Jealousy Theme In Othello

Shakespeare has been prominent in his use of recurring themes throughout his works, particularly those of death, love, and betrayal. These themes are all present within Othello. The most prominent is that of jealousy. Specifically, the jealousy that affects most of the male characters in Othello. It is possible to see the jealousy from the beginning to the end of the play and how it ruins the male characters’ lives. It can be seen in the beginning of the play, when Roderigo is envious of Othello because he wants to be with Desdemona and at the end of the play when Othello is mad with envy because he thinks that Cassio and Desdemona have been having an affair. Not all the jealousy in the play is brought about because of love. Much of it is fashioned by other characters such as Iago, who creates lies and misleading situations for his own reasons. Because Iago is blinded by anger and envy with the goal of make everyone just as jealous and miserable as himself, He …show more content…
This causes Othello to constantly think about this possibility. However, Othello never actually asks Cassio or his wife if this is true. The only consideration he takes is what Iago has said and the evidence that Iago has planted like Desdemona’s handkerchief that was found in Cassio’s bed chamber. Because of Desdemona’s handkerchief, Othello has now become completely obsessed and does not trust anyone other than Iago. Now that Othello only trusts Iago, Iago can now push and manipulate Othello even farther for his own purposes. His plan starts out by being sympathetic to Othello. Iago’s deceiving and manipulating actions can been seen in this example “She did deceive her father, marrying you, and when she seem’d to shake and fear your looks, she lov’d them most” (III. iii. 206-209). Because Iago points out Desdemona’s previous deceiving action of marring him. Othello can no longer trust that he loves