In William Shakespeare's play Othello, the protagonist, Othello, a respected Moorish general in the army of Venice, descends into murderous jealousy against his wife. Othello is initially portrayed as a heroic and successful military leader whose thoughts are governed by logic and reason. Unfortunately, Othello has some tragic flaws: he is gullible, suffers from low self-esteem due to his race and age, and, like many men of this era, contemptuous of women. All of these factors play a role in Othello's ultimate downfall, however, Iago's exploitation of Othello's flaw is the main reason why Othello is driven by jealousy to the point that it consumes his entire existence, this which leads to the tragic outcome of the play. Iago's incessant deception and lies cause Othello's judgment to be overshadowed by insecurity, jealousy, and lack of trust in his wife, leading to his tragic demise. Despite Othello's status, he naively seems to trust Iago who insinuates that Desdemona is committing adultery. Ironically, Othello is easily suspicious of his own wife. Hoover Jordan illustrates the attitude of men towards women: "Othello foolishly trusts all men, or in Edward Dowden's more elaborate phrase, 'he looks at men with a gaze too great and too regal to suspect them of malignancy and fraud.” From there to the contemptuous expression of Frank Harris, “a gullible imbecile”, there is only one step. Consequently, such a man, placed in the context of a highly civilized society, cannot know much about "all the absurdities, pretenses, selfishness, lust and baseness which, especially in a rich and refined society, are rampant everywhere. Having innocently entered into a “hasty, poorly married and unexpected marriage”, he seems almost condemned to lose confidence in his wife. »...... middle of paper ...... hero reduced to a cold-blooded murderer due to his jealousy, his trust in a villain, and ironically, his distrust of his own wife. Works CitedCassal, Steve "Shakespeare's OTHELLO." March 22, 2010. Hadfield, Andrew. "Race in 'Othello': the 'History and Description of Africa' and the Black Legend." Notes and requests. 45.3 (September 1998): p336. , Hoover H. “Dramatic Illusion in Othello”. Shakespeare Quarterly 1.3 (1950): 146-152. MLA International Bibliography March 29, 2010. Neely, Carol Thomas. such a fool/To do with such a good woman?'." Shakespeare Studies 10. (1977): 133. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. March 20, 2010. Shakespeare, William. Othello. Ed. Russ McDonald. New York : Pelican, 2001.