Olson, Rebecca. “‘Too Gentle’: Jealousy and Class in Othello.” Journal for Early Modern Cultural 
Studies, vol. 15, no. 1, 2015, pp. 3–25. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/jearlmodcultstud.15.1.3. Accessed 7 July 2021.

Olson argues that many critics and scholars spend too much time and attention to Othello’s jealousy and race, but not enough attention is paid as to why Desdemona would evoke such a passionate response from him. Jealousy was a common theme in 17^th century texts, and Olson begins by defining two types of jealousy: jealousy of losing property or possession and jealousy of cuckoldry. She also explains the difference between envy and jealousy; envy is to “want something you did not have” versus jealousy is about losing something that you have (Olson 8). Iago is envious while Othello is jealous; this is an important distinction because one would evoke a more passionate response than the other. Her main argument is that Othello’s passionate jealousy has more to do with Desdemona’s social status rather than his race. The issue is that Desdemona has a higher social status than Othello.  She furthers her argument by correlating Desdemona’s social status to Othello’s social mobility. Othello can only retain his social status through Desdemona; therefore, when her social status declines with the accusation of adultery, his social status is lowered as well. In summary, Othello’s motivation for the murder of Desdemona is to maintain his honor and to protect other men from cuckoldry rather than just a manifestation of his insecurity as outsider.  

- Tracie Yule