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| Illustrations by Rod Clement |
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Psychiatrists call it "sexual jealousy", "delusional jealousy", "erotic jealousy syndrome", "morbid jealousy", "conjugal paranoia", or most colorfully of all, "the Othello syndrome" (OTS).
By whatever name, the problem is the same. The sufferer with this psychiatric disorder believes that their spouse, partner, or lover has been unfaithful---has betrayed them. This belief is irrational, unswerving, and often persists despite a complete lack of tangible evidence. People with OTS have a delusion involving their sexual life of one form or another. In some cases, their unrestrained jealousy reaches murderous extremes.
This is precisely what happened in Shakespeare's famous tragic play, "Othello" (1603), written more than 400 years ago. The character Othello is a majestic and powerful figure at the beginning of the play. He is wrongly duped by the scheming Iago into believing that his beloved, Desdemona, has been unfaithful. But Iago does not light the fire of Othello's jealousy, he merely fans the flames. Othello goes mad, murders Desdemona, and destroys himself. One immortal line says it all: "Oh beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on."
OTS is highly dangerous and can result in not only a disruption in the relationship but also can result in homicide and suicide---as it did in Shakespeare's tragedy as the main character, Othello, descends into such sexual jealousy, delusion, and madness that he kills his lover Desdemona and himself.
Therapists and marriage counselors usually agree that some degree of jealousy is probably normal in most relationships. It is certainly very common. And minor jealousy most likely has few serious consequences as well. But when minor jealousy becomes so intense and so uncontrolled it crosses a border--into the domain of the abnormal, the pathological, the destructive--the realm of the Othello syndrome.
OTS occurs more often in males than in females. According to several studies, when asked which type of partner infidelity would be more upsetting, men are more likely to select sexual infidelity and women are more likely to select emotional infidelity. This finding was recently reiterated by Dr. Judith Easton of the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, along with Drs. Lucas Schipper and Todd Shackelford of Florida Atlantic University in EVOLUTION OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR (2007).
OTS was named by the English psychiatrist, John Todd (1914-1987) who was also the person who named "the Alice in Wonderland syndrome". Todd presented his description and analysis of OTS in an article co-authored by K. Dewhurst appearing in the JOURNAL OF NERVOUS AND MENTAL DISORDER in 1955.
In THERAPY WITH COUPLES (1990), psychologist Dr. Michael Crowe and social worker Jane Ridley of the Marital Therapy Clinic in London describe a case of extreme sexual jealousy. It is typical of thousands if not millions throughout the world.
"Alan, aged 27, was a carpenter and Jemima P, aged 25, a housewife and mother. They had been married for eight years and had two children. During the eighteen months prior to therapy, Alan had accused Jemima of having affairs, of not being a virgin when they first made love, of fancying his friends and of hiding facts about previous boyfriends. One of his most frequent approaches was to say the names of the various boyfriends he suspected and watch Jemima intensely to see which name caused her to blush. Jemima insisted 'I have never been with, done anything with, or ever thought of having sex with anyone else. Alan asks me questions all day long, on buses, in shops, and he doesn't seem to listen to my answers'. Both partners were feeling overwrought and in despair. Jemima cried a great deal each day and Alan was very fearful that Jemima would leave him at any moment. They were in a state of crisis and under severe strain. They were deeply attached to each other but also feeling helpless in the face of Alan's powerful jealousy."
Dr. Crowe and Ridley then outline the strategy used in Alan's and Jemima's therapy. Fortunately, they conclude that their prognosis is favorable. Fortunately too, Alan and Jemima sought counseling before violence resulted. But this is not always the case.
Unlike most psychiatric illnesses, the Othello syndrome "is a dangerous condition which does lead in some cases to homicide and suicide." This is according to psychiatrists Dr. Morgan Enoch of the University of Liverpool and Dr. William Trethowan of the University of Birmingham in their classic text UNCOMMON PSYCHIATRIC SYNDROMES (1979). And despite the title of their book, it seems that the Othello syndrome is not all that uncommon. Drs. Enoch and Trethowan write that "the scant mention of this syndrome in textbooks suggests that it is rare, whereas in actual fact it is not uncommon in clinical practice . . . This emerged in the course of investigating more extensively patients suffering from common psychiatric disorders, such as depression."
In the past, some experts have noted that OTS can sometimes be a feature of manic-depressive psychosis, other psychopathologies, dementia, epilepsy, and alcoholism. But such links have been disputed more recently. For example, according to the Task Force Report of the American Psychiatric Association, "the old view that morbid jealousy usually evolved in alcoholic subjects has in recent years been refuted by a large body of evidence" (TREATMENTS OF PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS, 1989). In one study, alcohol was present in only 22.5 per cent of OTS cases analyzed.
Interestingly, what is termed "retrospective ruminative jealousy" has been demonstrated to be very often associated with the Othello syndrome. In this circumstance, the individual is morbidly preoccupied with the past sexual history of the spouse. However, there is no delusion about any current infidelity.
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