Jealousy in Othello

Jealousy in Othello The tragedy of Othello is the story of jealousy. It is Othello's public insecurity that makes him jealous of Cassio and allows him to believe that Cassio has slept with Desdemona. And, it is Iago's jealousy of Othello that drives him to destroy both Othello and Desdemona. What is fascinating about the play Othello is the way in which jealousy between the major characters is sexualized. And perhaps what makes Othello so …

…Iago into destroying Othello. The relationship between Othello, Cassio and Iago form a type of erotic triangle of jealousy where both Iago and Othello's erotic jealousy cause them to destroy those they love. Iago destroys Othello. And Othello destroys Cassio. This type of love triangle although not explicitly homoerotic posses a type of sexualized jealousy that allows seemingly tiny things such as handkerchiefs and sheets to take on a significance that leads characters to murder.