Othello is a tragedy of jealousy and credulity
Othello is a tragedy of jealousy and credulity. Here Othello is a victim of credulity and jealousy .His jealousy is not in born , but it is engendered in him by the power of evil working in the villain of the play. That is why we sympathize deeply with the suffering and destruction of good people like Othello and Desdemona . Yes, I think he is a victim of credulity and jealousy.
Othello is not jealous by nature and temperament. He is credulous, wholly trustful, open-minded and not suspicious by nature. He does not breed the passion of jealousy, rather the poison is poured into his ears and he is infected by the disease of jealousy. This jealousy in him is a disease of his mind, not a natural part of his real character. Othello's credulity is the fatal flaw in his character which brings about the tragedy. From his soliloquy we come to know that the conflict in his mind is between love and honour. Desdemona is to him the embodiment. But unfortunately he murders her.
Othello is not jealous by nature and temperament. He is credulous, wholly trustful, open-minded and not suspicious by nature. He does not breed the passion of jealousy, rather the poison is poured into his ears and he is infected by the disease of jealousy. This jealousy in him is a disease of his mind, not a natural part of his real character. Othello's credulity is the fatal flaw in his character which brings about the tragedy. From his soliloquy we come to know that the conflict in his mind is between love and honour. Desdemona is to him the embodiment. But unfortunately he murders her.
Othello's pride, jealousy, rashness, lack of insight, etc. are the flaws of his character. Though he is not influenced and motivated by any supernatural power like Macbeth or Hamlet, he is the victim of the intrigues of lago. He should have been thoughtful and calculative. He might have asked his wife Desdemona about the matter but he did not do it. Because he very credulous. For his credulity and lago's jealousy, Othello has lost his beloved wife.
Othello is definitely the black Moor of Venice. Is he jealous? Jealousy is even more important for a right appreciation for Othello's tragedy. And the simple fact is that no great tragedy could ever be made out of jealousy as a passion. Other passions such as ambition, revenge, love, are tragically treated in Hamlet, Macbeth. King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra, etc. but no tragedy could ever be made out of marital jealousy. He is wrought upon by lago. It works havoc in him. When lago describes Desdemona is sleeping with cassio.He becomes insanely jealous and he kills his beloved wife Desdemona.
All this shows that Othello is not really jealous. He is not suspicious by nature but wholly trustful and open-minded. Throughout the play and by everybody in the play, he is referred to as trustful and open-hearted and unsuspicious. Desdemona knows him well and says-
"My noble MoorIs true of mind, and made of no such baseness As jealous creatures are."
Tragedy arises out of the suffering of good people A jealous man cannot be a good man. Now the suffering of Othello is due to his victimization at the hands of fate, chance and evil man like lago. lago uses the good qualities of his victims in order to bring destruction and suffering. For example, he uses Desdemona's kindliness towards Cassio for creating suspicion ahout her fidelity to Othello. He makes the point very clear as ir Shakespeare meant us to understand how the tagedy of such people as Othello and Desdemona arises, says lago.
To sum up, we can say that Othello was not jealous by nature. He was a victim of credulity and jealousy. He is very credulous. He is simple enough to believe appearances to the extent that he can believe that the woman whom he loves does not love him.
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