Jealousy

• "I know my price, I am worth no worse a place"


  - One of the first lines said by Iago in the play. As one of his very first lines focuses on his value as a person of the military, Iago seems self-obsessed and arrogant, as well as selfish - only caring about himself.

  - He seems arrogant, and almost, even more arrogant than Othello himself. The audience will therefore question if Othello is really the arrogant one (if he presents himself).

  - In saying "I know my price", Iago focuses on his self-worth and perhaps helps the audience anticipate what actions he will take to get the "price" he deserves for himself.

  - Iago believes he should have been promoted instead of Cassio. As Othello's 'ancient' he holds a fairly low position yet feels superior to Cassio. Cassio's promotion undermines his sense of superiority, so he tries to regain his dominance by plotting against Cassio, ruining his career.

  
  

  SAID BY IAGO
• "Preferment goes by letter and affection and not by old gradation"

  - Iago believes he deserves the promotion to lieutenant more than Cassio because he is more experienced; Iago is meritocratic - working for success.

  - In adopting a meritocratic stance, Iago presents himself as superior to Cassio, undermining Cassio's military contributions and questioning his military abilities.

  - This is slightly ironic in two ways; Cassio's military abilities can be questioned when we see that he is not able to take control of his weaknesses as he has "poor and unhappy brains for drinking", lacking qualities needed to be a successful militant, for example, self-control. Iago's military abilities are also questioned. Although he presents himself as more capable than Cassio when it comes to the military, we never see him taking on his role as a soldier seriously. Rather, he makes other people of the military and people outside of the military to execute his actions.

  - Iago is angry that success seems based on favouritism, rather than ability.

  
  

  SAID BY IAGO
• "I hate the moor"

  - Duplicity of Iago's: "My lord, you know I love you".

  - The audience question why Iago "hates the moor"? Does Iago "hate the moor" because of his military ranking? It can be argued that Iago portrays a sense of superiority and belief that he is above other characters - especially outsiders, for example: Cassio and Othello - from the very beginning, therefore is jealous of Othello as he cannot understand how a black man is a general. Coloniser mindset? Whites should have more power over the blacks and if a black man has power over a white man, it is unnatural? One of the reasons of his hate can be that he is overtaken in authority and influence by Othello.

  - Significant to the tragedy: Iago's jealousy will be the driving force of his duplicitous and manipulative scheming which will bring the downfall of Othello.

  
  

  SAID BY IAGO
• "I hate the Moor, and it is thought abroad that 'twixt my sheets he's done my office".

  - Reiterates that he "hates the Moor" in A1, S3 twice, showing the extent to which he hates Othello and implying this his hate towards Othello will act as a motivation for him in pursuing his plans and achieving his goals of bringing Othello's downfall.

  - His first soliloquy with the audience - he creates an intimate relationship with the audience and is the only character to do so. Although the audience are aware of his nature and him as a vice character, they may still prefer Iago over the other characters just because he is the only one that has that form of relationship with the audience.

  - Iago presented as opportunistic and a character who does not have a plan, rather, his plans are formed based on what he is being revealed, therefore he makes his plans as he goes along. In this case, he states that he hates Othello because Othello might have slept with Emilia - sexual jealousy.

  - Sexual jealousy is at the forefront of the play and a key theme of the play. All women of the play suffer at their lovers' hands because of sexual jealousy and are either mistreated (Bianca) or have their lives sacrificed (Desdemona and Emilia).

  - Sexual jealousy is a catalyst to the tragedy and the reason as to why there is conflict and violence. Ultimately, men's insecurity causes chaos.

  - Iago admits that he has no evidence of this claim - "I know not if't be true" - yet, acts on his suspicion anyway. His unsubstantiated claims suggest that sexual jealousy is just an excuse to cause trouble.

  - Shakespeare illustrates how jealousy derives from male ego, as the repetition of the first person possessive "my" conveys Iago's sense of ownership over Emilia and their union.

  
  

  SAID BY IAGO
• "For that I suspect the lusty Moor

  Hath leaped into my seat."


  - Once again, Shakespeare illustrates how jealousy derives from male ego. Context: Males were seen as superiors to their wives and therefore, wives were expected to subdue to their husbands and be controlled by them, in this case, allowing men to have control over their sexuality. Iago is concerned with his superiority and control over other people, therefore, it is inevitable for him to feel this way over his own wife.

  - Iago is the epitome of patriarchy - he hates people because of his male ego and his toxic masculinity. His toxic masculinity will cause chaos in the play, to the extent that it will also be reflected on Othello and make him adopt a similar mindset too.

