Examples Of Jealousy In Othello

Iago feeds off of Othello’s responses in order to figure out how to make him most jealous with what he says next. An example of this is when Othello asks Iago about seeing Desdemona and Cassio talking alone. Obviously, Cassio is asking her to convince Othello that his incident with Rodrigo was a mistake but with the intention of infidelity already in his head, he believes otherwise. “Was that not Cassio parted from my wife?” questions Othello to Iago, to which Iago responds, “Cassio, my lord? No, sure, I cannot think it, That he would steal away so guilty-like, Seeing your coming.” Othello answers back, “I do believe ‘twas he” (3.3, 37-40). Iago totally disregards the question Othello asks and answers with another question, where Othello then answers his original question eventually coming to his own conclusion of the matter. No matter the situation Othello does nothing but wonder what Cassio and Desdemona’s intentions really are. Iago leads Othello desiring to know more which makes him obsessed with knowing the truth of the accusations.

There are many different emotions like sadness, happiness, and joyfulness just to name a few that people can experience. One of the most powerful and sometimes dangerous emotions is Jealousy. Jealousy is a powerful emotion that most people experience at some point in their life. However, not everyone is affected in the same way. Some people are filled with insecurity. While others are filled with fear. Most people experience anger. In William Shakespeare’s Othello the audience learns through the characterization of Othello and Iago, the symbolism of the handkerchief, and through Othello denying that he is jealous we learn that jealousy can make people behave irrationally in certain circumstances.

Othello is an easy target in this drama, because Iago already knows that he is a very insecure person. With that stated, it will be easy for Iago to use Othello’s jealousy to trick him into thinking that Desdemona is an unfaithful wife. Iago will manipulate the way Othello sees things in order to convince him that what he sees is innocent acts between Desdemona and Casillo. Iago’s starts to plant the idea in Othello’s head of an affair after Othello sees Casillo rush leaving Desdemona in a manner that looked as though he is guilty (1223). Alone with Othello, Iago begins to make Othello feel threatened by Casillo and Desdemona’s apparent relationship by bringing up the fact that Casillo served as Desdemona’s and Othello’s go-between during the time of their courtship. The conversation ends with Iago asking Othello to watch carefully of Desdemona and Casillo, and Iago exits giving Othello time to question the accusation of Iago (1225-1228).

In this manner, Iago manipulates the men through their wives by providing innuendos to create jealousy among the husbands. Iago plants the seed in the mind of Othello, concerning Desdemona, as Iago states “Did Michael Cassio, When you woo'd my lady, know of your love?”, which draws Othello’s attention as to why Iago desires to know this question (Bevington, 2014, p. 631, Act: 3 Scene 1, Line 103). Iago then begins to draw Othello in further until he finally confesses “I speak not yet of proof. Look to your wife; observe her well with Cassio” (Bevington, 2014, p. 633, Act: 3 Scene 1, Lines 210-211). While Iago has no reason to assume that there has been any infidelity between Cassio and Desdemona, he only offers the suggestion that Othello watch the two of them, and this creates an immediate form of jealousy in the heart and mind of Othello.

Othello’s love for Desdemona was so deep he could not bear the thought of another being with her; “If she be false, O! Then heaven mocks itself. I’ll not believe’t.” Iago uses the characters of Cassio and the obsessive Roderigo as his weapons in his cunning plan. Iago drives the idea into Othello’s mind that Desdemona has been unfaithful, inciting him into a state of jealousy. “Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul, but I do love thee; and when I love thee not, chaos is come again.” Othello growing insecurities about his wife’s faithfulness only adds to his psychological suffering which in turn acts as a catalyst towards the suffering of other characters involved in the play.Iago tells these lies with the intention of driving Othello insane as well as establish his dominance and influence the situations of those characters close to Othello. Evidence of this comes in one of Iago’s soliloquies from act two, scene one; “That Cassio loves her, I do well Believe’t: That she loves him, ‘tis apt and of great credit.” This section shows that he is trying to convince himself that his own manipulative lies are true and is trying to reassure his motives by justifying his own actions. By convincing Othello

