The main idea of the William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, written in 1604, is the confrontation of the mind and the heart. During the first part of the third act, Iago tells Othello Iago tells Othello, “O beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is thegreen-eyed monster which doth mock / The meat it feeds on.” This phrase helps Iago to raise doubts and jealousy in Othello’s heart. The expression illustrates the connection between green color and envy or jealousy. This phrase sounds incredibly ironic from Iago because he manipulates and lies throughout the story; the dramatic irony of this moment includes the fact that the readers feel themselves participating in Iago’s acts
Emilia, Bianca, and Desdemona, all three female characters, are rejected by their lovers, even better to say betrayed. Women are illustrated as men’s possessions. Iago speaks about his wife Emilia obscenely and disrespectfully; moreover, he covertly uses her in his games to harm Desdemona. In the end, Emilia turns out to b a strong-willed and sincere character; she is not ready to be tolerant of lies and slander. All that makes her an approachable figure. Women are represented as the tool to fulfill men’s appetite. It is illustrated in dialogues of men, for example, when Iago talks to Cassio. Cassio speaks about Bianca as if he does not think about her feelings and experiences at all; he plays with her dreams and hopes, abuses her devotion, and asserts himself. Desdemona appears to be a victim of abuse, lies, and jealousy in this play. She also becomes a victim because of her innocence and indulgence. It may seem violent, but I do not sympathize with her as a hero. In the play, women are illustrated as the victims of public opinion, which demands to follow the social norms of the ideal woman or to suffer from the evading system.
Othello describes himself as, “one who loved not wisely, but too well.” It seems that this phrase was created as the justification for Othello’s actions and decisions. Othello says that jealousy was not the passion that initially determined his behavior in the face of death. Still, that passion took hold of him when he founded himself unable to resist Iago’s influence on him. This capacity for resistance, his credulity underestimates his heroic, in my opinion. Unfortunately, blindly following the feelings and emotions deprived of the voice of reason will inevitably turn into tragedy.
Work Cited
Mowart, B. A. & Werstine, P., (Eds.). (2017). Othello by William Shakespeare. Simon & Schuster.