  - Iago uses repeated euphemisms in place of Emilia's names, amplifying his misogyny. In calling Emilia a 'seat', he objectifies her and implies that women are solely sexual objects, trophies to be won and lost at the hands of other men. The omission of Emilia's individuality shows that his 'seat' could be any woman: what matters most is that another man has 'leaped into it'.

  - CENTRAL TO THE EMERGENCE OF TRAGEDY

  
  

  SAID BY IAGO
• "For I fear Cassio with my night-cap too"


  - Initially, Iago's reasoning for his jealousy towards Cassio was because of Cassio's promotion to "lieutenant". However, now he changes his reasoning for why he despises Cassio and implies it is because of Cassio's promiscuity with his wife, Emilia.

  - Could Iago have changed his reason as to why he hates Cassio as he knows Cassio's promotion is not a very convincing reason to seek revenge, and therefore, is also trying to put himself in a better light by not seeking revenge based on a reason that may be deemed as invalid? Perhaps he sees sexual jealousy and male ego as a better reason that allows his reckless behaviour?

  - Is Iago trying to justify his actions because of his jealousy?

  - So far, all of the reasons for Iago's plans were because of sexual jealousy; goes to show how significant sexual jealousy is to the tragedy and anticipates how Iago's prevalent sexual jealousy will take control over Othello too.

  - The quote suggests that his plans come from a place of insecurity.

  
  

  SAID BY IAGO
• "O beware my lord of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on."


  - Green is a symbol of envy.

  - Shakespeare introduces the idea of jealousy as a monster, which eats up the "meat" of the person who experiences it. The word "feeds" suggests that jealousy is a consuming force - significant to the tragedy - it consumes Othello and leads to his sacrifice of the "guiltless Desdemona" and ultimately consumes her life as well.

  - Foreshadows Othello's "meat" being fed to jealousy and adopting Iago's jealous desires too, ultimately causing his downfall. Iago is aware that his plan is going to succeed.

  - Moreover, the word "mock" reminds the audience of Iago's habit of taking pleasure in other characters' misfortunes. This connects him to the "monster", making him a personification of jealousy and ultimately implying that as Othello trusts Iago like no other, will become a personification of jealousy too.

  - A metaphor which shows the unnatural nature of Iago's evil and the extent to which he will go to.

  
  

  SAID BY IAGO
• "I am abused and my relief must be to loathe her."

  - The beginning of Othello's manipulation by Iago and Iago's sexual jealousy transcending Othello. Othello adopts a similar stance to Iago - a misogynistic one - presenting himself, just like Iago, a victim of women's abuse's of 'sexuality' and their animalistic, predatory desires.

  - Othello is being blinded by Iago's true nature. He sees himself as a victim of Desdemona's duplicity - her looking angel-like but actually abusing Othello with her promiscuity - but fails to see himself being abused by Iago.

  - Othello trusts Iago too much and therefore believes he should trust Iago's view on misogyny and sexual jealousy.

  - Here we see male solidarity and male jealousy transcend true female love, implying that male solidarity will be the cause of Desdemona's downfall which leads to her wrongful killing.

  - The impact of sexual jealousy and its importance to the tragedy is also seen when he says he must "loathe her". Jealousy confuses Othello and means he is unable to distinguish between appearance vs. reality. His manipulation changed his view of Desdemona and her love and thus decided he must hate her. This is significant to the tragedy as on this basis, he wrongfully kills her.

  
  

  SAID BY OTHELLO
• "O curse of marriage! That we can call these delicate creatures ours, and not their appetites."


  - Sexual jealousy, once again. Sexual jealousy is the driving force of this tragedy.

  - The vice figure is able to manipulate Othello's "open nature" with his stance on women. Similarly to Iago, Othello deems women's sexuality as being an "appetite", something women cannot survive without which is crucial to them being able to live. It presents women in a predatory way and suggests that men suffer at the hands of women. To women, sex is not something important - rather, it is just a desire that they strive to fulfil, regardless of the person that fulfils their desire. WOMEN ARE DEPENDENT ON SEX.

  - This view on women is crucial to the tragedy as it anticipates the female characters becoming victims of this male view, especially Desdemona who is killed by Othello's tragic flaw, of being too trusting and gullible, and therefore, manipulated by Iago's view on appetites which will kill her. This foreshadows Desdemona as a Jesus-like figure, sacrificed for the sins of others.

  - Contrasts with his view at the very beginning of the play: "I love the gentle Desdemona".

  - As audience, we begin to lose respect and admiration for the tragic hero (Aristotelian view) as. his views are no longer admirable, rather, like Iago, he now embodies patriarchy and is just like every other male character.

  
  

  SAID BY OTHELLO
• "The Moor already changes with my poison.

  But, with a little, act upon the blood, Burn like the mines of sulphur."


