Othello’s Hubris
Introduction
Most people have heard the phrase “pride comes before a fall”. The proverb is a warning against excessive confidence because it will lead to terrible failure and shame. It is a reminder that we should always act with grace and understand our own flaws and fallibility. The King James Version of the Bible offers a good translation of the line from the Book of Proverbs (18):
“Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Modern definitions of hubris focus on this foolish “pride” and how a character’s arrogance will result in their inevitable “destruction”. An excellent example of this character arc is Othello. His lack of humility is a crucial element in his transformation from the “valiant” General to the jealous husband who murders his innocent wife.
Confidence
The theme of extravagant pride is introduced at the very start of the play when Iago accuses Othello of “loving his own pride and purposes” because the General has foolishly promoted the “arithmetician” Cassio, who can “prattle” about war despite lacking any “practise” on the battlefield. It seems Othello made the decision to satisfy his own ego. The ancient’s indignant tone and the alliteration of /p/ in “pride” and “purposes” emphasise that arrogance. However, the audience will be quick to question Iago’s own motivation for such scornful remarks.
Cynics might consider Othello’s behaviour in the first scenes to be hubristic. When the General learns Brabantio is coming to arrest him in (I.ii), he dismisses the threat and boasts about how his “services” for the “signiory” will “out-tongue” any “complaints” and accusations. He is unconcerned because of his strong sense of self-worth.
He also mentions his illustrious heritage and noble character: “I fetch my life and being / From men of royal siege”. There is self-approval in these lines which could be interpreted as arrogant. Alternatively, the images simply reinforce his greatness and the audience will admire his strength and conviction.
Perhaps the best example of this ambiguity in the second scene occurs towards the end. Brabantio is incredibly aggressive and threatens Othello if he “resists”. His response is full of confidence: “Were it my cue to fight, I should have known it / Without a prompter”. This theatre metaphor reduces Brabantio to a stage hand while comparing the protagonist to an actor who does not forget their lines and movement. The image could certainly be seen as arrogant or a measured response to the nobleman’s attempts at intimidation.
Throughout the scene, Othello remains calm and dignified. His behaviour is commendable, especially the way he controls a very tense confrontation, but Shakespeare’s provides the audience with enough doubt in the dialogue to hint at the tragic hero’s hubris.
If there was one moment which foreshadows his excessive pride, it is how he describes his love for Desdemona in (I.iii): “She loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them”. Instead of praising her “sweet” and “fair” qualities, he refers to her “greedy ear” and the attention she gave him. In other words, she inflated his ego.
Insolence
Since pride is an excessive feeling of self-worth and confidence in your own abilities, you might become contemptuous of any advice or criticism that contradicts your beliefs, leading to impulsive and destructive behaviour. This reckless rejection of the warning signs is a very useful definition of hubris.
When Iago alleges Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio, it hurts Othello’s pride because his marriage to the Venetian lady satisfied his ego and provided him with the respect he believed he deserved. The protagonist wants to appear powerful, especially as an outsider in this white society, but her affair reduces his status to a disgraced “cuckold”.
After witnessing Cassio’s bravado and seeing the “ocular proof” of the handkerchief in (IV.i), Othello’s pride has been broken and he wants to “chop” Desdemona “into messes”. His subsequent refusal to change his mind is a great demonstration of the character’s hubris.
For example, in (IV.ii), he remains resolute despite Emilia’s firm defence of Desdemona.
He asks her if she has ever seen the two lovers “whisper” or was sent away to “fetch her fan, her gloves, her mask” so they could be alone. She responds with the unequivocal “never”. She then offers her own view of Desdemona’s character, saying she would “lay down my soul at stake” that she is “honest”. She warns the General that some “wretch” has put these suspicions in his “head” and they should be punished with the “serpent’s curse”.
Othello dismisses Emilia’s evidence and claims she is a “subtle whore” who is capable of “villainous secrets” but will still “kneel and pray” as if she was innocent.
The tragic hero then interrogates Desdemona. He ignores her claims that she is his “true and loyal wife” and blindly argues “heaven truly knows that thou art false as hell”.
The antithesis between “heaven” and “hell” emphasises the distance between his false perception of the world and the truth about her loyalty. Shakespeare draws our attention to the contrast between “heaven” and “hell” by placing the words at opposite ends of the pentameter and changing the stress from trochees to iambs, but still connecting the two ideas through the use of alliteration. The dramatic irony emphasises his hubris because the audience knows he is wrong and that his behaviour is utterly despicable.
He bluntly asks “are you not a strumpet” and then declares “I took you for that cunning whore of Venice / That married with Othello”.
His absolute unwillingness to change his conviction that Desdemona is having an affair exemplifies his hubris. He is still determined to punish her without any further investigation: “Being done, there is no pause”. His hubris makes the tragic conclusion inevitable.
Aristotle and Athenian Law
Aristotle outlined his theory of tragedy in “Poetics”. However, the treatise does not include any reference to hubris because the concept held quite a different meaning in Classical Greek society. Often translated into English as “outrage”, hubris was a criminal act of malicious and unjustifiable cruelty or violence, committed with the sole intention of dishonouring the victim.
For example, in his essays on “Rhetoric”, Aristotle argued a “blow” would include “hubris” if its “purpose” was to humiliate the victim or gratify the “striker”, especially if the assault was “unprovoked”. In Athenian law, the assailant could be prosecuted for both the bodily-harm and the attack on the victim’s honour.
This classical definition of hubris does provide an interesting critical framework for an important moment in “Othello”: his public assault of Desdemona in (IV.i).
While the protagonist reads a letter from Venice commanding him to return from Cyprus and “deputing Cassio in his government”, Desdemona says there is an “unkind breach” between the two men and she would like to see them reconciled because of “the love I bear to Cassio”. Her vocal support for him only enrages Othello and he strikes her.
Lodovico is shocked by this violence: “My lord, this would not be believed in Venice”. He has seen nothing that would suggest the attack was provoked. Desdemona also states “I have not deserved this”.
By contrast, Othello would argue her adultery justifies her punishment. Since the affair was part of Iago’s lies and scheming, the court might decide the assault was designed simply to shame Desdemona and Othello is guilty of hubris.
The Divine
The word hubris had another connotation in ancient Greece: a transgression against the gods and their divine authority. If a person was excessively arrogant to the extent they believed their knowledge or skills were greater than the gods, they would be punished because we cannot escape our fate and the divine will.
Using this definition, Othello’s hubris is epitomised by his declaration in (IV.ii) that “heaven truly knows” Desdemona is “false as hell”. He seems to know the thoughts of the heavens and speaks on their behalf. His terrible arrogance and unwillingness to listen to her pleas of innocence is a moment of hubris and the heavens will punish him for such vanity and ignorance.
