EVIL IAGO

What makes this evil character tick?  Let’s take a look.

I have spent many sleepless nights psychoanalyzing my subject, the evil Mr. Iago, who is the antagonist of Othello.  This is what I have concluded.

Enraged        

Iago is an extremely unhappy man in general.  He is mad at Othello for naming Cassio as his second in command.  He is unhappily married.  He has also seen terrible things at war, which could contribute to his anger management issues.

Villainous

Villainous is the exact definition of Iago.  He is evil to his core.  His character is cruel and malicious.  He is an extremely vile human being and he only cares about himself and does not care that he hurts people to get to the top.  He is a cunning man and will not let anything stop him from reaching his ultimate goal, which is basically to get everyone to turn on each other and have miserable lives.  He is a complete trouble maker.

Insecure        

Iago must have had something happen in his life to make him so insecure and envious of everyone and everything around him.  Insecure people tend to be very cruel and put others down just so that they can feel better about themselves.  Iago does this all the time, especially when he is talking to or about women. 

Liar

Iago is such a backstabbing, conniving, sneaky LIAR.  He honestly lies about everything.  He tells one person one thing and then turns and tells another person something completely opposite.  He lies and lies and lies to make sure people are doing what he wants and thinking he is a good person and helping them and being their friend.  But really, he is the only one that knows the truth. 

Intelligent          

People that are this evil have to be intelligent.  Iago is the smartest one out of all of these characters.  He manipulates everyone and somehow manages to keep all of his secrets to himself.  Roderigo is the only one who knows that Iago is seeking revenge on Othello, but even Roderigo himself, is being manipulated.  Iago is always planning what his next move is and how that move will start the next plot and so on.  He is super smart to figure this entire plan out and not get caught.

Anti-feminist

Iago is a misogynist or women-hater.  No one knows exactly why.  He believes that women should be restricted to household chores only and are good for reproducing.  He is very mean to them all of the time.  Poor Emilia, Iago’s wife, is treated like dirt and she can hardly even stick up for herself because Iago will always keep saying mean things.  He believes that the perfect woman does not exist.

Guileful

Iago is extremely guileful, or cunning and deceptive.  He tricks each and every person into thinking he is doing well for them, when really he is just manipulating them into getting what he wants.  He is such a deceiving character because in every situation, except maybe when he is talking to Emilia and Desdemona on the beach, he is looking as if he is always doing the right thing.  But then, we see what he is truly thinking in that evil mind of his.  He goes around using everyone and pretending to be the “good and honest Iago.”

Observant

Iago has to be observant or else he could never figure out everything that he has.  He pays attention to the small details so then he can go using them against people.  He also picks things out and then twists them around to be half-truths and gets people into trouble.  For example, when Cassio kisses Desdemona and holds her hands out of respect, he twists it into a scheme and says that Cassio and Desdemona are already in love.

In conclusion, Iago is an all-around terrible human being.  Why does he do the many atrocious things that he does?  Well, I hope I contributed to answering this question and uncovering the mystery behind this evil man in this psychoanalysis.