Othello Act II

                One of the most unique and interesting portions of Act II of William Shakespeare’s Othello was the conversation conducted between Desdemona, Iago, and Emilia about four different types of women. While I admit that I am not entirely sure what the significance of this conversation may be to the remaining action in the play, I do believe that this conversation provides important insights into Iago’s character and perception of women. To briefly summarize, Iago ultimately circumvents genuinely complimenting any type of woman by providing only left-handed compliments of woman at best. He describes beautiful and smart women as having the brains to utilize their beauty to gain a man; beautiful and dumb women as being without worry since their foolishness will make them more attractive in the eyes of men; smart and ugly women having the wit to marry an uglier man so as to make herself look even prettier; and dumb and ugly women as using the exact same tricks as beautiful and smart women. Ultimately, the message which Iago is attempting to convey is that he sees little value or significance in woman. After a long passage describing the perfectly obedient, inferior, and servile woman in Act II, i, 147-156, he finally concludes that “She was a wight, if ever such wight were… to suckle fools and chronicle small beer” (Shakespeare, Act II, i, 157-159).

                While I may be unsure as to whether or not this conversation will have any greater significance in the rest of the play, I do believe that this conversation is noteworthy simply in the fact that it shows Iago’s detestation for women. Since the reader can now plainly see that he views all women as having ulterior motives in order to find a husband and satisfy their desires, understanding his intention to bring about Othello and Cassio’s destruction by spreading lies about affairs seems much more plausible and logical. Furthermore, this conversation is important to understanding the relationship which Iago has with his wife and the way he intends to manipulate it in the future. When addressing Cassio after he kisses Emilia in greeting upon her arrival in Cyprus, Iago remarks that, “Sir, would she give you so much of her lips as of her tongue shoe oft bestows on me, you’d have enough” (Shakespeare, Act II, i, 100-102). Therefore, while Iago clearly has no respect or love for his wife, he intends to keep her as his wife for as long as she can be useful to him. As the rest of the play progresses, the reader may find that understanding the opinions and perceptions of Iago revealed in this conversation are necessary to understanding his actions and motives.