What is the cause of Othello's downfall?

It could be argued that the ultimate downfall of Othello is due to his hamartia. His fatal flaw in the play is presented to be his jealousy and this interpretation makes him solely culpable. However, I believe this argument to be superficial, negating the wider context of Othello's world. While some may argue that Othello has overcome his racial difference through marriage and military achievement, Shakespeare constantly associates Othello with darkness, separating him from the rest of the characters. He is unnamed in the whole of Act 1 scene i, instead being "the Moor" implicitly othering him from his contemporaries. Iago labels him "an old black ram" creating a dark, animalistic imagery around Othello, yet when the audience meets him he proves himself to be the opposite: he appeals to Brabantio in Act 1 scene iii using triadic listing and self-effacing language reminiscent of classical rhetoricians: “Most potent, grave and reverend seigniors.” and "Rude I am in my speech." So, while he himself appears to counter Elizabethan expectations, he is still presented by his contemporaries as being the stereotypical lascivious and jealous Moor.

Indeed, while some critics may see Othello's downfall as a product of his own jealousy, it seems more likely that this is a product of the society in which he lives. The constant othering of Othello truly reveals itself in his final words: “one that loved not wisely but too well; [...] one not easily jealous.” The use of third person shows a sense of detachment, something which differs from his first scenes. Similarly, his staccato, exclamatory phrases at the end of the play are shocking, yet congruent with the contemporary expectation of a moor: “O, blood, blood, blood!” and “O, damn her, damn her!”. This answer suggests that while on the surface Othello may be giving into his fatal flaw, jealousy, Shakespeare implicitly suggests that this is conditioned in him due to constant reminders of his race and the associated expectations. In doing so, Shakespeare questions contemporary attitudes towards race.