Vanita, Ruth. “Men Beware Men: Shakespeare's Warnings for Unfair Husbands.” Comparative Drama, vol. 28, no. 2, 1994, pp. 201–220. JSTOR, 
www.jstor.org/stable/41153689. Accessed 21 July 2021.

Vanita situates her argument against Nancy Cotton Pearse’s definition of a “chastity play” and also the domestic tragedy plays of Othello’s time period, specifically A Woman Killed with Kindness by Thomas Heyward. Vanita argues that Othello goes against type in two regards:  the chastity play where the innocent woman survives and the domestic tragedy where the husband kills the guilty wife. A Woman Killed with Kindness was performed in 1603, and Vanita suggests the Othello was a direct reply to that performance. Whereas in A Woman Killed with Kindness focuses on the woman’s chastity (or lack thereof) and a husband’s cuckoldry, Othello focuses on the men’s reaction to a woman unchasteness. In both plays, the wives die, but in Othello the question is about the permanence of death rather than death as evidence of a woman’s chastity. In most chastity plays, a woman’s innocence was determined by her ability to evade death. If a woman survived an attempt on her life than she was considered innocent, but if she died then was considered guilty of adultery. Vanita suggests that Othello is really a warning to husbands because they hold all the power in the relationship rather than a play warning wives on the dangers of infidelity. 

- Tracie Yule

“Jewel, Purse, Trash: Reckoning and Reputation in Othello''

Kolb, Laura. “Jewel, Purse, Trash: Reckoning and Reputation in Othello.”

    Shakespeare Studies, vol. 44, 2016, pp. 230–262.  

    In “Jewel, Purse, Trash: Reckoning and Reputation in Othello'' Laura Kolb says “In a mocking list of moral lessons to be drawn from Othello, Thomas Rymer writes, ‘Thirdly, this may be a lesson to Husbands, that before their Jealousie be Tragical, the proofs may be Mathemat-ical.’ The double-meaning of ‘proofs’ - both the demonstration of truth and the derivation of a mathematical theorem - underscores what will become Rymer's major critique of Shakespeare's play, A Short View of Tragedy,” (Kolb 1). Or in other words, when someone becomes jealous of their significant other, they should get proof of what they are jealous of. In this article, Kolb focuses on this idea of demonstrating Othello’s jealousy, and Iago’s ability to change people's minds, mathematically. Kolb first focuses on Othello as a partnership problem, before going into the economic language in Othello, and then it reflects on the story inlight if the possibility of romance. Kolb acknowledges jealousy as a normal human emotion and then breaks it down into its fundamentals. They think about the situation in a mathematical sense and logically. 

• Priscilla Adams 

JEALOUSY AND DESTRUCTION IN WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S OTHELLO

Rai, Ram Prasad. "Jealousy and Destruction in William Shakespeare's Othello." Crossing the Border:

International Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies 4.1 (2015): 53-58.

In his article analyzing Shakespeare’s play Othello, author Ram Prasad Rai argues that the true cause of Othello’s destruction is the presence and permeation of jealousy: “Because of jealousy, the relation between the people is disturbed and the world of Othello is fully destroyed” (Rai 53). The mastermind behind the feelings of jealousy come from Iago, and can be seen at the very start of the play where the audience views Iago being jealous of Cassio’s new position as Othello’s lieutenant rather than himself; this is the first spark that starts a fire. The author describes how Iago turns to Roderigo, using his jealousy of Othello’s marriage to Desdemona, the woman he claims to love, as “a weapon” (54) against Othello. Iago twists the truth and Roderigo’s emotions throughout the play in order to use him against others. Also near the beginning of the play, the author discusses how Iago feeds the anger and jealousy of Brabantio, informing him of his daughter’s secret marriage: a secret that will come to haunt the couple later through Iago’s manipulations. Further, the author describes how Iago’s manipulation of Cassio is the stronger root of jealousy, as by getting him drunk and deposed of his position, Iago “advises him to seek help from Desdemona to request Othello for the lost position back” (55). After dropping hints and spreading rumors to Othello of Cassio’s lack of character and lies about him vying for Desdemona, Othello no longer sees Cassio as he once did, allowing him to believe the lies. In the same way, Iago twists the truth of Desdemona keeping their marriage secret from her father, thus “proving” that she can be a good liar. Like with Cassio, Othello is convinced he no longer really knows his wife, and becomes so angry with jealousy that he is led to kill her. These things, and forced evidence such as the handkerchief and misheard conversations, eventually drive Othello to a madness of jealousy, and the destruction of his happiness and life.

- Mathew Stephens

“Theorising Early Modern Jealousy: A Biocultural Perspective on Shakespeare’s Othello”

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.

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.

--Michelle Vucsko

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