jealousy in othello

Jack 1
Victor Jack
English 3220
October 9, 2010

Jealousy in Othello

Jealousy is a profound and universal human emotion. It is capable of driving human behavior and destroying relationships. William Shakespeare is known to use powerful emotions as themes for his work; and jealousy is no exception. Othello is Shakespeare's examination of jealousy and its malignant effects. Shakespeare asserts that no good can come from jealousy; with jealousy comes only pain and destruction. Shakespeare introduces his dominant theme in the very first scene of the play. In Act one, Scene one, the play's antagonist Iago reveals his feelings towards Cassio, the military's new lieutenant. Iago sees Cassio as “Mere prattle, without practise, Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had the election” (1.1.26-27). Iago admits to his friend Rodrigo that Othello recently gave Cassio the lieutenant's position he had been coveting and that he feels wronged by it. He believes Cassio is a foolish man with no practice or experience in the military and therefore unsuitable for the position of lieutenant given to him by Othello. Iago is obviously comparing Cassio's military background to his own and seems to think he himself deserved the promotion instead. Iago then despairs about his own mediocre rank in the military by saying “And I — God bless the mark! — his Moorship's ancient.” (1.133). Cassio has the position he desired while Iago has to remain being Othello's ancient, meaning a junior rank of a commissioned officer (“Glossary”, Absolute Shakespeare). Iago feels he should have been rewarded for his hard work in the military and instead he was rewarded with the feeling of inferiority to the young newcomer who stole his job. His feelings of resentment and jealousy towards Cassio lead him to hatch a plan. In Act one, Scene three, Iago reveals to Rodrigo his scheme to get Cassio fired by manipulation Othello. Involving his wife, Desdemona, Iago decides “to abuse Othello's ear/That he is too familiar with his wife.” (1.3.395-396). In other words, Iago wants to plant the idea that Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair into Othello's head. Othello will become so overwhelmed with rage and jealousy that he will have no choice but to be done with Cassio. Iago's initial jealousy of Cassio's new employment is the catalyst for the rest of the play. With this initial jealousy, the other characters are doomed for destruction. Also in Act one, Scene three, Iago admits other and more personal feelings. To himself, and therefore to the audience, Iago confesses “I hate the Moor. It is thought abroad that ’twixt my sheets / He has done my office” (1.3.386-388). With this, Iago also reveals his hatred for Othello also stems from his suspicion of an affair between the Moor and his own wife Emilia. He does not state how he has come to suspect this notion and even later admits that it is a “mere suspicion in that kind” (1.3.388), but nevertheless he admits his intentions to ruin Othello's life just in case it could be true. “And nothing can or shall content my soul Till I am even'd with him, wife for wife, Or failing so, yet that I put the Moor At least into a jealousy so strong that judgment cannot cure” (3.3.298-302). The idea of his wife and Othello is so horrible and distracting that Iago will not be satisfied until he is even with the Moor “wife for wife” or until Othello is consumed with the same poisonous and destructive jealousy that Iago feels. Iago's plan to fill Othello's head with notions of Cassio and Desdemona together satisfies both his jealousy of Cassio and his jealousy of Othello. Iago first plants the seed of resentment by simply stating "Look to your wife; observe her well with Cassio” (3.3.195). When Othello refuses to believe the rumor without “living reason” (3.3.419) or physical evidence, Iago is quick to satisfy with a story, “In sleep I heard him say 'Sweet Desdemona, Let us be wary, let us hide our loves” (3.3.428-429). Iago reports to Othello that while Cassio slept one night, he had a sexy dream about his and Desdemona's secret rendezvous. Although Othello has every reason to doubt the word of one man, he believes Iago and the destructive path of jealousy continues. Desdemona's father, Barbantio, is a rich and important Venetian politician who was once fond of the Moor Othello. When his daughter however, whom he has protected and sheltered from society for many years, marries Othello, fondness soon turns to rage and jealousy. Barbantio claims "She is abus'd, stol'n from me, and corrupted” (1.3.60). She is no longer just his to own anymore; she is now owned by Othello. Barbantio saw his daughter as his property, and as his sole receiver of estate once he passed and he did not expect his daughter to move on before his death. “She has deceived her father, and may thee” (1.3.293). Barbantio's irrational jealousy towards Othello for stealing his daughter away leads him to call his own daughter a whore and a traitor. Barbantio warns Othello that if Desdemona can fool her dad into believing she loved him, what would stop her from fooling Othello. The relationship between father and daughter is ruined and it is later revealed that Barbantio died of a broken heart. Yet again, jealousy invokes pain into a character's life. Bianca, Cassio's prostitute lover, is another character to be consumed by jealousy. Cassio finds a handkerchief in his room and asks her to copy it for him. Bianca replies “is some token from a newer friend” (3.4.183) thinking it is a gift for another one of his lovers. Cassio scolds Bianca for thinking such a thing and the issue is dropped. Later, however, Bianca is still overwhelmed with jealousy and decides to give back the handkerchief without copying it. This small act drives a wedge between the two lovers and the issue is never fully resolved before Cassio's untimely death. Another man jealous of Othello is Iago's friend, Rodrigo. It is revealed in Act one, Scene one that Rodrigo loves Desdemona and is therefore upset about the marriage. He expresses his surprise by saying “What a full fortune does the thick-lips owe” (1.1.66). Rodrigo explains that he will be impressed if this unnatural marriage lasts, and that he will be there for Desdemona when it ends. Iago, thinking only of his needs, directs Rodrigo's jealousy towards Cassio. He explains that even if Othello's and Desdemona's marriage fails, Cassio is her obvious next choice because “The knave is handsome, young, and hath all those requisites in him that folly and green minds look after” (2.1.244-246). Iago manages to manipulate his friend's emotions and to join him in the plan to destroy Cassio. The first action was to dethrone Cassio of his lieutenant position. Cassio convinced Cassio to drink while on duty and Rodrigo bated Cassio into a brawl. Othello, seeing his behavior, had no choice but to fire him. The second action was to kill Cassio in order to allow Othello to kill Desdemona. While visiting Bianca at the brothel, Iago and Rodrigo waited outside. Rodrigo attacked Cassio when he emerged from the building but he missed and Cassio stabbed him instead. Iago knowing Cassio being alive was not possible, he snuck out from the dark and stabbed him. Rodrigo's jealousy led to the destruction of both himself and Cassio, not to mention the pain felt by his lover. In Othello, Shakespeare proves time and time again that no good can come from jealousy. In Act three, Scene four, Emilia, Iago's wife, sums up the author's idea by saying that jealousy is "a monster / Begot upon itself, born on itself" (3.4.161-162).