point in which he became injudicious, oblivious to the possible consequences of his actions, and practically consumed by the thought of her. In the loving Desdemona, Roderigo both lived and died. It was as if love was Roderigo’s drug, which, for a short while, was harmless until he became addicted and ultimately overdosed, and with this, Shakespeare makes the point that being overly arduous in pursuit of something positive, whether it be money, love, or success, can have negative repercussions.