Othello & His True Love

Shakespeare’s “The tragedy of Othello” is often seen as a tragic love story, however a closer look at his behavior shows that his actions were derived more because of his love with honor rather than by love for Desdemona. Even though his marriage seems to be built on pillars of love they seem to be more affected by the fact that being cuckolded will ruin his reputation than the fact that he actually got cuckolded. 

As a Moor Othello is viewed as an outsider in Venice. Despite the respect he has gained from his military achievements, he still feels infuriated when questioned about his wife's faithfulness. He gains prestige and becomes a symbol of his hard-won acceptance when he marries the noble Venetian woman Desdemona. Othello views Desdemona as a symbol of approval as well as affection.

Instead of acting out of jealousy, Othello reacts out of fear of losing his honor when Iago implies that Desdemona is unfaithful. The concept of shame drives him since his sense of self-worth is so closely linked to his reputation. The idea of having his marriage questioned and being publicly humiliated is intolerable. His fixation with repairing his ruined image overshadows his marital life and ends up murdering his wife. 

Before killing himself he speaks of his “love” for Desdemona but it's obvious that he does so just to justify his actions. He claims that his motivation to brutally murder Desdemona was his love for her. As silly as it sounds he does this to protect his honor. Othello's sorrow ultimately lies in the fact that he loved his honor more than his wife, not because he loved too much.