Betrayal In Othello

In the play Othello, by William Shakespeare we are introduced to Othello who is the protagonist and faces a lot of obstacles, one of them being betrayal. Throughout the whole play we witness betrayal from many of the characters through their irrational behavior and actions. However the biggest betrayal we see is from Iago, who is the antagonist, in other words, the villain of the play. Iago plans on having his revenge and betraying Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, Rodrigo and even his wife, Emilia. Betrayal is wrong and something that can’t be forgiven, at the end betrayal breaks friendships as well as lives and trust which never works out well in the end. Desdemona starts the play by being a strong independent woman who does whatever she wants.

Roderigo, is a young and rich man. He becomes furious when he finds out that Othello marries Desdemona. Once again we see how emotions take over the characters and commit foolish decisions.

Roderigo is so in love with Desdemona that he gives all of his money to Iago because Iago promised him that he would help him win Desdemona’s love. Iago once again betrays another one of his victim. He ends up uses all the money Rodrigo gave him, for himself. Not only that, but Iago ends up killing Roderigo, he says, “if Roderigo lives, he’ll expect me to give back all the gold and jewels I swindled him out of as gifts to Desdemona, that must not happen.” Iago stabs Roderigo, and puts all the charges on him. Emilia is Iago’s wife as well as Desdemona’s maid, he lacks attention and sympathy towards her. It is very obvious that he does not care about her. Iago also betrays his wife during the play. Iago used his wife as a tool in order to make it seem like Desdemona and Cassio had an affair. Emilia later in the play no longer wanted to be his accomplice so she accuses Iago of criminal behavior in order to save Desdemona’s reputation. Of course, having Emilia around is no good for Iago so he decides to betray his wife and literally stab

Othello is so blind from jealousy that Iago ends up brainwashing and manipulating Othello into killing his wife. Othello chooses to kill himself after coming to his senses and realizing what he did, he states, “I kissed thee ere I killed thee. No way but this, killing myself, to die upon a kiss.” He now becomes aware that he made the wrong judgements towards the one person who showed him true love and commitment. It is a little too late when Othello eventually realizes that Iago has betrayed him. He states, “the demi-devil Iago has ensnar’d my soul and body” Othello feels bad that Iago betrayed him into believing the worst of his wife.

Betrayal can be harmful, it can not only cause emotional pain but physical as well. We witness the death of characters and broken bonds. Betrayal can destroy one’s life and have an immense impact on others. If Othello would have been a rationalized man he would have discussed his concerns and fears directly with his wife, rather than speculating