Cassio: "Oh, I have lost my reputation!!" Me: "Oh shush already."

It is truly amazing how much the people within Othello are enamored with this idea of reputation. Othello himself has built a reputation for himself, impeded as he is by being a Moor. Desdemona has a reputation of innocence and her father is the one who has spread this reputation around so that everyone thinks of her this way. However, Cassio seems to wonder what will become of him now that his reputation is soiled. It is fascinating to see how Iago consoled his 'friend' by saying that reputation is not who you are, but who people think you are.

Personally, I am fascinated with this idea of a reputation being more of a rumor; a colored glass through which people view your actions before they judge you. It is so true that the only thing a person can control is their actions. Once we do something, it is completely taken out of our hands. The opinions that people form from that moment on that will become our reputation are completely outside of our influence.

In a way, this idea is very liberating. Rather than worrying about how what you do will affect how people see you, this idea allows for you to relax and simply 'be yourself'. Although it can be frightening to realize how little control youa ctually have over your reputation, this means that the people who see you correctly will be the ones who are really taking the time to find out who you are; those who aren't content to just stop at the thin veneer of a reputation and call that a person's character. In the end - for all his faults - Iago makes a very valid point. What you do is not who you are, and your reputation certainly is not who you are. In the end, you decide who you are, and in so doing form your character. And that is who you really are. All else is simply a rumor.