Temes Jealousy


Appearance and Reality Good v Evil


Jealousy


The theme of jealousy is at the core of Othello. Shakespeare focuses particularly on sexual jealousy, on its often irrational nature and destructive consequences. Othello’s jealousy over an imagined affair between Desdemona and Cassio is central to the play. This is complemented by the jealousies of other characters, including Iago, Roderigo and Bianca. Iago’s jealousy takes three forms within the play: sexual jealousy, career jealousy and personal jealousy of Cassio’s nobility. One of the reasons Iago offers for his hatred of Othello is a suspicion that Othello has had a relationship with Emilia: ‘I hate the Moor: / And it is thought abroad, that ’twixt my sheets / He has done my office’ (Act 1, Sc 3). Similarly, Iago expresses concern that Cassio has also had an affair with Emilia: ‘I fear Cassio with my nightcap too’ (Act 2, Sc 1). Although Iago is not absolutely certain that these jealous suspicions are in fact true, he embraces these jealous thoughts, using them to fuel his malevolence: ‘I know not if’t be true, / Yet I, for mere suspicion in that kind, / Will do as if for surety’ (Act 1, Sc 3). Iago’s sexual jealousy becomes a justification for his evil schemes and hatred of Othello: ‘And nothing can or shall content my soul / Till I am evened with him, wife for wife’ (Act 2, Sc 1). Iago also expresses his jealousy of Cassio’s promotion to the position of lieutenant. Iago jealously


grumbles that Cassio was promoted over him, complaining that he lacks military experience and relies solely on theory: ‘Mere prattle, without practice, / Is all his soldiership’ (Act 1, Sc 1). He resentfully attacks Cassio’s credentials, labelling him a ‘counter-caster’ and ‘arithmetician’ who is ‘Horribly stuffed with epithets of war’ (Act 1, Sc 1). It is not clear if Iago’s jealousy is genuine here or merely a convenient way to explain his hatred of Othello to Roderigo. However, later in the play, Iago expresses jealousy of Cassio’s finesse and refinement: ‘He has a daily beauty in his life / That makes me ugly’ (Act 5, Sc 1). This jealous sentiment appears quite genuine as it is said in an aside.


The motif of jealousy is also evident through the more minor characters of Bianca and


Roderigo. Bianca is made jealous when Cassio gives her Desdemona’s handkerchief. Bianca fears that it is a love token given to Cassio by another lover: ‘O Cassio, whence came this? / This is some token from a newer friend, / To the felt absence now I feel a cause’ (Act 3, Sc 4). As jilted suitor, Roderigo appears jealous of Othello. He uses racist slurs to express his resentment calling Othello ‘the thicklips’ and a ‘lascivious Moor’ (Act 1, Sc 1). Brabantio refers to Roderigo’s unrequited feelings for Desdemona: ‘I have charged thee not to haunt about my doors: / In honest plainness thou hast heard me say / My daughter is not for thee’ (Act 1, Sc 1). It appears that Roderigo’s resentment of Othello grows out of his romantic jealousy and is expressed through his racist remarks. Shakespeare explores the theme of jealousy primarily through the character of Othello.


Othello’s jealous conviction that Desdemona has been unfaithful becomes all consuming, inevitably leading to his ruination. Shakespeare highlights how jealousy is often built on irrational suspicion and grows out of unfounded doubts. This is certainly the case with Othello who, despite his desire for ‘ocular proof’ (Act 3, Sc 3), is provoked into a jealous rage by the flimsiest of evidence. With


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