Representation of Jealousy and Innocence in Othello, Cymbeline and The Winter`s Tale by W. Shakespeare

Iliev, Krste (2021) Representation of Jealousy and Innocence in Othello, Cymbeline and The Winter`s Tale by W. Shakespeare. Knowledge - International Journal. pp. 1321-1326. ISSN 1857-923X

	Text SEEU Review table of contents.pdf Download (338kB)
	Text Representation of Jealousy and Innocence in Othello, Cymbeline and The Winter`s Tale by W. Shakespeare.pdf Download (514kB)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore the nature and extent of the emotion of jealousy in Othello, Cymbeline
and The Winter`s Tale with regard to the main male characters: Othello, Posthumus and Leontes. In addition,
another aim would be to determine how much the development of the plot hinges on this emotion and by what
means these three characters became jealous or to paraphrase Iago - some people are born jealous. Namely, for Iago
"They are not ever jealous for the cause, /But jealous for they‘re jealous. It is a monster/ Begot upon itself, born on
itself" (Act III, scene 4, lines 2355-57). Although virtuous and innocent, the female characters in the three plays,
Desdemona, Imogen and Hermione, all suffer to various degrees at the hands of their jealous husbands and undergo
difficult misfortunes. Another aim that this paper has is to determine how far the extent of jealousy has contributed
to the outcome of these plays. Shakespeare has explored the emotion of jealousy and the state of innocence perhaps
due to the fact that they are recurrent patterns in human relationships. In fact, jealousy is so common that it is also present in children, in adults and even in social animals. However, due to physical and evolutionary reasons, the trigger for the occurrence of jealousy differs in men and women. Men are particularly jealous if the sexual infidelity of a woman is questioned. Women, on the other hand, become easily jealous if their males` emotional infidelity is under doubt. A study published in 2016, found that heterosexual men compared to heterosexual women are more likely to be upset by sexual infidelity (54% vs. 35%). The same study also found that heterosexual men are less
likely to be upset by emotional infidelity compared to heterosexual women (46% vs 65%). It is specifically sexual
infidelity affecting heterogeneous men that Shakespeare has explored in Othello, The Winter`s Tale and Cymbeline.
Modern psychology associates jealousy with low self-esteem, low self-confidence and depression. In some cases,
jealousy, particularly male`s, has led to the so called crimes of passion. With regard to male`s sexual jealousy very often the suspected subject is innocent. One of the reasons for this may be the fact that the inborn nature of the male is suspicious in itself and is characterized by mistrust and suspicious thoughts. Robert Bringle, posited in the early 90`s that there are two types of jealousy: the described above, called suspicious jealousy, which is chronic and neurotic due to inner turmoil, and the reactive jealousy. The latter is described as springing as a result of a concrete and real threat, for example, you see the advances that a male makes towards your girlfriend or wife, and the overt partner`s flirtatious behavior. To sum up, another aim of the paper would be to determine whether the male characters in these are overwhelmed by suspicious jealousy or by reactive jealousy.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	Humanities > Languages and literature
Divisions:	Faculty of Philology
Depositing User:	Krste Iliev
Date Deposited:	13 Mar 2023 05:55
Last Modified:	13 Mar 2023 05:55
URI:	https://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/id/eprint/28944

Actions (login required)

View Item