Jealousy

Jealousy

1. Othello

   • Othello - "I'll see before I doubt; when I doubt, prove; And on the proof, there is no more but this."
     • Othello claims that he won't be destroyed by jealousy. He reasons that Desdemona chose him despite the fact that he is black. But, then, Othello lets slip that he may in fact be a bit more jealous and suspicious of his wife than he lets on - he says he wants some "proof" of Desdemona's infedility. Looks like Iago's master plan may work out after all.
   • Othello - "Speak of me as I am. Nothing extenuate... Of one not easily jealous, but being wrought, Perplexed in the extreme
     • Othello begs to be spoken of as a man so "perplex'd" that he didn't know what he was doing when he accused Desdemona of infidelity and murdered her. He doesn't want to be remembered as a man who was "easily jealous." Why is that?

2. Iago

   • Iago - "One Michael Cassio... By debitor and creditor. This counter-caster, He, in good time, must his lieutenant be"
     • Here, Iago claims he hates Othello because Othello passed him, Iago over for a promotion, giving "one Michael Cassio" the job as his military lieutenant instead. Iago claims he's far more qualified than Cassio, who lacks Iago's experience on the field of battle. Clearly, Iago seems pretty jealous. But is this the real reason Iago sets out to destroy Othello? Or is this merely an excuse to go after him? In other words, does Iago say all of this in order to manipulate Roderigo? (Roderigo, as we soon learn, is completely envious of Othello for marrying Desdemona. )
   • Iago - "I hate the Moor, And it is though abroad, that 'twixt my sheets 'Has done my office."
     • Now this is interesting. Earlier, Iago said he hates Othello because "the Moor" passed him over for a promotion. Yet, here, Iago says he hates Othello because he's heard a rumor that Othello has been intimate with Iago's wife. Iago says he doesn't exactly know if the rumor's true, but he's decided to go ahead and ruin Othello's life anyway. This suggests to us that Iago is using anything as a label for his 'motives' for what he plans to do to Othello.
   • Iago - "O,beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on"
     • Iago's pretty good at manipulating Othello, don't you think? Here, he pretends to warn Othello not to be jealous man, pointing out that jealousy ends up destroying the heart of the man who falls prey to it.

3. Desdemona

   • Desdemona - "Where should I lose that handkerchief, Emelia?... but my noble Moor Is true of mind and made of no such baseness As jealous creatures are..."
     • Desdemona is frantic when she discovers she's lost her handkerchief, as it was a meaningful gift from her husband. What's interesting is that poor Desdemona has no idea how her husband will react - she says Othello isn't the jealous type so there's no need to worry. According to her, Othello's "true of mind" and much too "noble" to stoop to "such baseness"

4. Emilia

   • Emilia - "Pray heaven it be state-matters, as you think, and no conception nor no jealous toy concerning you... It is a monster Begot upon itself, born on itself."
     • Emelia understands the nature of jealousy. Here, she points out that jealous husbands like Othello never really need any cause to be jealous - they just are jealous