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Was Othello gullible or duped? Posted by ghoststains on Oct 14, 2009. |
Othello Group
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I think that he is a little of both. He is gullible in the sense that an astute military leader should have better judgment than an average citizen. However, no one can deny that Iago is a master manipulator. He fools Cassio (also a military leader), Desdemona (an aristocratic young woman), his own wife Emilia, Roderick, Montano (a governor)--for a while, and obviously much of Venetian society to be in the position that he was in at the play's beginning. In this sense, Othello is duped, and the prejudice of his day contributed to his believing Iago; so the villain has many advantages over the hero. Posted by scarletpimpernel on Oct 15, 2009. |
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Although Othello was not a weak or gullible person by nature, he was an easy mark for Iago in one respect, and Iago took full advantage of it. Othello was vulnerable to the idea that Desdemona did not truly love him and would betray him because he doubted his own value in her eyes. He assumed that she could not really love him because of who he was--a man of color. This personal insecurity was the weakness through which Iago manipulated him, playing into all of Othello's doubts and fears. Posted by mshurn on Oct 17, 2009. |

