William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello is an insightful play that enhances the interplay between the themes of race and jealousy and how they join to lead to the downfall of the central character, Othello. Racially, Othello is a Moor who is serving as a general in the Venetian army, and hence, his racial identity in the society from which he seeks acceptance is immediate. This disposition of the “outsider” makes Othello very susceptible to Iago’s machinations, who, by means of allusions to the dishonesty of Desdemona, causes Othello’s “green-eyed monster” (p. 129) jealousy to awaken. Shakespeare perfectly portrays the situation where Iago, who deliberately takes advantage of Othello’s perceived racial outcast, uses jealousy to turn Othello’s mind in a way that his sense of reality and morality is utterly distorted. The play’s final scenes show Othello’s metamorphosis from a well-respected general to a crazed husband who committed the horrendous act of murder because of irrational jealousy. Consequently, the play serves as a vivid warning of the destructive power of marginalization and uncontrollable jealousy.
From the beginning, Othello’s identity as an outsider is highlighted because he is from another country. The way his wife, Desdemona, refers to their marriage metaphorically illustrates the racial difference. She calls him “an old black ram” with “a white ewe” (p. 13). Although Othello is well-regarded for his military successes, the fundamental prejudice that he is not truly Venetian will always divide him from the rest of society. He shrewdly pinpoints and then exploits this weakness of Othello, who is “a free and open nature, That thinks men honest that but seem to be so, and will as tenderly be led by the nose, As asses are” (p. 55). The character assassination of Iago sewed seeds of doubt in Othello’s mind because Othello had been an outsider all his life, and thus, his knowledge about the realities of Venetian society was limited.
The more Iago’s insinuations permeate Othello’s mind, the more jealousy starts to grip tightly into his mind and character. Shakespeare shows how jealousy is a form of madness which causes one’s moral reasoning powers to be impaired. Although ocular proof is presented to Othello while seeing the handkerchief in the possession of Cassio, he takes it as evidence of his wife’s infidelity, even though the evidence is circumstantial in nature (p.143). The balance between reason and logic recedes in the background when Othello’s imagination is overtaken by his green-eyed envy. Emilia states this sharp truth that “they are not truly jealous for the cause, But jealous for their jealous…” (p. 163). Jealousy begets more jealousy in an ever-spiralling self-feeding mechanism.
By showing jealousy to be an unreasonable, runaway motive, the playwright intensifies the feeling of tragic impossibility in Othello’s journey along the path of murderous madness. While he is being reasoned with by those around him and the claimant insists on his innocence, it is when jealousy grabs him that there is no reason for him. Envy absorbs his level-headedness and intellectual wisdom. Emilia urges Othello to stop seeing the truth in the opposite way, that “She loved you, cruel Moor” (p. 257). However, Othello refuses to listen to this, staying with his conviction that he has been betrayed. He proclaims, “She was as false as the water” (p. 247). In it, Shakespeare demonstrates that unreasonable jealousy, which once flares up, cannot be extinguished by rational thinking or pragmatic thinking but only by the means of tragic catastrophe.
The destructive power of jealousy is, however, far more than simply affecting his rational faculties, it causes a frightening transformation in his personality and ethics as well. The once “noble” general more and more tries to resort to expressions of violence, telling Iago that he would “tear her all to pieces” if he found out she was unfaithful (p. 147). Othello eventually takes Desdemona’s life, saying that he is ‘compelled’ to do it and that he ‘justifies’ it as a ‘sad necessity’ – he says “But here’s my soul’s joy” (p. 73). With his self-justification, Othello’s mind is set on the conclusion that killing his wife as a way to keep his honour pure is a reasonable and understandable step. Rage and jealousy have completely and utterly distorted his moral compass and concept of nobility.
Jealousy is not a trait that is unique just to Othello’s character or circumstances, but Shakespeare makes sure that it is clear to everyone that Othello’s susceptibility to Iago’s treachery comes from the fact that he is an outsider in Venetian society. He is so truly other that such suspicion and jealousy lead him to wander so far away from the right path. Iago is successful in infiltrating Othello’s unguarded mind by using racial undertones and making Othello doubt his position in the military through race and jealousy, which are interconnected as the principal issues that eventually bring about Othello’s tragic fall.
In conclusion, the playwright’s fine art demonstrates how social exclusion can allow for insecurity, suspicion, and all-consuming envy, which leads to a heart-rending and everlasting portrayal of the deadly consequences of racism and uncontrolled jealousy. Othello exemplifies the destructive power of those complex outside and inner forces that can sweep away a nobleman and dismantle the very pillars of logic, morality, and reasoning. Shakespeare’s timeless perspectives are the reason that Othello’s endurance as a great meditation on some of the most excruciating human predicaments will never diminish.
Shakespeare, William. “Othello. Edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine.” Folger Shakespeare Library (1993).