Essay on Jealousy in Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, and Winters Tale

Jealousy in Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, and Winters Tale The common thread of jealousy ties together the main plots in Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, and The Winters Tale. In each of these plays, the main conflict is centered around some form of jealousy. While jealousy is the mutual, most expectant cause for turmoil in these plays, its effects on the characters, and ultimately the plots, is different in each case. This difference has much to do with the way in which the impression of jealousy is woven into each play, and what it is intended to accomplish. In Othello, the jealousy factor is deliberately introduced by Iago, with the precise intention of destroying those whom he feels obligate wronged him. Since it is intentionally employ with malicious intent, it has catastrophic results. Iago himself is jealous of Cassio he feels that he should have been appointed to Cassios position by Othello, and since he wasnt he hates both Othello and Cassio. Iago channels the jealou sy that Othello and Cassio have made him feel, and uses it against them in a hateful plan. Iago starts the process by planting the seeds of jealousy in Othellos mind, telling him Desdemona has been unfaithful. He then proceeds to cultivate the ontogeny jealousy by feeding it with more lies, and twisting innocent events into situations which would serve his needs (his telling Othello that Cassio and Desdemona met in secret, and convincing him that Desdemona vied for Cassios reinstatement as lieutenant because she loved him, for example). When the seeds had flourished, and Iago had succeeded in driving Othello mad with jealousy, Iago harvested his crop and convinced Othello to kill Desdemona. Othellos killing Desdemona would both rid Iago of Desde... ...l effects, and when the mistake of jealousy was revealed the problem was solved and every one could be happy. In each of these plays, jealousy is used as a means of producing a conflict and creating trouble in the lives of the chara cters. The jealousy in each play, although it is introduced in a different way, always involves a man being jealous of his wife (or fiance, in Heros case) being unfaithful with another man. Whether he misinterpret something he sees, or believe slanderous lies, the mans jealousy builds until it forces him to do something to punish his unfaithful woman. At the end of each play, the man is made to realize his mistake, but sometimes the damage can not be undone. Jealousy is the main crisis in each type of play - tragedy, trage-comedy, and comedy - but its results lie strictly in the way it is introduced, and the intended severity.