Othello Act II starts off with an abrupt end to the war with the Turks. The scene shifts from the beach and slowly closes in to Othello’s home and ends up in his bedroom. What we assumed to be a political tragedy hints into becoming a domestic tragedy. We witness a scene with Iago and Desdemona playfully arguing and creating an uncomfortable atmosphere. This is odd because Othello is still missing. With the combination of Iago’s condescending remarks about women and Desdemona seemingly urging on this behavior, it leaves the audience a little puzzled. Desdemona once again seems to state her independence and does not depend on Othello. Does this whole scene seem to foreshadow a romantic betrayal of Desdemona towards Othello?
Concluding the first scene of Act II, a soliloquy by Iago is given stating all his plans clearly. His motives on the other hand are very muddled. There are numerous possibilities including his lust for Desdemona or his jealousy of Cassio’s position. He even throws in the rumors of Othello and Cassio sleeping with his wife. During the soliloquy he speaks to the audience directly and even seems to mock us for trying to determine his motives, it seems that Iago creates a new justification for every action he has.
I agree with what you’re saying about how Iago’s are very muddled. Iago so far in this play has been very suspicious. At a certain point he becomes an instigator, helping Roderigo bring to Brabantio’s attention that his daughter has married Othello. Which in turn leads to them going up the chain and bringing the problem to the Duke. Iago has taken role in a lot of the arguments/problems in this play. After class discussions it seems to me that everything he does is for his own benefit. The only bad thing is that we don’t know what it is yet, only he does.
I do not believe that Desdemona would ever betray Othello and here’s why. We have learned in Act 1 that anything that comes out of Iago’s mouth cannot be trusted. His argument with Desdemona justify’s that. If he really wanted Desdemona wouldn’t he be trying to woo her while Othello is gone. That is the proper way to “steal” ones girl. As for Iago’s intentions I completely agree when you say they are muddled. From the beginning of this tragedy I have questioned what his motives are. Its like hes doing this just for the fun of it. He doesn’t care if anyone gets hurt, all he cares about is himself. Iago is basically Donald Trump.
I think it’s interesting that it does seem to “foreshadow” a betrayal because we already know that Desdemona never betrayed him. In retrospect, I think the scene you describe and others, such as when Brabantio warns Othello about Desdemona, are more like red-herrings that make us think she is going to betray Othello. We can see it as little misleading details that perpetuate Iago’s lies towards Othello.
Iago at this point in the play is very suspicious. He starts to become an agitator at some points in the play and we start to get to see a side to him that we’ve yet to see. You can start to see how he does everything so that the outcome can benefit him in some way. I’m just waiting to see what he has planned and how he plans to go about it. Maybe we’ll see Iago’s true nature by the end of the book.
This part of the play was definitely an important turning point when Iago started his soliloquy about his intentions. It shows a new side of his character. We see that Iago is very cunning and determined to make sure that things go his way. I think this is important to analyze because it’s the point where in the play where the conflict truly begins. As we continue reading the play we see that Iago’s plans play a huge role in the outcome of this play.