JEALOUSY IN OTHELLO 3
Othello is vulnerable when an insinuation is made that Desdemona is unfaithful. Iago, the villain,
exploits the insecurity of Othello and makes it a crippling jealousy.
Iago is the villain Othello. His jealousy, which is both personal and professional, make him
an ideal malefactor. Iago confesses that he hates Othello and wants to revenge against him. He is
jealous of Othello because of his success and also because he chose Cassio to be lieutenant. In Act
1, Scene 1, Iago claims that Othello has chosen who to promote, not by gradation, but by affection.
This is because Cassio has never been in a battle field and, therefore, is not fit for promotion. One
of the personal reasons that motivates Iago’s jealousy is that he desires to have Desdemona, despite
believing Othello has tainted her purity. He also wants to avenge a perceived affair between
Othello and his wife. He says,
“Now, I do love her too,
Not out of absolute lust (though peradventure
I stand accountant for as great a sin)
But partly led to diet my revenge,
For that I do suspect the lusty Moor
Hath leaped into my seat—the thought whereof
Doth, like a poisonous mineral, gnaw my inwards,
And nothing can or shall content my soul
Till I am even'd with him, wife for wife,
Or failing so, yet that I put the Moor
At least into a jealousy so strong
That judgment cannot cure ” (Act 2, Scene 1, 313-329).