  - "Poison" is a metaphor for sexual jealousy and Iago's manipulation about Desdemona's promiscuity which will be poisonous to Othello's thoughts and ultimately essential to the tragedy as the only way he gets rid of this poison is by killing Desdemona out of jealousy and killing himself because jealousy has led him to making a fatal mistake.

  - "Poison" foreshadows the tragic load at the end. It also puts emphasis on the evilness of Iago's plans, how it is inevitable that the characters that have been manipulated by him will die.

  - The metaphor "act upon the blood, burn like the mines of sulphur" is a euphemism for hell and carries on the motif of damnation, anticipating Othello "double-damning" himself for wrongfully killing Desdemona and committing suicide, all of which were because of the jealousy which is "poison".

  - Following these lines, Iago states that "not poppy, nor mandragora, nor all the drowsy syrups of the world shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep" implying that no narcotic will help Othello escape from the jealousy, anticipating his escape only through death.

  
  

  SAID BY IAGO
• "Death and Damnation! O!"

  "O Monstrous! Monstrous!"

  - We begin to witness the impact sexual jealousy has on Othello. It is made clear that Othello is having a change of character as a result of toxic masculinity, substantiating the view that sexual jealousy and toxic masculinity are what drive forward the tragedy and are one of the main elements which allows the tragedy to emerge. This is significant to the tragedy as the sexual jealousy which overtakes Othello changes him as a person - he no longer loves Desdemona - rather, he seeks to get revenge because of her promiscuity, which ultimately leads to her tragic death.

  - Moreover, we witness dramatic change in Othello's speak, from an eloquently spoken and level-headed general to a general who speaks short sentences which are no longer rhythmic, reflective of his impure and chaotic thoughts and foreshadowing his desire to kill Desdemona. Here, sexual jealousy is drug-like, changing people for the negative.

  - The short sentences also juxtapose him as a character at the beginning, when he spoke to Desdemona with terms of endearment and admiration, yet, now, he uses terms which link to hell and death, foreshadowing Desdemona's death at his hands.

  - The repetition of "monstrous" implies he is losing self-control making the tragedy more tragic as he not only is losing his love for Desdemona but is also losing the traits needed for being a successful general. Aristotle: The loss of the tragic hero's influence or position of importance in society.

  
  

  
  

  SAID BY OTHELLO
• "They are not ever jealous for the cause, but jealous for they're jealous. It is a monster, begot upon itself, born on itself."


  - Similar to her husband, she refers to jealousy as a "monster". Emilia foreshadows the extent to which Iago's manipulation of Othello and him convincing Othello of Desdemona's promiscuity will lead to a monstrous outcome for the two. "Monster" implies something supernatural and scary - the outcome will be supernatural, the death of Desdemona especially, implying that her death was not meant to happen but the supernatural force has taken over her fate, making her death inevitable. It also implies that chaos caused at the end of the play because of jealousy and how it will be a "monster" that it will lead to the wrongful killing of many.

  - Emilia is presented as a cynic about men, worldly enough to realise that Othello is jealous and knows that jealous people "are not ever jealous" for a "cause" - foreshadowing Desdemona's sacrifice and her being portrayed as Jesus-like, being killed by Othello's unjustified jealousy. Women as victims of male misjudgement and toxic masculinity.

  - Ironic; Emilia seems like an expert on jealousy, when she seems to have no clue of about Iago's villainy.

  - Emilia also presents sexual jealousy as a typical trait of a man therefore implying that it is inevitable for women to become a victim of male jealousy.

  
  

  SAID BY EMILIA
• "This is some token from a newer friend."


  - "Token" -> refers to the handkerchief which Cassio is now in possession of; Desdemona's handkerchief.

  - Bianca sees this as a gift from a lover and thus making her feel jealous.

  - Both Othello and Bianca see the handkerchief as a symbol of their partner's infidelity. It was originally a symbol of Othello's love for Desdemona, but comes to represent her betrayal, which shows how jealousy can transform a positive symbol into a negative one. However, although both Othello and Bianca are jealous, the way they react is different. Othello reacts irrationally whereas Bianca still remains submissive to Cassio, stating she "must be circumstanced". This implies that women are more emotionally intelligent than men and men's lack of emotional intelligence will be key to tragedy. Othello loses his emotional intelligence which he was in possession of at the beginning of the play. If he would not have been manipulated and held onto his traits as a general, he perhaps would have been emotionally intelligent enough to give Desdemona a chance to speak and prove herself innocent, changing the plot completely.

  - Regardless of their class or profession, all women are treated by male characters and especially their lovers.

  
  

  SAID BY BIANCA
• "Work on, my medicine, work!"

