As Iago says, Othello becomes jealousy personified--the
"Green-Eyed Monster."
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!
As Emelia
says, Othello becomes a stomach to churn and spit out women, who seem worthless status
symbols to him:
'Tis not a year or two shows us a
man:
They are all but stomachs, and we all but
food;
To eat us hungerly, and when they are
full,
They belch
us.
Othello becomes
a belching, seizure-ravaged, tongue-tied beast who plots double murder and suicide
rather than suffer a stain on his manly reputation. Just listen to his monosyllabic
wailings after he learns of the missing handkerchief:
Othello, the
mighty orator who won Desdemona's hand in court in Act I is reduced to ranting and
raving by Act III--all because of jealousy. Othello is like the Beast in "Beauty and
the Beast," but instead of love transforming him into a prince, jealousy causes him to
become more monstrous.
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