In his article, Marcus Nordlund attempts to unpack the loaded emotion of jealousy in early modern literature, specifically as it relates to Othello. He opens with a discussion of jealousy as a social construct, ultimately determining that jealousy is universal across all human cultures, which not only implies that jealousy has a natural inevitability, but also an “individual, cultural, and situational” fluidity. After exploring these aspects of jealousy, Nordlund turns his attention to jealousy’s impact in both early modern times and in Othello. He addresses the fact that due to the perception of monogamy and marital roles in the household, men were more inclined to feel threatened by a woman’s infidelity than vice versa. Finally, Nordlund attends to the most common interpretation of Othello’s jealousy, which is the fact that his quick change in character derives from a sense of low self-esteem. He refutes that claim though by mentioning that in Othello’s case, jealousy and insecurity actually work in reverse: Othello does not feel jealous because of his self-doubt, but instead feels more insecurities after he becomes jealous. Ultimately, Nordlund claims that Othello’s transportation from “jealousy into this murderous rage” does not have an answer, which makes the play not only an unsettling one, but also a fascinating tragedy.Nordlund, Marcus. “Theorising Early Modern Jealousy: A Biocultural Perspective on Shakespeare’s Othello.” Studia Neophilologica: A Journal of Germanic and Romance Languages and Literature, vol. 74, no. 2, Dec. 2002, pp. 146–160. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/003932702321116172.
--Michelle Vucsko
