Othello is another of Shakespeare’s characters that constantly puzzles and challenges me.  How could a man so accustomed to making major decisions, affecting the lives of thousands, be manipulated by a scheming underling?  Why did he believe and accept Iago’s suggestions over the word of Desdemona, the woman he loved and married?

It involves a complicated set of circumstances, not uncommon to this very day.  People in power often build close, trusting relationships with a single person, often over a period of years; someone who has seen them struggle and survive; someone who knows their fears and vulnerabilities; someone who has helped them overcome personal and professional problems, and someone who knows their weaknesses and strengths.  Ultimately, given some twist in that relationship, the aide is in a position of enormous power to destroy his leader if he so wishes.

Why now?  Why does Iago try to destroy his leader?  Two events occur at the same time: one, Othello bypasses Iago, giving Cassio the position of lieutenant Iago long hoped would be his; and two, Othello marries a young, beautiful woman from Venetian nobility.  In both cases, Iago loses standing with Othello.  Out of jealousy and anger, Iago is now in a position to change the dynamics of the relationship.

Othello now becomes the victim of Iago’s evil plan.  His fears and vulnerabilities are brought to the surface by Iago’s succession of suggestions.  Yes, Othello was afraid Desdemona would leave him for a younger man; yes, he was afraid if he lost his position of power and glamour, and she was no longer the “commander’s wife,” she would leave him.  And, yes, those fears were based on real possibilities.

Influenced by Iago’s suggestions, Othello goes over the edge.  The only way he can prevent her from leaving him, in his irrational state of mind, is to kill her.

Only too late, does Othello see what Iago’s evil plan has wrought.  Does he know he has been manipulated?  Does he know it was he who gave Iago the power over him?

Coming to Shakespeare at this point in my life, I find myself particularly drawn to several of his distinct characters.  Shylock in The Merchant of Venice is one. For centuries, his name has represented a “crooked” Jew trying to cheat an “honest” Christian.  But when I read the play recently, the character of Shylock suddenly took on a completely different meaning for me.

Wait a minute!  Wasn’t Shylock only seeking to be repaid what was honestly owed him?  Antonio asks for a loan with no collateral. What guarantee does Shylock have that he will be repaid?  Coming from his weak position in society, he uses the strongest guarantee available to him – a pound of flesh – and Antonio agrees to the deal.

Did Antonio even intend to repay it?  Maybe not, but what choices did Shylock have?  Even Shylock’s daughter defects, leaving him feeling not only vulnerable but abandoned.

In fact, he had generously given a loan to someone with little prospect of repayment, yet he is treated as a villain.  And, in the end, not only does he not get his honest due; he is vilified and forced to convert.  All this not because he was wrong, but because he was an alien in his society; he had no recourse.

Since Shakespeare and his father both dabbled in money lending he knew first-hand how difficult it could be to collect his due.  How much more for a Jew?

In his representation of Shylock, I believe Shakespeare presents this dilemma to his audience brilliantly, with empathy for his situation and for the man.

“I am a Jew.  Hath not a Jew eyes?  Hath not a Jew hands, organ dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, heal’d by the same means warm’d and cool’d by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is?  If you prick us, do we not bleed?  If you tickle us, do we not laugh?  If you poison us, do we not die?  And if you wrong us, do we not revenge?  If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that.”

As usual, Shakespeare was able to see and present the multi-faceted sides of human nature.