Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The word jealousy stems from the Latin, zelus , meaning passion, a term that aptly describes a common thread which weaves through the array of works presented in this volume. When unleashed by a competitor for a treasured relationship, jealousy can entail a level of ferocity and destruction so passionate as to have permeated some of the most ingrained features of prevailing cultural ideologies and to have inspired some of the most significant works of poetry of all time. Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. (Song of Solomon 8:6)        O! beware, my lord, of jealousy;        It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock        The meat it feeds on.                      (William Shakespeare, Othello ) Yet, jealousy can also be recognized as a more subtle phenomenon, and one that can be interpreted in light of what may be considered its more pro-social function, as passion that drives ardor as well as goal-directed behavior that protects relationships and helps ensure survival. This side of jealousy has not inspired as much poetry, nor has it received as much investigative attention, especially in research using humans. To most people, its existence is, more or less, taken for granted. Seen as something so ubiquitous, if not ... log in or subscribe to read full text