At the end of the play, when he has been responsible for great unhappiness and several deaths, and he is to be taken away to be tortured, he says only
"Demand me nothing. What you know, you know. From this time forth I never will speak a word."
In this way, Iago even triumphs at the end of the play, by giving no one the satisfaction of his motive.
Who rivals Iago for pure villainy?
PLEASE REMIND ME IF YOU WILL HAVE A FLASH FICTION STORY ON THURSDAY.
Patti - Iago really is awfully evil! I don't think anybody really tops him.
ReplyDeleteI have one for Thursday, Patti. As for evil, I think Glen Davis in Larry Brown's novel "Father and Son" is right up there.
ReplyDeleteThe father in Brewster i(Slouka) up there too.
ReplyDeletePicking up on the Shakespeare link, how about Aaron the Moor from Titus Andronicus? I just saw a production of this in Stratford-upon-Avon over the weekend, and Aaron seems like a model for Iago - only more bloodthirsty.
ReplyDeleteAlso kind of ironic that it swaps the Iago-Othello model: In this one the Moor is bad (although very few are really good in this play).
Aaron's actions result in probably half a dozen deaths in the play. And although he explains his motives, he remains utterly unrepentant even to the end.
I have never read or seen Andronicus but now I must read it. Thanks!
ReplyDeletelots of evil characters have been modeled on him at least.
ReplyDeletehow about Moby Dick?
ReplyDeleteMindless evil but still evil.
ReplyDeleteHow about Humbert Humbert? The way he rationalizes and justifies the worst impulses of a human being seems to me more purely evil than a character who declaims his evil nature from the beginning. What's interesting about Iago, though, is that if he didn't kill his wife in a rather offhand way at the end of the play, he'd be guilty of nothing more than telling some lies and knowing what buttons to push--the "perfect" psychological villain.
ReplyDeleteDeb
Hannibal Lecter ranks right up there. Tom Ripley. I'm with Deb on LOTITA'S Humbert Humbert.
ReplyDeleteHumbert Humbert is a good choice. He is all sexual appetite--a narcissist.
ReplyDeleteMy problem with Hannibal Lecter is like all serial killers, they are dull-they are murdering just to murder not for any interesting reason. And not to topple a kingdom or to seize power. Nor out of jealousy or revenge.
Now Ripley is a much more interesting choice.
The fist answer that came to mind was the Joker, in the Batman series. No conscience, will do anything to amuse himself including mass murder.
ReplyDeleteIn books, Sauron from the Lord of the Rings, and Quilp from The Old Curiosity Shop.
God in Paradise Lost. William Empson in Milton's God makes a good case.
ReplyDeleteMaximilian Aue (?sp?) in Les Bienveillantes)
Is Moby Dick evil? He objects to being harpooned, but that's a very sensible response. If anything, it's Ahab who is evil.
The Joker is a great example.
ReplyDeleteI think the Old Testament God is quite a dicey character in general. Why does Job suffer as he does. What about Lot's wife. How about what he puts most of the cast through?
Interesting question about Moby Dick? Maybe neither are evil because their actions are confined to struggle to survive.
And, of course, RICHARD III would be right up there. And Satan in numerous stories.
ReplyDeleteI think Jacobean tragedy moreso than Elizabethan tragedy is rife with pure evil and villainy of the grandest order.
ReplyDeleteBosola in The Duchess of Malfi, Soranzo and Vasques in 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, nearly everyone in The White Devil, etc. etc. No one produces these plays (let alone reads them) anymore. I think what with the horrific violence and gore and larger than life characters with passions and emotions that surpass those in grand opera the plays would be a huge sensation with young audiences raised on Tarantino and his ilk, all of whom owe a lot to Jacobean tragedy.
I don't think I have seen these, John. Yes, certain plays don't get performed much anymore.
ReplyDeleteSomeone beat me to Aaron in Titus Andronicus. He may be worse than Iago, and I particularly enjoy that at the end of his life, he's asked if he has any regrets, and he essentially says that he wishes he'd done even more evil while he had the chance.
ReplyDeleteTitus Andronicus is also responsible for my favorite stage direction in Shakespeare. I know a lot of people are fond of Winter's Tale's "EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR," but I much prefer "ENTER MESSENGER, WITH TWO HEADS AND A HAND."
Count Fosco.
ReplyDelete