Jealousy

Jealousy, particularly sexual jealousy, is a commonly depicted emotion in works of art and literature. It is related to fear that a relationship with someone is being threatened by another.

Use in plots & relationships between characters

In establishing relationships between characters in works, particularly media works, sexual jealousy is often used to create tension between characters, further the plot, and develop characterization. As such, it relies on (and furthers) the normative notions that love is inherently possessive and rivalrous, and monogamous.

Sexual jealousy can be used to convey to the reader/audience or other characters that the characters are, in fact, sexually or romantically interested in one another. See, for example, the Xena-Gabrielle relationship, which was largely subtextual; the jealousy that Xena displays in, for example, "Crusader" is intended to signal their relationship, and was, in fact, so read by much of the fanbase.

Of course, such signaling is particularly evident in heterosexual relationships, and can be a key part of building up romantic tension.

It is frequently used to mark sexual possessiveness, particularly heterosexual possessiveness; in this manifestation, it is often actively sought after, approved, and treated positively by characters. It may even be a sign of "true love".

It is also often a harbinger of violence (both in works of art and in real life); Othello's murder of Desdemona in Othello is the classic depiction of such work.

Use in characterization

A character causing jealousy, intentionally, knowingly, or not, is typically blameworthy. If not played for comic effect, intent to cause jealousy is often treated as a significant character flaw that renders a character less admirable, or even contemptible. For example, in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 1" (Battlestar Galactica 2004 episode 1x12), Starbuck's sexual liaison caused tension between her and Apollo.

Apollo: Why'd you do it, Kara? Just tell me why.

Starbuck: 'Cause I'm a screw-up, Lee; try and keep that in mind.

By contrast, a character that is mislead or tricked into jealousy may be viewed as tragically mistaken, but jealousy itself is rarely portrayed as a fatal character flaw.

The absence of jealousy in a character or world is often used to mark that character or world in some fashion. For instance, a character's lack of jealousy may be intended to be a sign that the character is cold, unfeeling, not really interested in the other person, not capable of interest, cut off from her feelings, etc. Lack of jealousy is rarely treated as normal or as a desirable state to attain.

Similarly, the absence of jealousy in a society may be used to mark that society as abnormal in some fashion. For instance, in Robert Silverberg's The World Inside (1971), humans largely live in giant, crowded apartment buildings; non-monogamy (in the form of "wife swapping") is a social expectation, and women who refuse sex are criminalized. Jealousy must be suppressed by individuals, and doing so causes a certain distancing and alienation in the marital relationship.

Polyamory, which has a long relationship with SF and the fan community, has been significantly worked out in SF novels. Here, the absence of sexual jealousy is shown as more enlightened; jealousy is simply a failure of understanding. See, e.g., The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk, and Robert A. Heinlein's various novels involving free love of one sort or another.