Othello - justice Flashcards
“Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore;
Be sure of it. Give me the ocular proof,
Or, by the worth of mine eternal soul
Thou hadst been better have been born a dog
Than answer my waked wrath!” (Othello 3.3)
-In response to Iago’s insinuations about Des. he demands “ocular proof” - evidence that will visually verify the allegation against his wife.
-His emphasis on the need for Iago to “prove [his] love a whore” demonstrates commitment to justice.
-However this commitment to law & reason also comes into direct conflict with his emotional & irrational response to Iago’s rumourmongering.
-This conflict disrupts Oth. otherwise black-and-white understanding of the world & leads to disastrous consequences.
“It is the cause; it is the cause, my soul.
Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars;
It is the cause.” (Othello 5.2)
-Utters as enters Des. chambers with intent to kill.
-His refrain of “the cause, the cause” indicates his need to convince himself of the justness of his planned actions.
-This refrain also recalls Emilia’s words earlier where she claimed that jealous individuals “are not ever jealous for the [stated] cause”.
-Oth. insistence on “the cause” may serve to conceal his innate jealousy and thereby subvert his commitment to legal procedure.
“O perjured woman, thou dost stone my heart,
And mak’st me call what I intend to do
A murder, which I thought a sacrifice” (Othello 5.2)
-Addresses to Des.
-Word choice again signals commitment to law -calling Des. “perjured woman” implies that by denying allegations against her she has lied under oath.
-Des. supposed false testimony has dire consequences for Oth. interpretation of her death.
-He sees her execution as lawfully necessary & therefore “a sacrifice”, if she is actually speaking the truth it would make him a murderer - uncertainty she causes him turns his heart to stone.
