Author: Yana Stoitchkova

Overview:

Iago is a character from Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’ who is very well known for being an envious and vengeful character. He is the one who orchestrates the main character, Othello’s, downfall, and it has been heavily implied within the text itself he did so because of his envy for Othello’s power and influence.

Quotes:

• “I know my price, I am worth no worse a place.” : Act 1 Scene 1 – pride is very obvious from the beginning; sense of self-importance is high
• “I am not what I am.” : Act 1 Scene 1 – Idea of deception is presented; Iago is putting up a front for Othello, but is in reality seeking his own goals; parody of Moses’ ‘I am what I am’ – Iago has a corrupting influence
• “We cannot all be masters, nor all masters/ Cannot be followed.” : Act 1 Scene 1 – Iago sees himself as more worthy of power than anybody else; LINK TO SLIGHT GOD-LIKE POWER (manages to kill many people); Othello might be powerful, yet his followers (ie Iago) do not actually respect him because of it.
• “a wife for a wife” : Iago thinks Othello slept with Emilia (his wife); relates to idea of ‘an eye for an eye’

How Will This Help Me?

Iago’s position as Othello’s right-hand man directly relates to Beelzebub’s position as Satan’s in Paradise Lost. They are both hungry for power and revenge, only with one fundamental difference: whilst Iago craves to take away his own leader’s influence, Beelzebub wants to help his to defeat and rule over a common enemy.

I think that Iago’s deceitful nature links well with my exploration of Envy as a masked sin. During the play’s events, Iago is seen putting on a mask of loyalty to Othello countless of times, whilst sharing his plans for his downfall with the audience. This portrayal of Iago’s envy as a sly and mischievous fuel to his revenge further merges well with my exploration of foxes as an animalistic representation of Envy, as foxes are often seen as scheming characters in folklore.

(Source: Trewin, A., Shakespeare, W. and Euan Cook (2018). Othello. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.)

Overview:

“Arachne was a weaver who acquired such skill in her art that she ventured to challenge Athena, goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason. Athena wove a tapestry depicting the gods in majesty, while that of Arachne showed their amorous adventures. Enraged at the perfection of her rival’s work (or, alternatively, offended by its subject matter), Athena tore it to pieces, and in despair Arachne hanged herself. But the goddess out of pity loosened the rope, which became a cobweb; Arachne herself was changed into a spider, whence the name of the zoological class to which spiders belong, Arachnida. Ovid’s Metamorphoses is the chief source of the story.”

(Source: Arachne | Greek mythology | Britannica. (2020). In: Encyclopædia Britannica. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Arachne. )

“Arachne in Greek mythology was a weaver who challenged Athena and was consequently transformed into a spider. There are three versions of the myth.

One version has it that she was a shepherd’s daughter that was particularly skilled at weaving. Boasting about her skill, she infuriated Athena, who appeared and contested her. Athena weaved four scenes in which the gods punished those humans that considered themselves equal to gods and committed hubris; Arachne, on the other hand, weaved scenes in which gods abused humans. Arachne’s work was clearly better than Athena’s; the goddess even more enraged due to what the weaving depicted, threw Hecate’s potion onto Arachne, transforming her into a spider and condemning her to weave for eternity.

In a different version, at the challenge, Athena weaved the contest between herself and Poseidon over who the patron saint of Athens would be, while Arachne did a depiction of Zeus’ advances to various mortal women. Athena realised how skilled Arachne was, but wanted to teach her to be more humble and respect the gods. Touching Arachne’s forehead, the woman was filled with shame and hung herself. Athena brought her back to life and turned her into a spider, in order to let her weave all the time.

In the final version of the myth, Zeus was the judge in the contest between Arachne and Athena, and whoever lost would not be allowed to touch a spindle or the loom again. Athena won in this version, and Arachne was devastated that she could no longer weave. Out of pity, Athena transformed her into a spider, so she could continue weaving without having to break her oath.”

(Source: GreekMythology.com (2015). Arachne – Greek Mythology. [online] Greekmythology.com. Available at: https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Mortals/Arachne/arachne.html. )

How Will This Help Me?

Unlike Iago, who is the source of envy in ‘Othello’, Arachne could be potentially seen as the victim of somebody else’s envy. Athena is the one portrayed as envious of Arachne’s talent, so she destroys her creation and, consequently, indirectly kills Arachne (at least as a human; she then becomes a spider, which means she, essentially, died as a human).

This closely links with my drive to showcase Envy as a fuel for revenge and hurt; moreover, Arachne’s physical transformation merges nicely with my idea to include disfigurement as both a result and a motive for envy, once again implying that Envy is the result of Pride being taken away.

Definition:

“Kitsune (狐, キツネ, IPA: [ki̥tsɯꜜne] (listen)) in the literal sense is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore; in English, kitsune refers to them in this context. Stories depict legendary foxes as intelligent beings and as possessing paranormal abilities that increase as they get older and wiser. According to Yōkai folklore, all foxes have the ability to shapeshift into human form. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others – as foxes in folklore often do – other stories portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives.” (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsune)

“In all three cultures, the fox-spirit is mostly viewed as an evil creature . They were known to enjoy the company of humans for a variety of reasons that almost always end badly for the unfortunate individual who encounters one. The main reason a fox-spirit might search out a human was to suck away their life force or to even eat human flesh and thereby steal any powers that person might have along with all their memories, knowledge, and even their human form.” (Source: https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-asia/kitsune-0012027)

How Will This Help Me?

I believe the legend of Kitsunes fits my initial ideas for the sin of Envy quite well, as the premise of the tale is that the creatures prey on humans in both fox and human form to steal something from them.

In my own understanding, an envious person would be inclined to try and gain whatever it is they long after from the other person, so it be possible for me to use this concept in my own elaboration of the silhouette ideas I have.

Thus, I plan on using Kitsunes’ physical, as well as fictional, look to further develop Envy as a character.