Jealousy in Othello and Jealousy in Social Psychology: The Relevance of Darwin?

Abstract

Jealousy has long been recognized as a central preoccupation of Shakespearean drama, especially in such plays as Much Ado About Nothing, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Cymbeline, and The Winter’s Tale. Nowhere, however, is the presence of this theme more obvious or more obviously central than in Othello, which uses the word “jealousy” (or its variations) more frequently than any other Shakespearean work.¹ Shakespeare goes out of his way to emphasize the complex permutations of jealousy in this play, not only by making Othello jealous of Cassio, but also by making both Roderigo and Iago jealous of both Cassio and Othello; by making Bianca jealous of Cassio’s alleged “newer friend” (3.4.181); and even (arguably) by making Brabantio jealous of his new son-in-law.²