The third scene begins with a dialogue between Desdemona and Cassio. Desdemona promises Cassio that she will help Cassio and will not stop until Othello agrees to allow Cassio to return as his lieutenant.
Just as Desdemona and Cassio are finishing their discussion, Othello, along with Iago, returns to the city (that is, they appear on stage, coming in from the back). Cassio, still embarrassed about the way he had become drunk and disorderly, decides that he should wait until Desdemona talks with Othello before he approaches Othello himself. So, Cassio exits (on the opposite side of the stage) as Othello and Iago converse.
As they watch Cassio depart, Iago exclaims, “Ha! I like not that” (33). And then he adds that he would not believe that Cassio “would steal away so guilty-like” (38). If Iago had not made these comments, Othello, who usually assumes that people are generally good and honest, would not have thought that anything suspicious was occurring. Cassio’s departure was not motivated by guilt; rather, it was motivated by embarrassment. But Iago’s words suggest that Cassio is acting improperly. Iago wants Othello to think that Cassio is guilty of something. Iago then subtly pretends to act as if he thinks Cassio is innocent. This is the first seed of suspicion. Iago wants Othello to doubt the honesty of Cassio. Then, little by little, Iago will make additional comments so that Othello’s doubt grows and grows. At this point, though, Iago’s scheme is just beginning to develop.
And Iago’s seed works. When Desdemona asks Othello to speak to Cassio right away, Othello refuses (line 56). He is bothered by Iago’s comments and wants time to consider the situation. Desdemona, then, gives a very impassioned speech (lines 61-75) about Cassio’s friendship with Othello and how Othello owes Cassio this much. Othello, then, agrees to do as Desdemona asks: “I will deny thee nothing” (84). But, because of his doubt, Othello asks Desdemona if he can speak with Cassio at some later time. Desdemona accepts, and then exits.
Othello is then left alone on the stage with Iago, and Iago continues to add to Othello’s doubts about Cassio. Iago is quite crafty and sly. He hesitates as though he is reluctant to say anything negative about Cassio, and he argues that he should keep his thoughts to himself. But this makes Othello all the more curious. So, Othello practically forces Iago to tell him why he suspects Cassio.
Iago’s craftiness works on Othello exactly as Iago hopes. Othello falls for Iago’s con. But all along, Othello never suspects Iago. In fact, Othello’s dialogue is also full of irony when he attempts to assess Iago’s character. In regards to Iago’s hesitant or reluctant speech, Othello states the following:
For such things in a false disloyal knave
Are tricks of custom, but in a man that’s just,
They’re close dilations, working from the heart
That passion cannot rule. (126-29)
Iago is a false disloyal knave, but Othello never sees it. Othello is basically stating that a dishonest man will be hesitant in his speech to trick or fool others, but an honest man is hesitant because he is sorely troubled in his heart. Othello’s comment is correct, but Othello is most incorrect in believing that Iago is an honest man.
Some of the best and most often quoted lines of the play also occur during this dialogue. For example, Iago asserts the following:
Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls.
Who steals my purse steals trash; ‘tis something,
nothing;
‘Twas mine, ‘tis his, and has been slave to thousands.
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed. (160-66)
In these lines Iago contradicts what he had said earlier. A “good name” refers to reputation. Here Iago is asserting that reputation is the most important quality a man can have. Once again, the concept of reputation is tied to honor and virtue. Iago has not changed his mind, though. Rather, he is lying. He is telling Othello this as part of his con. Essentially, Iago is saying that he does not wish to dishonor or ruin the good name of Cassio. But, of course, he really does wish to make Cassio look like a villain to Othello. And Iago knows that his hesitation or reluctance to say anything bad about Cassio will make Othello more curious and more anxious to find out what Iago knows (or pretends to know) about Cassio.
In these famous lines Iago compares reputation to money, which is indicated by the word purse. Iago is stating that money is really nothing.
This is the belief that Christians proposed in the Middle Ages (see, for example, the morality play Everyman). A person cannot take his money or goods with him to heaven when he dies. He can only take his soul and its virtue. Thus, Iago states that the only true wealth is a good name (reputation, honor, virtue). The passage is practically comical when one considers that Iago believes the exact opposite. Iago is greedy, as the audience already well knows.
Iago’s words have exactly the effect that he wants. Othello swears that he will know what Iago is thinking (166). And this leads to Iago’s famous definition of jealousy:
O, beware, my lord, of jealousy.
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on. That cuckold lives in bliss Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger. But O, what damned minutes tells he o’er
Who dotes yet doubts, suspects but fondly loves!
(169-74)
This personification of jealousy as a monster has become a common idea in western culture. The first sentence suggests that the more jealous a person becomes, the worse he becomes – and the more ridiculous he becomes. Jealousy makes a person absurd or crazy. Thus, jealousy makes fun of or ridicules the person who is jealous. In the second sentence, Iago suggests that a cuckold (a man whose wife is having an affair) who knows that his wife is unfaithful can only be happy if he does not love his wife. The word wronger here refers to the unfaithful wife. In the last sentence, the word tells means counts (to count) and the word fondly means foolishly. Thus, Iago is declaring that a man who loves his wife but who suspects her of being unfaithful will suffer greatly: each minute will be one of agony for him. Iago knows that Othello does belong to this second category of men: he does love his wife. Iago thus predicts what Othello will soon be experiencing. This is foreshadowing. Iago warns Othello, but Othello will not heed the warning. Jealousy is such a powerful emotion that even if one knows the dangers of it, he still cannot avoid those dangers.
One might also pause here to take a moment to think about the character of Iago. Where Othello belongs to the second category of men, Iago belongs to the first. He is not affected or infected by jealousy.
Iago, then, does not love his wife.
Othello responds to Iago’s comments on jealousy. In a short speech, he declares that he is above the effects of jealousy (lines 180-96). He is basically asserting that he is superior to the emotion of jealousy (another example of Othello’s pride). In this speech Othello states that as long as there is no proof regarding the infidelity of Desdemona, he cannot be jealous. He trusts her completely. And if there is definite proof, he still will not become jealous. Rather, he believes, if there is proof, he would push Desdemona out of his life and never think about her again. Othello asserts here a rational response to what one might do concerning an unfaithful wife. But, as Shakespeare illustrates time and again, when a strong and powerful emotion asserts itself, reason disappears. Very soon Iago will cast doubts and suspicions, and very soon Othello will become crazy with jealousy.
Iago attacks Othello’s rational response in a sly manner. Othello suggests that Desdemona is too virtuous to be capable of deception. But Iago reminds Othello that Desdemona “did deceive her father, marrying you” (210). So, if Desdemona is capable of deceiving her father, then she must also be capable of deceiving Othello. Again, Iago takes the truth and stretches it or exaggerates it to make it appear different than it really is. And again Iago’s words have the desired effect on Othello. Othello immediately begins to doubt the fidelity of his wife.