What is Othellos tragic flaw?

Answer 1

Othello's tragic flaw would most likely be his jealousy. This was brought on by simple persuasion by the character Iago. Even though Iago used extreme manipulation to get Othello to be jealous, Iago did not really have to try very hard to get Othello in a jealous state of mind. Othello was blinded by his jealousy which led him down a path of constant questioning of his wife and his friend/officer, Cassio. Throughout the play we see Othello sink deeper and deeper into a cloud of doubt which eventually leads him to kill not only his wife but also himself. So it can be said that Othello's jealousy and inability to see past it remains the reason for his downfall.

An alternative interpretation, which if memory serves me was first suggested by James Joyce, is that Othello's tragic flaw was loss of faith in life, and not jealousy. Othello was clearly not a jealous man, as evidenced by the difficulty Iago had in convincing him of Desdemona's unfaithfulness - something Othello would never have dreamed of. The tragedy was that he allowed lies to undermine his faith in life - his entire world view. In doing so, he destroyed that which he loved most.

Answer 2

Gullibility? Jealousy? Lack of self-esteem?

Personally, I think that characters with defining characteristics are the stuff of melodrama, not real drama. In real drama, the characters change in relation to the events around them. Othello is not any more gullible than Roderigo, Cassio or any of the others taken in by Iago. He is not jealous at all at the start of the play, when he sends Desdemona to join him in the company of Iago (no jealousy there). His jealousy only erupts after Iago specifically works to made it do so. Perhaps it is Othello's humility which enables him to doubt that as wonderful a woman as Desdemona is might love him, and we can disguise this virtue as a vice by calling humility "lack of self-esteem". But aren't we trying a little too hard to find a tragic flaw in this man?

Answer 3

Trust (that he believes Iago's lies) and jealousy.