"O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on."

Jealousy is the main driving force of the plot in this play. Every character in this story is affected by jealousy in one way or another. In the case of Othello, Iago and Roderigo, jealousy was the motive for their actions. As for Desdemona, Emilia, and Cassio, they are either murdered or deeply affected by the jealousy driven acts. What interests me is why this one emotion trumps all others and is able to cause this much death and destruction. Why couldn't love save Othello from murdering his wife or loyalty stop Iago from betraying and manipulating his master.

Jealousy as stated in the quote above is the green-eyed monster. When I hear this metaphor, I think of a monster that is lurking in the "closet" of everyone's mind. It is always there but just not always acted upon. I think that the reason why jealousy can more easily take over one's actions is because it is much easier to believe. It is natural for people to doubt things that are good in their lives. In the case of Othello, it is much more believable to him that Desdemona was cheating on him than to believe that she was actually in love with him. When presented with what was thought to be evidence against her, Othello was all to eager to believe it because it could have possibly just enhanced his already present doubts about their relationship. The similar feelings occur with Iago. In this case there was no evidence of an affair between Othello and his wife Emilia and yet he still believed it to be true. Jealousy is the mode by which we make ourselves believe that our fears and doubts are reality. This "green-eyed monster" is ever present in our lives and as demonstrated in Othello, has the power to come out from the closet and direct our actions toward the destruction of others and ourselves.