The quote appearing inI. iii. 146-151 is part of Othello’s explanation to the Senators of Venice for his success in winning Desdemona. Othello relates to them Desdemona’s behavior during their courtship, where, like most of the characters in the play, she accepts and acts upon second-hand knowledge gained through listening, without the backup of evidence. The tragic action in Othello unfolds based on Iago’s exploitation of this over-reliance on hearing.
He seems to be the only one who perceives that people often interpret words based on what they want to hear, or through their underlying fears. Even without Iago’s interference there are potential problems in how Othello and Desdemona relate to each other through hearing. Othello betrays his fear of Desdemona listening with a greedy ear (150) by saying that she would devour up my discourse (151). As all she knows of Othello is his discourse, this is the same as devouring him.
Her active listening betrays her non- passive character, which is threatening to the male role Othello is trying to adopt in Venetian society. Desdemona has also perceived who she thinks Othello is through his discourse – I saw Othello’s visage in his mind (I. iii. 253)–which has perhaps caused her to only half perceive his colour and otherness, and the potential male opposition to thier marriage. What she has heard is his version of events, and she appears to have fallen in love with his exotic past through this discourse.
We can wonder how well she knows Othello the man in the context of Venetian society. The potential problems of their relationship are exploited fully by Iago, who plays on Othello’s fears – his insecure position in a white society with a white wife, and his strict adherence to that society’s norms as regards a wife’s passivity and sexual behaviour–to get him to see through listening. That is, Iago uses words to twist reality and create mental images for people, and then persuades them to accept these as true.
Listening to Iago is indeed dangerous. Despite the fact that Iago deliberately subjects Othello to his twisted thoughts, Othello seems to have a greedy ear for his discourse, and appears to rely on Iago for the underlying truths of this white, male-dominated society he wants to belong to. Perhaps that helps explain how easily Othello is fooled without any real evidence. Once Iago has sown the seed of doubt in Othello’s mind about Cassio, whom they both presumably see as a proper man (I. i. 391), he plays on Othello’s insecurities, talking of jealousy–O beware, my lord, of jealousy! / It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock / The meat it feeds on (III. iii. 167-9)–and then more specifically about the unnatural nature of his marriage–Her will, recoiling to her better judgement, / May fall to match you with her country forms, / And happily repent (III. iii. 240-2). Desdemona will quite naturally regret her exotic choice, according to Iago.
Othello’s peace of mind is destroyed by Iago’s words and he then demands real proof–Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore, / Be sure of it, give me the ocular proof (III. iii. 362-3). But the ocular proof Iago provides is a figment of Othello’s corrupted vision. When Othello is eavesdropping on Cassio and Iago, his comments show that he sees what Iago wants him to see. When Cassio talks of Bianca hanging round his neck, Othello comments Now he tells how she plucked him to my / chamber (IV. i. 0-1), misinterpreting not only who Cassio is talking about, but also hearing different words in his mind. Through speech, Iago has effectively become Othello’s eyes. There are several ironic comments in the play about Othello’s vision. In I. ii Othello seems to rely on Iago’s vision, which makes his later subjugation to Iago’s inner vision ironic. Brabantio’s farewell to Othello–Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see (I. iii. 293)–makes us realize how blinded Othello becomes by Iago’s poisonous rhetoric.
When Othello questions Emilia directly about Cassio, it is too late, his inner vision corrupts his interpretation of her words. Confronting Desdemona immediately afterwards, he can only accuse her and misinterpret her words. Her protest Alas, what ignorant sin have I committed? (IV. ii. 71), he takes as an admission of having committed adultery. The tragedy in Othello is that what people (the men) listen to is not each other in the sense of real communication, but a sort of secret talk devised by Iago to corrupt their vision for his own gain.
