In Shakespeare ‘s play Othello, hostile jealousy warps reality for Othello which leads to the demise of his marriage as well as himself. Many critics have analyzed the topic of jealousy, most of them coming to the conclusion that Othello showed signs of underlying insecurities and possessiveness which lead to jealousy however; Nordland pointed out that jealousy was not caused by pre-existing insecurities and scars from past traumatic experiences but it created doubts and issues of self esteem in Othello after he is gripped by delusional jealousy, courtesy of Iago. To properly explain Othello ‘s metamorphosis of a honorable man into “the green-eyed monster” (3. 3. 196), one must define jealousy for the irritant that it is.
Jealousy is a multi-dimensional emotional state where one ‘s relationship, whether it be with a friend or spouse, is threatened by another person or rival (Buss 155). In Othello, Iago seeks ruin Othello by spinning false, unrestrained tales of infidelity between Cassio and Desdemona. With false knowledge of infidelity, Othello hurls into a detrimental episode of jealousy and turns on his wife resulting in spousal homicide. Jealousy, described by Ekman and Plutchik ‘s research, is composed of “eight primary emotions- anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, anticipation, trust, and joy”(Buss 157). In Othello ‘s case, one can assume that the emotions included in his fit of jealousy were anger, disgust, and distrust. Along with jealousy are negative repercussions that lead to damaged relationships.
In a section of Buss ‘ essay, the topic of jealousy leading to homicide outlines how one partner isolates the other and resorts to violence which can “range from minor slaps to brutal beatings” (Buss 160), a instance o. .saying “I fetch my life and being/ From men of royal siege” (1. 2. 24-25) which renounces any possibility that Othello felt inferior to anyone within the Venetian society. The final, certifiable root of jealousy that can be applied to Othello is that he experienced a mental breakdown.
Once successfully infected by jealousy, Othello ‘s outlook on his marriage, himself, and the people he once trusted completely changed. In a study, presumably conducted by Cipriani, people who have been tainted by delusional jealousy had tendencies to over analyze small details, such as moved items within their homes, taking pieces of conversation out of context or stray events and assume that those things are evidence that their spouse is cheating (Cipriani 468). Jealousy of this degree can foster an array of neurological disorders like dementia, brain trauma, and Parkinson ‘s disease
