Othello's Lost Identity Othello's identity in Venetian society is his role as "the Moor". Few people use his real name when talking about him. When talking about the given quote, Othello tells the Venetians how he won Desdemona's heart by telling her the story of his life, and now he tells it to the Venetians. This tale is a way of using the linguistic system to reshape a new identity with more positive connotations than "il Moro" can offer. "Il Moro" is an expression that Venetians connect to other expressions of the linguistic system which all have a negative value. Examples are expressions such as "old black ram... The excerpt above is provided for reference only. The full essay begins below. When considering the identity of Othello, in Shakespeare's play Othello, it is helpful to reflect on the quote" I am not what I am." Perhaps Othello finds his identity threatened by Desdemona's reaction to his stories. To understand better it is useful to note a quote from Pam Morris: Literature and Feminism, (Blackwell, 1993) where she discusses the resolution of the crisis Oedipal. For Freud the outcome of the child's fear of castration is his submission to the reality principle and therefore his entry into the social order. For Lacan this must coincide with the child's entry into the language system.... Language is therefore the Law of the Father; a linguistic system within which our social and gender identity is always already structured (p. 104) Othello's identity in Venetian society is his role as "the Moor" Few people use his real name when talking about him. In the above quote, Othello tells the Venetians how he won Desdemona's heart by calling... middle of paper... deep down he found it impossible that anyone else could do it. This insecurity proves his undoing. With his positive self-image gone, he is left with the choice between "the Moro" or nothing. The moment Emilia realizes that the murderer is Othello, she returns to calling him with expressions linked to the negative image of the "Moor": "And you are the blackest devil!... you are a devil". (V, ii, 129, 131) He cannot bear to be this person, the only one that society and the symbolic order can offer him. Building one's own identity proved impossible. To be without identity, a non-person implies death. He chooses to free himself from this unwanted identity by exiting the social order and linguistic system through suicide. Works Cited: Shakespeare, William. Othello. The Complete. Moby (tm) Shakespeare. Online. Mass. Institute of Technology. Internet. November 16. 1996