Iago finds the opportunity to make an undermining comment — "Ha, I like not that" — that rankles in Othello's mind. Iago further insinuates that Cassio was not just leaving, but that he was "steal[ing] away so guilty-like". Iago's words here are filled with forceful insinuation, and as he pretends to be a man who cannot believe what he sees, he introduces jealousy into Othello's mind. Iago also urges Othello to recall that Desdemona deceived her own father by marrying Othello. To Brabantio, Desdemona pretended to be afraid of Othello's dark looks; she pretended to shake and tremble at Othello's exotic demeanor, yet "she lov'd them [Othello's features] most".The implication is clear; Iago does not have to state it: If Desdemona deceived her own flesh and blood, she might just as naturally deceive her husband. ‘Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see, She has deceived her father, and may thee’.(Act I,

Jealousy is a powerful drug. When someone is jealous, one can only imagine how far someone would go because of it. In the play Othello by William Shakespeare, there were several characters that went through different ways of processing their jealousy. Iago’s jealousy provokes his idea to get back at the people he felt was not deserving enough of the things they had or their happiness. His plans succeeds but by the end, no one wins. Iago’s jealousy forms at the beginning of the play which causes Othello’s jealousy towards the end and because of it, it results in people hurt mentally and physically.

Throughout Othello by William Shakespeare, Othello makes numerous poor decisions due to his jealousy. Hitting Desdemona, trusting Iago, and killing Desdemona are among a few of the poor decisions that he makes. The word jealous can be defined as feeling or showing suspicion of someone's unfaithfulness in a relationship. Othello feels suspicious of Desdemona’s and Cassio’s relationship because of the lies that Iago tells him. Many people try to tell Othello the truth but he only believes the words of Iago. Even Emilia, Iago’s wife, tells Othello that Desdemona and Cassio are not having an affair and their interaction is business only, however; he does not trust her. Without Othello’s jealousy he would not have made these horrible decisions.

Another area of jealousy in Othello is when there are accusations of Othello having an affair with Iago’s wife, Emilia. Emilia was a woman who thought her husband was unfaithful, but stayed with him anyway. Along with these rumors, there were also rumors that Cassio had slept with Emilia too. I believe that jealousy is a powerful thing, and it’s hard to overcome rumors and accusations when they involve everyone’s husbands and wives. Not every character handled themselves the same while getting through these accusations of affairs and what not.

The evil character Iago has a plan to hurt and make Othello jealous from the beginning because he is incredibly jealous of him. Iago continually makes trouble by taking Othello’s special handkerchief and giving it to Cassio to make it appear as though Desdemona is cheating on him. Emilia, Iago’s wife proclaims to Iago, “You told a lie, an odious, damned lie! Upon my soul, a lie, a wicked lie! She false with Cassio?

Othello Commentary This passage takes place after Iago and Othello have seen Cassio speaking to Desdemona. Although Cassio was just asking Desdemona to help him get his job as lieutenant back, Iago attempts to raise suspicion about Cassio and Desdemona having an affair by remarking that Cassio left awfully quickly when Othello approached as if he was guilty. In this passage, Iago fools Othello and demonstrates his trustworthiness and that his motives are honest. Next, Iago warns Othello about jealousy and angers him, causing him to deny that he is jealous. From what Iago has said, Othello becomes doubtful and makes jealous inferences, but decides that he is not jealous and needs proof.

It is ironic that Iago uses the act of jealousy against Othello, yet jealousy is the probable reason that Iago convinced Othello about Desdemona. In "Othello" there are different types of jealousy that happen, but it does not

Despite the accusations being made toward Othello, he still remains even-tempered. Iago does not possess the same respect for Othello that Desdemona does. Iago appeals to Othello’s insecurities by instilling the idea of Desdemona’s infidelity. Iago tells Othello, “...as (to be bold with you0 [n]ot to affect many proposed matches [o]f her own clime, complexion, and degree, [w]hereto we see in all things nature tends...” (III. iii. 228-231).

A common feeling that everyone gets is jealousy. This feeling can cause many people to act out of character and do things they would never imagine doing. Whether this jealousy stems from the envy of others, or from the fear of losing someone or something. This emotion is quite prevalent in the everyday life of most people. In Shakespeare's “Othello,” a main issue of conflict are these types of jealousy.

Iago also has his own suspicion that Othello had an affair with Emilia, Iago’s wife, and seeks revenge. Iago’s soliloquy at the end of “till I am even’d with him, wife for wife” (Act 2, Scene 1) has the notion that Iago might sleep with Desdemona so that Othello must feel the same destructive jealousy.