Examples Of Narcissistic Personality Disorder In Othello

584 Words3 Pages

As the finale comes to a close, Othello starts realizing everything Iago has done. Iago responds to his own wife telling the truth about his plot by saying “Villainous whore!” and “Filth, thou liest!” with a response from Othello where he says “Are there no stones in heaven/ But what serves for the thunder?--Precious villain!/ (-- removed HTML --) ” (Shakespeare, 5.2.273,276,281-282). With the climax of the story having started to occur, Iago kills his wife out of anger due to her telling of the truth. Even the woman that Iago married doesn’t stand a chance against his own personality. He has no remorse, not any emotion towards Emilia dying, especially by his own hands. Iago’s disorder impacts his personality so much that there isn’t a single ounce of remorse for anyone besides himself and because of these reasons, Iago fits the final criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder. …show more content…

Some might say that Iago should be diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder but as the DSM from the American Psychological Association states, “Narcissistic personality disorder does not include characteristics of impulsivity, aggression, and deceit. In addition, individuals with antisocial personality disorder may not be as needy of the admiration and envy of others” (662). Iago doesn’t require the admiration of his peers for what he does. The lieutenancy is not what he is after but the destruction of who chose Cassio as the lieutenant, Othello. His actions are based in the fact that he wants to achieve his personal goals. At no point throughout the play does he try to win the admiration of his peers, Iago only cares about being okay with himself and how he’s doing such as the previous evidence showcasing the murder of his wife where he killed someone he was bonded to by marriage without a second thought in front of