Jealousy in Othello
Othello, by William Shakespeare, is a play demonstrating that we all have strengths and weaknesses and that while the best of us will focus on people's strengths, the worst of us will not only not weaknesses but use them in destructive ways. Throughout the play, the weakness of jealousy, directly or indirectly, brings the destruction and downfall of all the major characters, including not only Othello and his bride Desdemona, but Iago, his wife Emilia, Roderigo and Cassio.
Othello is particularly vulnerable because, being a Moor, he is somewhat an outsider (Weller, PAGE). He is accepted as a leader in society and as a great military man, but he is aware of his differences. He used them to charm those around him, wooing and winning the beautiful Desdemona and then defending her marriage to others, but the villain of the play, Iago, knows that it can be easy to cast doubt on an outsider, and he uses Othello's differences to his own perverted and personal advantage.
While the name of the play is Othello, any discussion of jealousy in the play must start with Iago, because he is the one who sees the opportunities to foment jealous in the other characters. His motivation seems to be jealousy as well although it's difficult to know exactly why Iago is jealous of Othello.
First he claims to be angry because Othello passed him over for a promotion (I.i, 7-32). In the second scene he goes further, suggesting that Othello slept with his wife Emilia, Desdemona's maid. He says,
It is thought abroad that 'twixt my sheets / He has done my office" (I.iii.369-370). By "abroad" he means it is widely known, and by "office" he means having sex with Emilia (Weller, PAGE). However, he later admits that he knows it isn't true, but mentions it again later, making viewers think that maybe he does believe it. He says he wants to sleep with Desdemona to get even with him "wife for wife" (II.i.286) and is one reason he decides to make Othello jealous (Weller, PAGE).
Perhaps what Iago is really jealous of, however, is Othello's power. Having been passed over for a promotion, he imagines Othello sleeping with his wife, a loss of power, and then imagines sleeping with Desdemona, a restoration of power, and seems to...
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