The Impact of Iago’s Jealousy on Othello and Desdemona's Relationship

Love is sometimes fast and passionate, but when it turns sour, jealousy can easily come in the same way. Humans are often quick to fall into jealousy, whether it be for someone’s lifestyle or for a relationship, and it can drive some to act on their impulses. In Othello by William Shakespeare, Iago’s jealousy resulted in the urge to want to ruin Othello’s life. Othello’s response to this was his mental deterioration from a confident and noble man to one ridden with jealousy over Desdemona’s supposed affair with Cassio, while Desdemona’s response was one of complete and utter trust in Othello’s love for her until the very end. The tools employed by Iago include lies and manipulation, and the “green-eyed monster” can be tamed by the Christian through humility and sticking to the truth.

Iago’s jealousy is the main driving force of the plot, resulting in a desire for ruining Othello’s life by any means possible, employing tools of manipulation to achieve this goal. His jealousy led him to hate Othello in the first place, believing him to have done something with his wife Emilia. “I hate the Moor, and it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets h’as done my office. I know not if’t be true, but I, for mere suspicion in that kind, will do as if for surety” (Shakespeare 1.3.378-381). Iago is working off of what is essentially a rumor, and it has catastrophic results for everyone involved. This sentence by him in the first act of the play sets up his reason for his jealousy and what he does with this feeling is seen throughout the play. His jealousy leads him to manipulate Othello to the point of it physically manifesting in an epileptic seizure. Iago however shows no remorse for his action of causing this in him, instead rejoicing and saying: “Work on, my medicine works! Thus credulous fools are caught, and many worthy and chaste dames even thus, all guiltless, meet reproach” (Shakespeare 4.1.44-47). This is not the first of Iago’s lies, and it is certainly not the last, as every single one brought Othello closer and closer to the brink of revenge for Desdemona’s assumed infidelity. Through these lines it is seen the effects of Iago’s psychological games on Othello’s mind. His skills have been discovered to be useful in psychotherapy, although not in the same way he uses it. “Recent progress in this discipline regarding phenomena such as indirect hypnotic suggestions and paradoxical interventions illuminate Iago’s amazing prowess”. His manipulations do not stay in simply the realm of literature as is evident from this text, and they are clearly quite effective. Iago knows exactly how to mess with the heads of the other characters to get the results that he desires.

Othello and Desdemona respond to Iago’s manipulation in vastly different ways, with Othello falling prey to Iago’s lies and succumbing to his jealousy, and Desdemona refusing to believe that Othello could be jealous and trusting him completely with her heart. Othello’s symptoms have become recognized in the world as a genuine mental illness which has since been dubbed “Othello Syndrome.” “Othello syndrome is a psychotic disorder characterized by delusion of infidelity or jealousy; it often occurs in the context of medical, psychiatric or neurological disorders. At least 30% of cases in the literature show a neurological basis for their delusion of infidelity, although its biological basis is not fully understood”. Othello is so heavily influenced by Iago’s lies that it affects him not only mentally, but physically as well. He does not take one second to even consider that Iago could be lying as he, like nearly every other character in this play, believes Iago to be an honest man who is incapable of telling a lie. Desdemona on the other hand loyally stays by Othello and believes him to be above things like jealousy, and she says as such in Act 3: “And but my noble Moor is true of mind, and made of no such baseness as jealous creatures are, it were enough to put him to ill thinking” (Shakespeare 3.4.26-29). Desdemona’s response reveals her strong faith in Othello and her devotion to their love that she believes is still alive and well. She proves this undying love for him, denying his claims of her infidelity or Emilia’s suspicion that he may be jealous of Cassio. Desdemona is innocent in this, a victim of the paranoia that Iago instilled in Othello’s mind. While Othello and Desdemona’s love story ended in this way, there are other means for the Christian to avoid meeting the same fate.

There are multiple ways for the Christian to tame their jealous tendencies so that one does not end up like Othello who was a slave to his jealousy. Paul suggests one method, telling the Philippians to “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3 ESV). Othello ignores this advice which is beneficial to the Christian, as the world does not simply revolve around one’s thoughts and opinions, but there are also other people to consider and count more significant who may have a different side of the story to tell. This is helpful to remember because when jealousy takes hold, a one-track mind may be developed, and it becomes easy to forget about thinking about other people and how they might feel. It is also important to remember that jealousy brings with it disorder. James says this best, telling his audience: “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice” (James 3:14-16 ESV). Jealousy is not the wisdom from above as he says, and it can only bring with it bad things, as is seen throughout Othello. Taming jealousy means that the Christian must be informed with the truth so that possible misunderstandings are avoided. Jealousy is a part of human nature and may be hard to overcome, but with proper information and humility, it is possible to steer clear of more catastrophic consequences such as those in Othello.

Othello is a prime example of lack of communication in a relationship, as he never takes the time to account for Desdemona’s side of the story, instead choosing to believe Iago’s words at face value as long as he can produce a sliver of evidence to prove his words. Iago’s words and actions are two completely different things, yet he still uses them well to manipulate the characters into believing his lies. His jealousy resulted in the destruction of not only one life, but multiple, including his own. Othello’s love for Desdemona quickly turned into jealousy under his influence, even when Desdemona remained faithful to him. Othello shows why it is imperative that Christians learn to subdue jealousy, learning humility and trusting in God in order to keep from falling onto a path similar to Othello’s.