The Effects Of Jealousy In Othello

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In Shakespeare 's play Othello, hostile jealousy warps reality for Othello which leads to the demise of his marriage as well as himself. Many critics have analyzed the topic of jealousy, most of them coming to the conclusion that Othello showed signs of underlying insecurities and possessiveness which lead to jealousy however; Nordland pointed out that jealousy was not caused by pre-existing insecurities and scars from past traumatic experiences but it created doubts and issues of self esteem in Othello after he is gripped by delusional jealousy, courtesy of Iago. To properly explain Othello 's metamorphosis of a honorable man into "the green-eyed monster" (3. 3. 196), one must define jealousy for the irritant that it is. Jealousy is a multi-dimensional emotional
Jealousy, described by Ekman and Plutchik 's research, is composed of "eight primary emotions- anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, anticipation, trust, and joy"(Buss 157). In Othello 's case, one can assume that the emotions included in his fit of jealousy were anger, disgust, and distrust. Along with jealousy are negative repercussions that lead to damaged relationships. In a section of Buss ' essay, the topic of jealousy leading to homicide outlines how one partner isolates the other and resorts to violence which can "range from minor slaps to brutal beatings" (Buss 160), a instance of physical abuse in Act 4 scene 1 line 267 when Othello strikes Desdemona after becoming agitated with her "act of innocence" but his short temperance with her was a result of a recent session of manipulation with Iago. Buss continues to identify two vital emotional triggers involved that potentially launches men to engage homicidal component of jealousy: a man 's suspicion of his significant other 's unfaithfulness and fearing that she will leave him indefinitely (Buss

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