Jealousy is a common flaw in both men and women and it can cause them to do things that they normally would not. In literature, stories often have a protagonist with tragic flaw which lead to a tragic downfall. Othello’s is a tragic hero and this means he has a tragic flaw which is jealousy. Because Othello is a jealous man it is easy for him to believe that his wife Desdemona would cheat on him with his second in command Cassio without solid or visual evidence, but he believes Iago’s words and lies. Othello’s jealousy causes him to do things that in the beginning of the play he could never imagine. It makes him so angry and hateful that he plots for revenge. Desdemona and Othello are madly in love in the beginning and in the end Othello’s feelings for Desdemona do not change but they are fogged by jealousy and lies. Jealousy begins to control Othello and because Othello allows his jealousy to get the best of him and drive him mad it leads to his downfall. Iago continually tells Othello lies about his wife Desdemona cheating on him with Cassio and Othello is easily convinced “Why did I marry? This honest creature doubtless sees and knows more, much more, than he unfolds”
(III. iii. 3-3). Othello says he
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This tragic flaw is what leads him to kill himself and his wife, and he did this all based on lies given to him by Iago. Othello easily believed what Iago was telling him because of his jealousy and he trusts Iago to help him execute his plans for Desdemona and Cassio. This idea of Othello’s jealousy leading to his own ruin is important to the play itself because it carries with it a message; “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on” (III. iii. 3-3). Jealousy does not care who it affects or how it affects them it will latch on to anyone that feels it and drive them to insanity. As it did to