Extramarital Affairs in Othello by Shakespeare

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Extramarital Affairs in Othello by Shakespeare

Extramarital affairs happen all the time. This is not a new thing. People have been having affairs for as long as people have been in relationships. However, many people can have wonderful relationships without having affairs. Many times though marriages break up and divorce because someone beliefs the other person is having an affair, it is not really based on facts. The main reasons people think their partners are having affairs is because of honest, or lack of, making assumptions and communication, and last but not least jealousy and insecurity.

Honesty is the key to a relationship. Without honesty and trust it is hard for any relationship to survive. Many people think they are honest but yet they only tell part of a story, which makes it a lie. Many people feel that by hiding things from their partner they are saving them from something that might hurt them. But by not telling the whole truth, they are causing their partner to have lost faith and trust and believe their partner to be dishonest. When doubt creeps in and faith is gone people begin to believe that their partner is doing things outside of their marriage. This is part of the problem between Othello and Desdemona and also Iago and Cassio. Cassio is the most honest person but because of that Iago does everything he can to make him look dishonest and cause Othello to mistrust him. In the play in act III, Cassio refers to Iago as honest yet he is the most dishonest of them all. He is using the trust people have in him to make it appear as though Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona. The problem between Othello and Desdemona is that when she goes to him on behalf of Cassio and tries to talk to him, she does it with such passion and belief, but yet because she does not tell him the whole truth and tell him why she is coming to Othello on Cassio's behalf he doubts her. Throughout the play there are partial stories and half-truths between them, which causes Othello to believe she is having an affair.

The second biggest reason people doubt their partner's faithfulness is because of assumptions and lack of communication. When people in a relationship stop talking about things they begin to assume (and you know what they say about assuming!) This causes last of trust and misunderstandings.

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