Venetian Stereotypes In Othello

Shakespeare establishes an outsider in several of his plays, and whether certain groups are considered to be “in” or “out”. The displays this theme by Othello being a general of color living in Venice that has to balance out being a moor and a Venetian. Othello shows various times in the play signs of difficulties that he has while he tries to balance those two things out. He is put into situations that call out characteristics from both personas that affect the way he communicates with various characters throughout the play. The Venetian stereotype of a cruel and ignorant black man and the educated and broad-minded Christian military leader to shine through in his interactions and conversations with other people. Othello’s struggles send him …show more content…
These two different roles are very unlike each other and both have various expectations based on stereotypes. We cannot be exactly sure where Moors come from originally but by being a Moor Othello is foreign to Venice. Minority of people in Venice at that time were of colour so Othello was in many ways always fighting against the stereotypes and expectations the vast majority of the people he was surrounded by at most times had about people of colour and people that were born or raised in other places than …show more content…
Othello is no less of a Christian than any other man that practices the religion but he is constantly being challenged upon it. According to Vitkus, “his race, and his religious identity, his nobility and his Christianity are all questionable” (162). Othello is constantly trying to establish a strong position but other’s distrust in his identity make it harder for him to carry it out. He attempts to be both a Venetian military leader and a Christian and loving husband to Desdemona. These two roles turn out to be too much for Othello. This struggle makes him more vulnerable to other people’s opinions. Iago uses this weakness to get into Othello’s head and manipulate