  - "Medicine" -> metaphor for Iago's "poison" in this case, which is his ability to manipulate Othello with jealousy.

  - He says this after Othello falls in a trance because of Iago's manipulation that Cassio lie with Desdemona.

  - In the 14th century, drugs were used for something other than remedial purposes, therefore, in this case, Iago's drugs ("medicine") was not for remedial purposes, but rather, to manipulate his scheming further.

  - Significance to the tragedy as we see Othello lose control through his trance because of Iago's "medicine" which is working. Iago is now beginning to have authority over Othello and control Othello further, which will lead to Desdemona's train death.

  - Iago's plans are working.

  
  

  SAID BY IAGO
• "Othello shall go mad; And his unbookish jealousy must construe poor Cassio's smiles, gestures and light behaviours, quite in the wrong."


  - Iago sheds light on Othello's naïveté, referring to Othello's 'jealousy' being one that is 'unbookish' (meaning uneducated). In stating that Othello's jealousy is 'uneducated', Iago implies that Othello is easily led on and is easily to manipulate into believing Desdemona's promiscuity without being given any substantial evidence. This is significant to the tragedy as Iago knows Othello trusts him and therefore is aware of Othello's weakness which allows Iago's plans to go forward, making them successful.

  - A lot of Iago's plans rely on Othello's naïveté and his trusting nature of Iago - portraying Iago as the smartest character of the play.

  - Moreover, in stating "Othello shall go mad", Iago foreshadows Othello's madness after Desdemona's death which could have been prevented, if he would have not been so credible of Iago's seeds of doubt. All of this could have been prevented; fate?

  - Foreshadows Othello's madness which will lead to his suicide and ultimately, Iago's victory over Othello - evil transcending good in this case.

  - Jealousy is a deadly vice.

  
  

  SAID BY IAGO
• "Thy bed lust-stained shall with lust's blood be spotted."


  - Othello's love for Desdemona has officially been taken over by Iago's deception. Desdemona's honest and true love has been overtaken by Iago's love to the extent that Othello accuses Desdemona of being lusty. In doing so, Othello makes it clear to the audience that lust will now control his reasoning and anything he does is because of sexual jealousy, anticipating Desdemona's "guiltless Death" at the hands of Othello's jealousy.

  - Moreover, the reference to the "bed lust-stained" is a reflection of Iago's views on women. Just like Iago's view that Emilia had her "office done" by other men, Othello also adopts a similar stance and makes Desdemona seem as an infidel.

  - Missed opportunity; Othello thinks Desdemona's bed is "lust-stained" yet, there has been no evidence. Desdemona laid her "wedding sheets" on the bed, arguably in hope of having sexual intercourse with Othello and proving herself innocent. If Othello would have given in, he would have proved Desdemona innocent, yet, he chooses not to and decides to kill Desdemona without substantial evidence, suggesting that male solidarity is superior to marital solidarity.

  - In stating that Desdemona's bed "shall with lust's blood be spotted", Othello makes it clear to the audience that sexual jealousy will lead to Desdemona's death, and similar to Iago, justifies reckless behaviour on the basis of jealousy and male ego.

  
  

  SAID BY OTHELLO
• "Then you must speak of me... of one, not easily jealous."


  - After his wrongful sacrifice of Desdemona and his realisation that he has killed Desdemona despite being innocent, he focuses on the theme of reputation and asks the characters to remember him as "one not easily jealous". In saying so, Othello attempts to redeem himself to the characters and the audience - attempting to portray himself as a character that is not jealous, rather is a character whose jealous tendencies were manipulated by Iago and his successful plans. Therefore, Othello tries to redeem himself and his role as a tragic hero, in hopes that the audience do not lose respect for him.

  - Moreover, in trying to make characters speak of him as "one not easily jealous", Othello attempts to erase his tragic mistake justifying it as not being a part of his nature. Some audience may agree and may forgive Othello - Othello was very trusting of Iago because as a black man, if he did not trust the only character that made his love visible to the "moor", then he could not trust or believe anyone else. Additionally, Othello and Iago worked closely together in the military, giving Othello another valid reason to believe Iago and become jealous.

  - Nevertheless, it is also important to acknowledge that Othello killed Desdemona without any solid evidence therefore cannot be forgive for his tragic mistake. If he would have killed her with solid evidence, then perhaps he could have been remembers as "one not easily jealous", yet he cannot be.

  - Othello wants to also rid himself of his reputation as a "jealous" man, implying that throughout the play, jealousy was a crucial and significant factor in moving forward the tragedy. Therefore, wanting to get rid of such a view on his reputation, Othello wants to rid himself of Iago's evil - almost trying to redeem himself from Iago's manipulation.

  
  

  SAID BY OTHELLO