Adelman, Janet. “Iago's Alter Ego: Race as Projection in Othello.” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 48, no. 2, 1997, pp. 125–144. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2871277. Accessed 4 July 2021.
Janet Adelman’s applies Kleinian psychoanalytic theory to the issues of race in the play to support that the psychological use of racism by the racist, such as Iago, belongs to the perpetrator and not only to the victim who internalizes the psychological twisting of identity. Adelman begins her claim with Iago’s introductory scene; not only does he introduce the audience to his version of Othello, but he also creates a sense of “I” for himself through the focus of his dialogue with Roderigo, his focus of ego seeming to want to compensate in the following acts in contrast to the presence of Othello (127). In contrast to Othello’s wholeness, Othello’s Iago is “nothing” in saying, “I am not what I am” (Shakespeare 1.1.62). In being nothing, Iago seeks to self-divide those around him as he is the true Janus. To “unseat” those who threaten his sexual potency and mastery of self, he uses color and images of body to provoke anxiety both within and outside of the characters. In Iago’s own anxiety that produces envy, he needs to spoil the goodness and beauty of others in order to ensure his sense of uncontaminated self, and, in doing so, projects his filth onto Othello to take the blame for (Adelman 136-37).--Hannah Nagy
