Jealousy is a theme that has prominently appeared in the novel. This is spurred by the need of the characters to be protective of what they posses as well as obtaining what they believe rightfully belong to them. This eventually spurs hatred among some characters who act without finding out the truth. The two main characters, Othello and Iago are in contention of what Iago felt that Othello stole Desdemona by witchcraft and made her his wife. The plans to frustrate their marriage were defeated when Desdemona stated clearly before his father Brabanzio that she loved Othello and was now committed to him. This hence spurred up jealousy towards his relationships as he planned for their downfall . In this paper, the focus shall be analysing of how jealousy has been displayed in the book and the consequences it has on the characters.
Iago is a bitter man and his bitterness is spurred by the successful life that Othello is having. He looks at Othello as a man who stole his wife through witchcraft and plots to destroy him. He is jealousy at the fact that he could not win a case in which he claimed Othello stole Desdemona through witchcraft. He is also mad at the fact that Othello gave Cassio a position in the Army, which he thought he rightly deserved. He is also bitter that Desdemona who was once his lover is Othello’s wife and they seem to enjoying their marriage. With the assurance that Desdemona would only love him and most probably become his wife after separating them, he starts his mission to separate the two. Iago touches on the most treasured item of Othello’s marriage and subsequently uses it to destroy their marriage. Even though Iago is married, he does not pay much attention to her marriage and instead uses his wife to fulfil his selfish ambitions (1.1.57–6).
Jealousy drove Iago to involve other characters who subsequently faced the fate of a man that had no respect for life and marriage. Knowing that the handkerchief played a vital role in symbolising the union between Iago and Desdemona, he advises his wife to steal it and bring it to him. It is rather unfortunate that Iago reacts selfishly towards his wife and mainly uses her to commit an offence. Emillia does not understand why Iago desperately needs the handkerchief but for the sake of her piece of mind, she manages to steal it and take it to Iago. With the handkerchief, Iago is now a happy man, as this will help him blackmail Desdemona and Othello and subsequently break their family.
Othello has been displayed to be a possessive man who would not stand anything against his family and more especially his wife. Desdemona is like a property to him and is hence required to act and behave as Othello demands. After Iago came to him with the allegations that his wife was having an affair with Cassio, he does not take his time to confirm the allegations considering the happy and fulfilling marriage they have enjoyed over the years. He feels jealousy that his wife is having an affair with Cassio yet seems to act innocent before him. With the evidence of the handkerchief that Iago shared with him, he accuses Desdemona for cheating on him when he failed to produce the handkerchief that was subsequently found in Cassio’s room (3.3.294–303). He subsequently acted with rage and killed his wife and the man he believed was making his wife cheat on him.
After the killing his wife, the sad truth about the handkerchief and the man he had trusted to be a friend was revealed. Emillia, not able to handle the guild anymore reveals to Othello that she was the one who stole the handkerchief at the command of Iago, which was subsequently used to blackmail him. With such sadness of heart and the jealousy of not believing his wife, Othello kills Iago. Filled with rage of revealing the secret, Iago turns against his wife Emillia and strangles her to death. He feels betrayed by Emillio whom he also trusted to with the secret.
As if this was not the enough, Othello is angry at how much Iago had deceived him and made him not only to lose trust for his wife but also to kill him. He was angry at the fact that he could not trust his wife even after many years of a good marriage. With this rage, he looks for Iago and strangles him to death. Othello is found all alone burning with a lot of sorrow and jealousy. The pain and grief of killing his innocent wife is more than he can bear. He decides ultimately to kill himself with the hope that he will be rejoined to his wife 3.3.267–279.
Othello is a story that displays how much jealousy can cost a family and relationship. It simply began with the desire for Iago to take the position of Othello. He not only wanted his position but his wife. However, the repercussions were contrary to what he expected. All he wanted was for Othello to divorce his wife and subsequently get the opportunity to make her his wife. The outcome was however, the death of the two women that were dear to him, his death and the death of the other characters. The biggest lesson learnt from the story is to appreciate that which is owned and learn to trust those closest friends and relatives. Making hasty decisions and not verifying the allegations is likely to cause trouble.
Works cited
Shakespeare, William. Othello. London: Saddleback Educational Publ, 2003.
