MacDonald's uses the unique animal image of a mouse in the play Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) to embody Constance's cowardly and gullible characteristic perceived by the "Academe" community, exploited by Claude Night and seen within himself. Comparable to Shakespeare's tragedy Othello, which uses different animal images to convey Othello's primitive animalistic characteristic, which is contained in his race as stated by Venetian society, exploited by Iago and seen within himself. Both Shakespeare and MacDonald use animal imagery as a way for the protagonist's community to express his perceived superiority. Shakespeare exposes 17th-century Venetian ideologies that darker-skinned races are less evolved, making them more susceptible to wild animalistic behavior. These animalist tendencies are characterized by ferocity and insatiable libido, governed by their primordial instinct and not by ethics. Iago exploits these ideologies in an attempt to eliminate Othello as he resents him for not promoting him as his lieutenant and for believing that he had sexual relations with his wife. Iago generates fear in Brabantio, a Venetian senator, by suggesting that Othello has a genetic heritage that corrupts his bloodline by engaging in vulgar animalistic sexual acts with his daughter Desdemona. Iago conveys this genetic corruption by suggesting that Brabantio will have “gennets,” Spanish horses, as close relatives if he allows this to continue. (Ii110) Iago describes Othello to Brabantio as having a brutally "old black ram" sexuality that defiles Desdemona's virtuous "white" purity (Ii91-92). Iago emphasizes Othello's otherness by describing him as a North African and animalistic as a “Barbary horse” (Ii108-109). As a race, Barb hor...... middle of paper ......s is conveyed into the Shakespearean world of Othello while Iago describes Constance as a "bookmouse", as she hides in the world of literature not rather then having the courage to face his problem in the real world (MacDonald, 35). Unlike Othello, Constance can lift her label as a mouse by changing her timid, cowardly, and gullible behavior. Although Othello contradicts his animalistic racial stereotypes by depicting gentle and civilized behavior, by the end of the play he internalizes the wild animalistic characteristics within himself. . He testifies that he killed a Muslim Turk represented by a “circumcised dog” to save the beaten Venetian whom he himself saw (V.ii.351). Othello demonstrates how he killed the Turk as he "struck" the same way he "[stabs himself]" to eliminate the Turk within him and regain his honor. (V.ii.352).