the power of "the"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Hardcore syntacticosemanticists may find this interesting.

Contrast the meaning of these two sentences:

A. Othello is brought down by jealousy of his wife.

B. Othello is brought down by the jealousy of his wife.

Different, virtually antithetical meanings. My unconscious must know why,
even if the rest of me doesn't.

Both sentences are theoretically "paraphrasable" as "Othello is brought down
by his wife's jealousy," but that isn't even true!

How describe this mysterious power of "the"?  Is it widely recognized?
Parallel examples?

JL



--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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