The “Dark Triad” - A Psychological Analysis of One of Shakespeare’s Most Twisted Characters

“The dark triad of personality encompasses three distinct but interrelated traits known for their malevolent qualities: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. Each of these traits contributes to behaviors often deemed malicious.” -PsyPost

Machiavellinaism

In William Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago, the main villain of the play, exhibits characteristics of machiavellianism, or one who manipulates and deceives others due to their cynical view of society. Machiavellianists often recognize what they are doing is wrong, yet persist with internal justification of their wrongdoings through their belief in a flawed humanity. In Iago’s mannerisms and character displayed within this play, we see him frequently exhibiting manipulative behaviors, characterized by his pessimistic belief in the inherently sinful nature of mankind. Iago exhibits traits of this machiavellianist characteristics when plotting towards the demise of Cassio and Othello, with his strategic planning of an orchestrated “affair” held between Cassio and Desdemona. He mentions that Othello, “howbeit that [he] endure him not/Is of a constant, loving, noble nature/[...]/A most dear husband,” evidential of Othello’s good being as Desdemona’s wife and Iago’s acknowledgement of the love fostered within the lovers healthy relationship (2.1.307-311); however, centered around achieving his own revenge and reaping rewards, he continues to plot, lie, and manipulate.

Narcissism

Next, Iago exhibits qualities of a narcissist, or someone obtaining exceeding levels of self-esteem and importance. This often leads to a false sense of entitlement and requires constant external validation to make up for their gnawing insecurities. Consequently, with this skewed view of themselves, narcissists may often shun considerations of others’ well-being, constantly prioritizing themselves. Iago portrays such behaviors in the opening scenes of William Shakespeare’s play Othello as he derogatorily speaks about Othello and Cassio to Roderigo. Iago is angered when he discovers that Othello chose to promote Cassio, a mere mathematician, to the role of lieutenant and not him and snarls to Roderigo “I know my price, I am worth no worse a place./But he [Othello](as loving his own pride and purposes)/Evades them with a bombast circumstance” (1.1.11-14). Iago vents how even after he convinced three noblemen to vouch for him, it was Othello’s pride and stuck-up nature that led him to reject the noblemen and deny Iago as lieutenant. Iago’s feeling that he deserves such a role is characteristic of the entitlement narcissists often experience—despite lacking concrete evidence of Cassio’s inadequacy, Iago wholeheartedly believes that he is inherently more qualified and deserving of a high rank role. In fact, his ego is so high that, in order to save his pride, he takes this lack of promotion as a direct insult from Othello (rather than an opportunity to reflect and improve) fueling his desire to get revenge and orchestrate Othello and Cassio’s downfall. Believing that he is the only one worthy and unable to accept the reality that others may be better than him, Iago displays his narcissistic traits in regards to his promotion

Unlike machiavellism or psychopathy, narcissism may be rooted in insecurity, a quality that is also greaty demonstrated by Iago. Most notably, throughout the play, Iago asserts that people he is envious of, such as Othello or Cassio, are indulging in affairs with his wife—a baseless and absurd claim stemming from his own feelings of inferiority and insecurity. Regardless, he manages to deduce that  Othello has “ 'twixt [his] sheets / He has done [his] office,” establishing his belief that Othello has engaged in a promiscuous affair with Emilia, Iago’s wife  (1.3.411-412). This thought that Othello, a proper man completely enamoured by his own wife, would have an affair with Iago’s wife reflects Iago’s true insecurity masked behind his ego. Though he would never near admitting his vulnerability, Iago is characterized by harboring a constrictive and suffocating mindset, in which he may feel as though he is not worthy enough that even his wife would sleep with more accomplished individuals, hence explaining why this obscene thought only invades him with regards to people which are better of than him.  

Psychopathy

Finally, aspects of Iago’s personality may also adhere to parts of psychopathy, a trait attributed with a lack of remorse, impulsiveness, antisocial behaviors, and inability to comprehend human emotion. Iago persistently exploits the innocence and guillability of Roderigo, Othello’s wife’s admirer and stalker. When Roderigo discovers that Othello and Desdemona are legitimately in love, he wallows in such an immense despair that he longs to drown himself. Upon hearing this, Iago mocks him, regarding his supposed love-brimmed heart as foolish and just an offshoot of lust. While Roderigo is in this degrading mental state, Iago seizes the opportunity to manipulate him, urging him to  “Put money in thy purse. Follow thou the wars,/defeat thy favor with an usurped beard. I say, put/money in thy purse. It cannot be long that Desdemona/should continue her love to the Moor—put money in thy purse—nor he his to her” (1.3.366-370). This  scene elucidates how Iago is unable to comprehend the true feelings of love and despair, not only unveiling his  absence of empathy, but also depicting  his shameless yet persistent manipulation in attempts to extort cash out of Roderigo and execute his revenge plan. He argues that if Roderigo were to sneak onto Othello and Desdemona’s fleet of ships and pay Iago (by selling all his property), Roderigo and Desdemona  could happily be together since, according to Iago, Othello and Desdemona will inevitable fall out of love. While Iago recognizes that Othello and Desdemona would most likely will not fall out of love through natural means, he claims that they will in order to foster a false sense of hope in Roderigo, making him a malleable piece in Iago’s plan. This showcases his impulsive and pathological lies as well as the absence of remorse, traits signifying psychopath.