Scene Three: Key Ideas

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Love, Historical Context and Historicism (Act 3, Scene 3)

Othello seems more bothered by shared possession of Desdemona, which damages his public honour, than by the hurt of private betrayal.

Desdemona aids Iago’s case by being excessive, and therefore arousing suspicion.
She also criticises Othello for ‘mammering on’, and makes an unfortunate connection between Cassio and wooing by using the ambiguous word ‘suitor’.
Othello also paves the way for Iago’s assault by saying that without Desdemona’s love ‘Chaos is come again’.

The word ‘satisfaction’ is used several times in this scene by Iago, who gives it a sexual connotation as well as the meaning of satisfying curiosity with knowledge; he taunts Othello with it in both senses.
Othello and Iago share lines as well as diction throughout this scene, indicating the bond forming between them.
They almost ‘re-marry’ each other and form each other’s sentences like lovers.

Much use is made by Iago of words relating to vision, working on Othello’s imagination about his love and a need for ‘ocular proof’.
Othello sets up his own imprisoning process of thinking and acting when he avows: ‘I’ll see before I doubt; when I doubt, prove / And on the proof... Away at once with love or jealousy!’.
This may seem reasonable, but it excludes the essential stage in the pursuit of truth of speaking to the accused to check if there is another point of view or explanation.

There is also the logistical problem of proving things: one can prove adultery but not fidelity, and there is no one to present the case for the defence.

Othello seems more bothered by shared possession of Desdemona, which damages his public honour, than by the hurt of private betrayal.
Therefore he offers a curious response to personal and private love.
He seems more concerned about his public image.

The relentless pace is kept up here. This is often known as the ‘temptation’ or ‘corruption’ scene.

The relentless pace removes opportunity for questions to creep into Othello’s mind or for him to meet Cassio and Desdemona during this onslaught.
The temptation, as with the apple in Eden, is of forbidden knowledge; Iago knows something which Othello does not, which drives him mad, first with curiosity and then with doubt.
Othello cannot bear to ‘know’t a little’ and becomes obsessed with the need to know more, which was Eve’s original ‘tragic’ sin.

Iago finds himself alone with Othello at this key moment, which may be attributed to Desdemona having gone too far in her insistent demands on Cassio’s behalf and his needing a bit of peace.
Again, this suggests the tragic division between them.

Iago dominates the dialogue by controlling its content, having more lines, and imposing his animalistic diction.
He has won the battle between the orators: Othello’s speeches have not only become short but repetitive, grammatically incomplete and highly exclamatory—even inarticulate.
This change in Othello’s formerly poetic language to him being only able to make sounds and brief utterances perfectly demonstrates the shift he is experiencing and linguistically represents his tragic fall.

Once evil spirits are conjured, the process of doubt can no more reversed than the ‘compulsive course’ of the sea with which Othello again identifies himself.
This sense of compulsion is important to note as the tragedy now seems fixed and inevitable.
There is therefore a compulsion to kill Desdemona for betraying him.

During this scene an extraordinary transformation takes place, and Othello and Iago have become conspirators in a double murder plot.
Othello is no longer noble.
The spiral extends downwards and it will be hard for him to climb back up again.
At his point Othello is almost like a ventriloquist’s dummy with Iago as the ventriloquist.