Jealousy In Othello

William Shakespeare’s Othello focuses on how a jealous soldier orchestrates the downfall of his general. Othello, the black general, chooses Cassio over Iago for the position of lieutenant, resulting in a vengeful Iago. The jealous soldier retaliates by using Othello’s insecurities to attack his marriage with a white, high-class woman, Desdemona. Like a puppeteer, Iago manipulates everyone around him and leads them to their demise while, simultaneously, revealing how the men in Othello believe women are born immoral.
Othello lacks confidence in his marriage, being a poor and old man with a young, rich wife. Iago targets this insecurity when he incites jealousy in Othello’s mind. Iago tells Othello how Desdemona easily lied to her father to marry Othello and warns him to watch Desdemona and Cassio together, implying that she is cheating on him. Othello falls for Iago’s words and assumes that Desdemona is disloyal to him

Iago says Bianca is a “housewife that by selling her desires/Buys herself bread and clothes:.../That dotes on Cassio” (IV.i.111-113). Iago’s words explain that Bianca is poor and that she loves Cassio but is also a prostitute. However, she’s only seen acting like a jealous lover like when Cassio asks her to recreate a handkerchief, she gets upset because she thinks it’s another woman’s. Later, she says, “I am no strumpet” (V.i.143), but her words are ignored and Iago imposes the image of a prostitute on her and everyone else believes it. Ironically, even Emilia believes him when she, who knows Iago’s opinion on women best, should know better. Cassio, as well, enforces the idea of immoral women with his treatment of Bianca. When Iago asks him if he’ll marry her, he says, “I marry...a customer? Prithee bear/some charity to my wit! Do not think it so unwhole-/some” (IV.i.138-140). He completely dismisses the idea and even laughs at it but when talking to Bianca, he acts