Othello is responsible for his own descent into jealousy. Discuss.

It could be argued that Iago’s schemes succeed, not because Othello is weak, but because they take such cruel advantage of a noble, easily manipulated man. It is not fair to blame Othello for his own descent into jealousy, for his nature was one of absolute trust. Desdemona says of Iago, "O, that's an honest fellow". This shows that it is not only Othello who falls for Iago’s act of innocence; all characters in the play including Desdemona and Emilia believe that Iago is ‘honest’ and sincere. Othello puts his entire confidence in the honesty of Iago, his companion in arms and his confidante. This audience knows that this confidence is misplaced, as they have exposure to Iago’s private actions, but Othello does not. Thus it would have been quite unnatural for Othello to be unmoved by the warnings of such an honest a friend, warnings offered with extreme reluctance (although the audience knows it to be feigned) and manifestly from a sense of a friend's duty. Indeed, Iago takes advantage of Othello’s ‘honest’ reputation and uses it to craft Othello’s descent into jealousy through carefully planted implications and crafty allusions mainly focused in Act 3, Scene 3. For example, ‘beware, my lord, of jealousy,’ plants the thought in Othello’s head that there is in fact a matter to be jealous about. One of the most powerful tools Iago uses to trigger Othello’s descent into jealousy is playing on Othello’s deepest insecurities, such as those relating to his Moorish descent, ‘Not to affect many proposed matches Of her own clime, complexion, and degree,’ suggesting Desdemona would be better suited to a man of her own race. Othello’s response in asking Iago to elucidates his effort to resist Iago’s manipulation. Despite ultimately falling prey to it, it cannot be ignored that Othello was indeed reluctant to believe Iago’s lies and thus cannot be held fully responsible for his descent into jealousy. ​​​​​