The Assignment on Themes

The Circle of our affection: Love, Trust and Jealousy

In Shakespeare’s Play of Othello and The Winter’s Tale

By Abigail Somuah

In a brief synopsis of Othello, a man greatly respected by his fellow men as well as soldiers who served him, life came to the end of the road because of his distrust in the people who loved and respected him the most. Othello was deceived by one of his men named Iago, because he proclaimed he was wronged by not being given a promotion he rightfully deserved which was given to Cassio. Due to that he vowed to destroy Othello by any means possible. On the journey to destroy Othello, he ended up using Roderigo’s love for Desdemona to gain money and jewelries for himself as well as used it to try and murder Cassio. For Iago’s plot to suicide of destroying Othello and getting the position he claimed he deserved, he needs to eliminate Cassio, who holds that position. Iago started implanting into Othello brain that his loving wife was committing adultery with his friend Cassio. After Iago plotted a precious gift Othello gave to Desdemona in Cassio’s things and Othello seeing Cassio with it, he vowed to murder both Desdemona and Cassio.

Othello decided to deal with Desdemona while Iago was to deal with Cassio for being a noble man and true friend. Othello kills his wife for an unjust crime and Iago plotted with Roderigo to kill Cassio. Roderigo failed which resulted in his death while Othello succeeded. The truth finally was revealed when Emilia, Iago’s wife confessed giving Desdemona’s precious gift to her husband, Iago who planted it in Cassio’s things. Othello kills himself for betraying his wife and for committing such trouble crime against his beloved one and friend.

In The Winter’s Tale, a similar situation happened but with a happier ending.  Leontes the king of Sicilia and his queen Hermione hosted Polixenes the King of Bohemia for a period of nine month. When Polixenes wishes to return home, Leontes encourages him to stay and so does his wife. Leontes watches the interaction between his wife and Polixenes and forms a notion that they are having an affair.  He commands his second in hand Camillo to murder Polixenes for him. Camillo told Polixenes of this and Polixenes confess his innocence, Camillo believes him. Polixenes decided to leave right away and to bring Camillo along who will serve him. Leontes finding out that Camillo had run off with Polixenes heighten his suspicion, so he decides to put his pregnant wife in prison while they consent the Oracle and wait for Hermione’s trail. Hermione have a baby girl while waiting for her trail. Leontes rejects the baby and banish her along with Paulina’s husband Antigonus who wants to protect the girl.

The Oracle sends a message that Hermione is innocent of the crime she is accused of and that Leontes is a jealous man. Leontes refuses to believe that and wants to proceed with the trail, right after that news, his son’s death from his sickness while his mother was imprisoned was announced to him. Leontes cries out in pain and says this is a punishment unto him for banishing his baby girl and falsely accusing his wife of such crime. Hermione faints from the news of her son and dies presumably. The girl was raised by a shepherd and she was named Perdita . The price of Bohemia named Florizel, Polixenes son falls in love with Perdita. Florizel wanted to marry Perdita but Polixenes disapproved because of her background. Camillo who wanted to go back home to Sicilia, convinced Florizel and Perdita to run off to Sicilia and pronounce themselves as husband and wife as Polixenes will follow them there. They ran off with Camillo to Sicilia and were welcome by Leontes. Perdita is recognized later by her resemblance with Hermione statue, which later came to life. Leontes cries for forgiveness and embrace Hermione and Perdita.

These two stories share a common theme of love, trust and jealousy. Othello’s love for Desdemona led him to kill her because he couldn’t live with the fact that she had betrayed him and would go on betraying more men. He states in Act V Scene2 line 5 “Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men” and goes on to describe his love and her beauty, line 20 “One more, one more! Be thus when thou art dead, and I will kill thee, and love thee after. One more, and this the last! So sweet was ne’er so fatal. I must weep, but they are cruel tears. This sorrow’s heavenly; it strikes where it doth love.” In this line as he kisses her, he states how her breath convinces him otherwise of killing her. Othello based his fact that Desdemona was cheating on him all from one person. He didn’t look for convincing fact other than one man’s word and refused to trust his own wife that he married. He refused to trust the man he called his friend and had second in command to him. He was blinded by jealousy, mistrust and love. He believed because of Desdemona’s beauty men were easily drawn to her and made him believe his friend Cassio betrayed him. When he saw his gift given to Desdemona in Cassio’s hand, which was proof to him that Desdemona was committing adultery. He doubted her love for him and because of it he murdered her cruelly. Iago’s jealousy of Cassio’s position in the army caused all these tragedies. These prove a great deal of what jealousy have over people and what it will lead them to do.

In Leontes case in The Winter’s Tale because of his jealousy of a friendship between his wife Hermione and Polixene he banished his newly baby girl born and caused his only son to die. His wife was about to have another child for him and he didn’t trust her to be faithful to him. This level of distrust led him to imprison Hermione during her pregnancy as he still confess his love for her in Act 3 Scene 2 line 5 “to our great grief we pronounce even pushes against our heart: the party tried, the daughter of a king, our wife, and one of us too much beloved.” Leontes found it as easy as taking in a breath everyday to accuse someone he called a brother like Polixenes who he invited to extend his stay after already staying for 9 months of betraying him by sleeping with his wife. Leontes mistrust and jealousy cost him dearly his only son and daughter including his wife and many years of grief.

Both Othello and Leontes’s distrust of their wives and friends led to a major destruction in their lives. Both loved but couldn’t completely trust. What is love without trust? Jealousy blinded their love and judgment, allowing them to betray their wives themselves. Iago’s jealous caused him to lie, hate and convince people to commit unthinkable sin against people who have done nothing to them. Iago refused to confess his sins and repent from them because he wanted to create destruction and confession where there was order. He succeeded destroying Othello with the help of Othello himself. Leontes was given a second chance to have a family and be happy and he learned his lesson of making false accusation with no concrete evidence.

These stories cover the theme of love, trust and jealousy. It leads the reader into how such an act of jealousy, mistrust and even love can lead to destruction and in Othello case end a living. Othello and The Winter’s Tale had great deal of similarities with these themes. Shakespeare’s play centuries ago emphasizes the one of the very thing mankind still struggles with, love, trust and jealousy.

Bibliography

Shakespeare, W. (2009). The Winter's Tale, (Act 3 Scene 2 line 5). New York : The Random House Publishing Group.

William Shakespeare and Mary Ellen Snodgrass, T. Othello, (Act V Scene2 line 5 and 20). Wiley Publishing, Inc.