Green for Jealousy
The scheming Iago warns Othello against falling victim to jealousy.
1603
Introduction
Othello, a General in the Venetian army, has promoted Cassio to Lieutenant instead of Iago; in revenge, Iago has hinted at an intrigue between Cassio and Desdemona, Othello’s wife. Othello is beside himself to hear more, but Iago teasingly clams up, as if worried about Cassio’s reputation.
IAGO: It were not for your
quiet nor your good,
Nor for my manhood, honesty, or wisdom,
To let you know my thoughts.
Othello: What dost thou mean?
Iago: Good name in man and woman, dear my lord,
Is the immediate jewel of their souls:
Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing;
’Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands:
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed.*
Othello: By heaven, I’ll know thy thoughts.
Iago: You cannot, if my heart were in your hand;
Nor shall not, whilst ’tis in my custody.
Othello: Ha!
Iago: O, 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;
But, O, what damned minutes tells he o’er
Who dotes, yet doubts, suspects, yet strongly loves!
From ‘Othello’ Act III Scene 3, by William Shakespeare.
Fine words, but the exact opposite of what he said moments earlier to Cassio. “Reputation is an idle and most false imposition: oft got without merit, and lost without deserving: you have lost no reputation at all, unless you repute yourself such a loser.”