Susan Snyder wrote in "Othello's Alien Status":
             Shakespeare had deprived [Othello] of any common ground with Desdemona on which he can stand to fight back- not only to facilitate Iago's deception, but to heighten the tragic paradox of human love, individuals dependent on each other but unalterably separate and mysterious to one another in their separateness... Iago is an envious, insecure human being who functions as a perverted magician-manipulator, cunningly altering reality for Othello. But he is also the catalyst who activates destructive forces not of his own creation, forces present in the love itself. (164-265).
             Shakespeare creates two vastly different characters in Othello and Desdemona. They come from different backgrounds, cultures and are of different ethnicity. Although Othello is intelligent and respected as a General, he is also seen as alien to Venetian ways. Othello and Desdemona have no true common ground. Their relationship is based solely on their differences. Othello's exotic tales draws Desdemona into a love affair with him. It is through these exotic differences that a common love was found between them. Iago uses these
             differences to further the separation between Othello and Desdemona. Shakespeare has allowed Iago to magnify the mysteriousness of Othello and of the marriage between Othello and Desdemona. Iago exploits and distorts Othello and Desdemona's common love for each other. By doing so, he is able to magnify their differences and turn them into no longer admirable qualities but rather grounds for distrust and jealousy.
             From the very beginning of Othello, the differences between Othello and Desdemona become central to the action. Ironically, their differences bring them together in a romantic way. Othello's tales fascinate and draws Desdemona closer to him. As Desdemona is enchanted by Othello's stories, he falls in love wi
             ...