Topic > Jealousy in Othello - 1252

One of Othello's insecurities is that he has "married". Othello thinks that by marrying Desdemona everything will be fine. Othello states: “Know, Iago, / but I love gentle Desdemona, / I would not have my free and homeless condition / be circumscribed and confined / by the value of the sea. But look what lights come/yonder” (1.2.27-32). Othello tells Iago that no one will ever do anything bad to him again. He marries Desdemona because he loves her too, because she is rich and has a large family. Othello believes he will conquer the world by marrying Desdemona. However, he doesn't know that marrying her could lead to huge problems or end in death. Not only does getting married lead to jealousy, but being dark-haired, or feeling inferior to others, also leads to jealousy. Othello says to Desdemona: “By heaven, I saw my handkerchief in my hand! / O perjurer, you stone my heart / And I call what I intend to do / A murder, which I thought a sacrifice! / I saw the handkerchief!” (5.2.77-81). These lines illustrate that Othello gets Desdemona's anger because he thinks she gives the handkerchief to Cassio. Othello feels inferior to everyone else because he thinks that Desdemona does not care about her husband's things. Feeling inferior, Othello begins to be jealous of Desdemona. Ultimately, Othello's epilepsy led to jealousy and ultimately death. At the end of the play, Othello states that he doesn't want anyone to talk about the good things he has done. He wants everyone to only talk about the negative things. Othello states: “Then you must speak/ Of one who loved not wisely, but too well;/ Of one not easily jealous, but tormented,/ Perplexed to the extreme; with one hand, / Like the vile Jew, he threw away a pearl / Richer than all his tribe; of him whose eyes are subdued,” (5.2.403-08). These lines illustrate why Othello is jealous