Love, Jealousy, and the Fear of Ontological Dependence: A Philosophical Reading of Shakespeare's Othello

Abstract: Othello truly loves Desdemona and yet, this paper argues, he wants on some level to believe in her infidelity. But if he loves her so much, why would he want to believe in something that would destroy that love? The answer to this mystery, I contend, must be found in the connections between jealousy, love, and the great existential fragility to which love can expose us—connections that Shakespeare's play is capable of illuminating in uniquely powerful and profound ways.