UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO PIAU CENTRO DE CINCIAS HUMANAS E LETRAS CCHL DEPARTAMENTO DE LETRAS DL DISCIPLINA: LITERATURA INGLESA II MINISTRANTE: Prof.

f. Dra. MARIA DO SOCORRO REIS COSME

JEALOUSY IN SHAKESPEARES OTHELLO Ftima Maria Ribeiro de Carvalho

June, 2010 TERESINA - PI

UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO PIAU CENTRO DE CINCIAS HUMANAS E LETRAS CCHL DEPARTAMENTO DE LETRAS DL

JEALOUSY IN SHAKESPEARES OTHELLO

Paper demanded as the final test of the discipline British Literature II, led by Professor Doctor Socorro Reis of the Federal University of Piau.

June, 2010 TERESINA PI

OBJECTIVES To show and discuss themes of jealousy in Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare and its consequences.

INTRODUCTION Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" ("A Moorish Captain") by Giraldo Cinthi, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565. The play revolves around four central characters: Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army; his wife Desdemona; his lieutenant, Cassio; and his trusted ensign Iago. Because of its varied themes racism, love, jealousy, and betrayal Othello is widely felt to remain relevant to the present day and is often performed in professional and community theatres alike. The play has also been the basis for numerous operatic, film, and literary adaptations. The theme to be addressed and discussed in this paper is jealousy, which is a very important theme for being a universal emotion.

JEALOUSY IN SHAKESPEARES OTHELLO

Jealousy is an occurring theme throughout Shakespeares plays, which may be such a hard subject to write and read about because it is an emotion of terror, which means that it can be extremely dangerous in any situation. Perhaps the most outstanding form appears in Othello. As it can be possibly seen in most of the tragedies, the fate of the main characters seems to be drawn from the beginning of the play, mainly because of their imprisonment to their own personal and social limitations, which may expose them to the wickedness of others. Othello, the Moor of Venice, was a prisoner of his skin color, and seemed to be tolerated but not accepted by the Venetians only because of his military skills, they had racist feelings toward him. Aware of this prejudice and feeling insecure, Othello concealed his insecurity by behaving in a rude and impulsive way to an extant of intimidating his own wife, Desdemona. Despite his exterior gruff, Othello had character, attitudes and noble feelings. However, he was naive, because he was unaware of human evil and unable to recognize the evil in people. His insecurity made him receptive to Iagos intrigues, who arouses his jealousy, suggesting an affair between Desdemona and Cassio. As Almeida (2008) said, regarding to the pathological jealousy, generally, there is no real facts, and if there are, they often outweigh the value of the event. Undoubtedly, the definition for pathological jealousy shall include an unexplained suspicion associated with partner's fidelity that modifies the thoughts, feelings and behavior of the patient. As this suspicion is not confirmed by any real evidence it does not only affect the life of the person who suffers from this disorder, but also affects the partner and the relationship. That is exactly what happened to Othello, when he unconsciously allowed Iago to destroy the matrimony shared between him and the beautiful Desdemona. Iago did so with a flurry of deceit and trickery, playing upon one of the strongest human emotions, that of jealousy. Iago offered a story of betrayal to his master Othello, which ensnares his soul in a jealous rage of infidelity. Iago convinced his master that his beloved wife, Desdemona, was false in her virtue and was having an affair with his right hand man Cassio. Iago offered many proofs to his lord, most of which were deceitful, but these were some that only worked to spark the flame of jealousy in Othello. Othello was in such a state of rage about the alleged betrayal of Desdemona, that every single event made him believe that his suspicions were confirmed, without even

consulting her about it. As Brabantio cautioned Othello to watch out for Desdemona in an instance of potential treachery: "Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see: She has deceived her father and may thee (Act I, Scene III)" Iago used this later to remind Othello that his wife's own father said she might betray him. Iago betrayed his duty as Othello's ancient by teasing out Cassio's attraction to Desdemona through leading questions; he also, at every turn, sowed discord by being cloying and obsequious to Othello's face and then deriding him when he departed. Continuing his campaign to make Othello jealous, Iago warned Othello against jealousy: O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on; that cuckold lives in bliss Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger; But, O, what damned minutes tells he o'er Who dotes, yet doubts, suspects, yet strongly loves (Othello - Act 3, scene 3). Which is a famous speech not only for its description of jealousy but also for the cunning of its psychological destructiveness. The meat that the monster feeds on is a person's heart, which it eats away. At the same time, the monster mocks that person's heart, so that he or she feels shame. And the monster is insatiable, always gnawing away, so that the jealous person is never at peace. In comparison to all of this pain of suspicion and doubt, it's "bliss" to just be angry. Thus Iago tempts Othello to make the jump from suspicion to anger, without pausing to determine if the suspicion has any basis in fact. Hintz apud Almeida (2008) said that discussions and accusations also happen and can result in verbal or physical violence. Thus, from an emotion considered normal, jealousy can manifest itself in an explosive and intense way. The person who exaggerate in attitudes that express jealousy, has no prospect of an end, despite proving that his suspicions are not real, creating anxiety, depression, anger, guilt, insecurity and desire for retaliation. The appearance of excessive jealousy with a sense of ownership about the spouse and a fear of losing it, originated by the existence of a personal insecurity leads to a decrease of respect for the beloved. Thus, jealousy shows a sign of emotional instability marked by confusing love with possession. The perception of honesty the other characters had on Iago worked to his advantage, allowing him to put his revenge into action. His wife, Emilia, gave him the that handkerchief Desdemona had lost, the same one Othello gave to her, and he used this to

increase the credibility of his lie about Desdemona's infidelity to the point where Othello wasn't swayed at all by her impassioned plea for life before he killed her, distraught by her infidelity, which meant for him as the loss of her, anyway. Othello killed himself once Iago's plot was revealed, driven to the depths of despair by the knowledge that he murdered the innocent Desdemona because of his ancient's lies and deceit, he believed that it was not the work of a person, but the devil: I look down towards his feet; but that's a fable/ If that thou best a devil, I cannot kill thee. (Othello - Act 5, scene 2). Othellos jealousy destroyed his love through his hatred. And it is even possible to say that perhaps the theme of Othello is that it is wise to find out the truth before jumping to conclusions because jealousy can eat away a persons heart.

CONCLUSION

The tragedy Othello focuses on the doom of Othello and the other major characters as a result of jealousy. The theme of jealousy is prominent throughout the play as it motivates the characters actions. In Shakespeares Othello, jealousy is portrayed through the major characters of Iago and Othello. Othellos jealousy was shown as such a big that he destroyed his love through his hatred. In Iago, driven by revenge and malice, Shakespeare created an enduring villain; and in Othello he created the purest sense of the noble, tragic hero. But it's the themes jealousy, betrayal, and revenge that make the play shine when actors breath the lines.

REFERENCES

ALMEIDA, Thiago de. In Artigonal. A Sndrome de Otelo Quando o Cime se Torna Patolgico. Published on: June 10th 2008. Available at: <http://www.artigonal.com/psicoterapia-artigos/a-sindrome-de-otelo-quando-o-ciume-se-tornapatologico-444416.html> Accessed on: June 20th, 2010. SHAKESPEARE, William. Othello. Available at: <http://www.shakespeare-

literature.com/Othello/2.html>. Accessed on: June 19th, 2010.