Khalil Jenkins Essays

Khalil Jenkins
Professor Kobeleva
English 1102
24 April 2015
Jealousy/Envy in Shakespeare’s Othello
Sexual Jealousy led to the envy that took over Othello. Aristotle once said “Jealousy is both reasonable and belongs to reasonable men, while envy is base and belongs to the base, for the one makes himself get good things by jealousy, while the other does not allow his neighbour to have them through envy” (Aristotle). The sexual jealousy that began to overwhelm Othello caused him to fall slave to envy. This envy caused Othello to make some very poor decisions. The following will explain the difference between jealousy and envy as well and show how one leads to the other, as well as explore the events leading up to Othello’s sexual jealousy and the envy that caused his demise. Jealousy is a very common emotion. There is a time and place to be jealous. If used properly, it can promote betterment in one’s life. Envy, just as Aristotle stated, is a base emotion; envy takes root at the heart. If one is not careful, jealousy can take over and lead to envy, they are one simple step away from each other (“Of Jealousy and Envy”). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy very clearly explains the difference between jealousy and envy in the following:
Jealousy involves three parties, the subject, the rival, and the beloved; and the jealous person's real locus of concern is the beloved—the person whose affection he is losing or fears losing—not his rival. Whereas envy is a two party relation, with a third relatum that is a good (albeit a good that could be a particular person's affections); and the envious person's locus of concern is the rival. Hence, even if the good that the rival has is the affection of another person, there is a difference between envy and jealousy. (D’Arms)
Combining information from The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and The Philosophical Review that uses very similar words to explain these differences, it can be concluded that envy and jealousy are very different. Both of these can be seen in Othello, in order to see this, you must understand the plot of the story of Othello (“Jealousy”). In Othello, a drama unfolds regarding a marriage that Shakespeare creates between a Moor named Othello and a Venetian woman, Desdemona. Othello falls in love with, and marries Desdemona. During the war against the Turks, Othello is fooled by another man, Iago. This devious man claims that Othello’s wife is having an affair and being unfaithful by having relations with the lieutenant, Cassio. Angry and overwhelmed with jealousy, Othello kills Desdemona. He suffocates her in her bed. Once this occurs, he realizes that he has sinned by killing his wife due to a rumor. Othello then commits suicide. The interesting thing is that this envy seems to be sourced at Iago’s hatred and jealousy. The envy that Othello obtains causes his human nature to erupt into chaos and shows just how animalistic man can be. The key point at the end of the play shows that Othello’s jealousy turned into envy is the murder of Desdemona and the suicide. With the understanding of the underlying plot, it is also important to study the details of Iago’s deception. The love shared between Desdemona and Othello is a true love. It trancends cultural and racial barriers. The jealous that enters the mind of Othello because of Iago’s deception destroys this love. In Act III, Scene 3, Cassio is speaking to Desdemona and requests that she intercedes between he and Othello; willingly, Desdemona agrees. Cassio and Othello are former friends who are in a dispute at the time of this request. Hoping to mend the friendship, Desdemona plans her conversation with Othello. Soon after this discussion, Othello and Iago enter and Cassio hugs Desdemona and leaves, leaving the situation in her hands. Iago makes a comment about the hug, stating— "Ha, I like not that" — this eats away at Othello. Iago keeps up the insinuations by trying to convince Othello (already in a

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