Six Degrees: From Gagool to Iago

Greetings and salutations, dear Reader! I hope you missed it, because Six Degrees of Kool Books is back and better than ever! For those of you just joining us, Six Degrees is an original meme created by DJ Edwardson and myself. It is an exercise of distinct literary nature, in which someone describes a set of characters from one book, and the next person tries to think of a similar character from another book, and so on and so forth. Is it a book review? Is it a game? Is it a mental exercise? Is it a good way to learn about new books you may not have read, but might like? Is it fun? Is it challenging? Yes to all!

It's easy to join the fun!

Just head on over to THIS POST and sign up with the title of the book you're discussing and the URL to your blog post!Last week, DJ drew a line from Van Helsing in Bram Stoker's DRACULA to Allan Quartermain in H. Rider Haggard's KING SOLOMON'S MINES. In his post, he talked about Gagool whom he described as -

a shriveled, shrunken old hag and one of the creepiest characters I have ever read about in fiction. I’m sure she has given more than a few children her fair share of nightmares over the years. She is as shrewd as she is ugly, coming across as someone who is purely and wholly evil without a shred of remorse for the pain and suffering she has caused.

Of course, the first image that popped into my head was Mother Gothel from Tangled, but as this is a literary game, that would be cheating. I briefly thought about talking about the fairy tale version of Rapunzel, but it didn't seem quite right. Then I thought of Nightshade from the Magic Kingdom of Landover books, but alas, I have already used that series in this game.I thought over the other characters DJ described, but kept coming back to Gagool. Something about the description, and then I had it! Iago from William Shakespeare's Othello was who she reminded me of. Iago is a bit different, of course, not being a creepy old hag. But he has been described as "the most heinous villain in Shakespeare," partially because he doesn't appear to be a villain at first, but mostly because he has no reason for his treachery. He's out to ruin everyone's lives, and he doesn't even have a good reason for it. He is also extremely cunning, which is part of why his treachery succeeds so well.Other characters in this play are:Othello, the main character of the play, is a racial outsider in the land where he lives, however, his skills as a soldier and a leader have made him a very important part of this society. He is eloquent and charismatic, and even in the midst of all of Iago's plots, his talent with words never falters. Despite his success, he is plagued by self-doubt because of his age, race, and career choice. He is a tragic figure, but it is not hard to see why men follow him into battle, or why Desdemona fell in love with him. At the beginning of the play, Desdemona and Othello have secretly gotten married. Desdemona is portrayed as young, in love, and beautiful. She is stereotypically pure and meek, while also being portrayed as determined and able to handle herself in any situation. She is faithful to the end, submissive to her husband, and displays a sort of mischievous wit throughout the play.A few other notable characters in this play are Cassio, a loyal soldier, though young and inexperienced, has a bit of a drinking problem, is a charismatic flirt, but on the whole has a good reputation (which he later bemoans the loss of in his famous lines, "Reputation, reputation, O Iago, I have lost my reputation!")Emilia is Iago's wife and Desdemona's servant. She is cynical and worldly, but completely devoted to Desdemona. She is also the only person in the play who ever appears to be distrustful of Iago.Roderigo is one of Desdemona's frustrated suitors who allows his jealousy to rule him and cause him to agree to anything Iago says in hopes of winning Desdemona's favor. So, what do you think? Have you read Othello? What is your favorite Shakespearian play? Do any of these characters remind you of characters elsewhere in the literary realm? Even if you don't have a blog, I'd love to hear your answers in the comments!