Tenderness And Insecurities In Othello

Just as men project their feelings onto others instead of explicitly stating them they do not explicitly state their insecurities either. However, their insecurities are revealed through the use of female characters. Whilst in a relationship with Miriam, Paul felt that she made him feel insecure about himself. “Why did she make him feel as if he were uncertain of himself, insecure, an indefinite thing, as if he had not sufficient sheathing to prevent the night and the space breaking into him? How he hated her! And then, what a rush of tenderness and humility!” (Lawrence, 237). Paul believes that it is Miriam that causes him to feel insecure because he thinks she holds him to a moral code. However, he continues feeling this way even after they are no longer together. Therefore, Paul’s uncertainty of himself is inherently his own fault, not Miriam’s. In this way, D.H Lawrence uses Miriam to show how Paul is not sure of

He feels that Desdemona has cheated on him because of these reasons, despite that not being true since Desdemona did not have an affair. The idea that it was because he is black and older came from his own thoughts. It was his own insecurities that produced this idea. Just as Miriam is used to display Paul’s insecurities, Desdemona is used to display Othello’s. Paul believes that it is Miriam who makes him insecure despite him feeling that way before and after the relationship. Othello feels that Desdemona chose Cassio because he is white and young however Iago never said that Desdemona chose him because of those reasons hence Othello came up with the idea himself. In this way, Othello reveals his insecurities by believing that Desdemona cheated on him because of them and Paul reveals his by believing that Miriam is causing them. Likewise, Iago believes that Othello slept with his wife and uses this to further fuel his hatred for