In Chapter 5 of Kim Hall’s conceptual analysis of Shakespeare’s Othello, the author quotes Fancis Bacon disparaging romantic love stating, “The Stage is more beholding to Love, than the life of man…In life it doth much mischief: sometimes like a Siren; sometimes like a Fury” (Hall 327). This quotation embodies the view of love in early modern literature during Shakespeare’s era; it demonstrates the enjoyment within the relationship between mishap and romance, through the events of distances, illnesses, and chaos within the development of romantic relationships. This projection of love during the early modern era goes against the traditional and idolized view of love, dating back to Aristotle who ideally depicts love as “good” and “sublimely beautiful” (327). There was the common view held during this era that love solely based on sexual attraction or romantic inclination would result in unhappy marriages in comparison to virtuous love and emotional relations (327). This variance between physical attraction and emotional ties in a relationship often leads to instability, though, and can result in jealousy if there isn’t that balance between the two (328). Hall quotes Bacon again stating, “It is impossible to love, and to be wise”, and urges men in relationships to “…sever it wholly from their serious affairs and actions of life” (328). During this era, the question arose regarding the relation between love and jealousy; is jealousy a form of love or is it a mishap thrown into a pure emotion (328)? Authors during this era generally struggled to separate the two, with Benedetto Varchi defining jealousy as, “a kind of suspicious Care, or a careful kind of Suspicion” and Natasha Korda defining it as, “a symptom of the curiosity, greed, and covetousness that arise from the institution of private property” (328). These quotes demonstrate the era’s view on love and jealousy as intertwined emotions; one cannot experience the pure joys of virtuous love without the repercussions of lust and jealousy. This view is demonstrated in Shakespeare’s play Othello by depicting virtuous love and jealousy as specific characters and exhibiting the repercussion between the two through the characters’ interactions.

In Othello, Shakespeare exhibits this variance in types of love, desire versus virtue, through the characters Othello, Desdemona, and Iago; he demonstrates the difficulties of maintaining an emotional connection over physical desires through this relationship, and he encapsulates the negative view of love and jealousy in the early modern era through Iago’s conspiring nature. At the beginning of the play, Othello and Desdemona are ultimately defined by virtuous love instead of shallow attraction; they emphasize their efforts in virtuous love by de-emphasizing their physical desire (Hall 327). Othello describes to the Duke and Brabantio how he and Desdemona came to love each other and eventually marry, stating that she would inquire about his battles and experiences and grew to love him. Othello states, “She loved me for the dangers I had passed, And I loved her that she did pity them. This only is the witchcraft I have used” (Shakespeare I.iii. 169-171). This demonstrates the traditional perspective of love embodying the ideal emotional and virtuous connection between two individuals, untainted by chaos or instability. Desdemona equally demonstrates this ideal by touching upon her “duty” to both her father and her love for Othello;
I do perceive here a divided duty.
To you I am bound for life and education;
My life and my education both do learn me
How to respect you. You are the lord of duty;
I am hitherto your daughter. But here’s my husband,
And so much duty as my mother showed
To you, preferring you before her father,
So much I challenge that I may profess
Due to the Moor my lord. (I.iii. 183-191)
Desdemona further describes her love for Othello stating, “I saw Othello’s visage in his mind, And to his honors and his valiant parts Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate”, which shows how the connection between their “minds” is prioritized over physical and lustful attraction (I.iii. 254-256). Othello also comments on this connection between their “minds” stating, “But be free and bounteous to her mind” (I.iii. 268). Through these examples, Othello and Desdemona ultimately represent true and virtuous love, an ideal viewed with skepticism during the early modern era and which Shakespeare later obstructs by introducing Iago’s scheme to manipulate Othello’s insecurities.

Towards the climax of the play, Shakespeare intertwines Iago within the relationship between Othello and Desdemona to exhibit the factor of desire and jealousy within a pure and honorable relationship. Iago is quoted talking about his love for Desdemona, “Now, I do love her too, Not out of absolute lust…But partly led to diet by my revenge”, demonstrating that he represents this opposing force against virtuous love (Shakespeare II.i. 271-274). Iago then triggers that self-doubt within Othello by touching upon his physical aspects and forcing him to realize he doesn’t deserve Desdemona. Iago tactfully initiates this uncertainty in Othello by stating, “Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy. It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock The meat it feeds on. That cuckold lives in bliss Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger” (III.iii. 179-182). This forces Othello to identify his flaws in comparison to Desdemona, and question if he is truly worthy of her and her love; “Nor from mine own weak merits will I draw The smallest fear or doubt of her revolt, For she had eyes, and chose me” (III.iii. 202-204). This conversation between Iago and Othello regarding his suspicion of Desdemona and Cassio is the depiction of jealousy’s role in virtuous love; it is impossible to have one without the other and fostering the later will result in the downfall of an honest relationship, as seen at the end of the play.