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Jealous Behaviors In Shakespeare'sOthello, And Iago

Good Essays

Jealous tendencies emerge in plot lines when the characters in them struggle to come to terms with the limits and situations placed around their personal worlds. This case is shown to occur often, manifested in a theme containing jealous tendencies by the main characters--Brabantio, Othello, and Iago-- in Shakespeare's play Othello. Instead of coming to terms with the environment and conditions around them, the jealousy-ridden Othello and Brabantio are manipulated through Iago’s work, for even though Iago is the antagonist of this play, he is in much the same mindset as the other two. The illogical thought processes made by the insecure Othello and Brabantio allow for storyline that contains a theme saturated in jealousy.
One of the first cases in which Iago passively controls another character is shown to occur in the actions and words of Brabantio. Firmly confident in the fact that he is cushioned from any real-world troubles, Brabantio is surprised to find that Desdemona, his daughter, had run away from home with Othello. This is shown in the lines "What tell'st thou me of robbing? This is Venice / My house is not a grange." His anger and the shock of the insult placed unto him warps into a resentful behavior focused on Othello. To Brabantio, the thought that his child could disobey his will is quite unimaginable, but the reality is that she did. In this, Iago seizes his opportunity to steer Brabantio’s anger toward Othello. Because Brabantio’s anger and vengeance stems

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