Reverse Reverse Psychology?

    There are many types of villains - some rely on brute strength, others rely on fear or guilt, but only a few can compare with Iago’s unparalleled manipulation tactics and intelligence in the Shakespearean tragedy Othello. He’s not just a manipulator, he is a mind controller so skillful in his deception that even those who suspect his motives have a hard time grasping where his mind is at. Trying to understand Iago’s true intentions is like trying to catch a fish in the sea with your bare hands - his schemes always just seem to slip out of your fingers.

    One of Iago’s tactics is his use of reverse psychology on his victims. Reverse psychology is when you advocate for something that is opposite from your desired outcome in order to trick others into doing what your want. Iago implements his reverse psychology tactics in Act 3 Scene 3, warning Othello, “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on; At first glance, Iago’s warning seems like sound advice, portraying himself like a considerate and loyal friend to Othello. But in reality, Iago desires to plant seeds in Othello’s mind to make him jealous, even though he warns Othello not to be jealous. When he warns Othello not to be jealous about what he will reveal about Cassio and Desdemona, Othello almost feels prompted to ask about what Iago is hiding from him. By pretending to hesitate about sharing his suspicions, Iago makes Othello insist on hearing them while preserving his innocence.

 Now we could stop there if reverse psychology wasn’t already mind-boggling enough. But what if Othello knew about Iago’s manipulation tactics? What if Othello could read Iago like a book, realizing his calculated scheme and reply back “You feign reluctance only to provoke my jealousy. You words are poison to my mind, not counsel.” If that occurred, Iago’s scheme to cause a tragedy would backfire, most likely resulting in a tragedy of his own instead. What could “honest” Iago do to save his reputation and bring back chance to his plan?

If anyone could survive such a case, it would be Iago. Iago could employ what we might call reverse reverse psychology - where he uses reverse psychology again to trick Othello that he is honest by saying he “is not honest”. Here is how that might work. Iago could admit to Othello, “I know you think me dishonest my lord, I never thought my silence would cause suspicion.” By stating that he is dishonest, Iago might trick Othello into dismissing his statement. Any normal human that doesn’t think about reverse reverse psychology would find it strange for Iago admitting that he is dishonest. This could prompt Othello into thinking that Iago is not dishonest and that Iago is an extremely humble person. 

Maybe you are lost after reading this blog about “reverse reverse psychology” but in conclusion, it would be interesting to see what Iago would have done to save his reputation if Othello found out about his schemes. After all, Iago always has his ways of deceiving the characters, us readers included.

Iago using reverse psychology on Othello