In Shakespeare's Othello, Othello is presented as a man of stature and distinction, so much so that others often precede his name with the word “valiant” (1.3.50). He is someone who, despite the prejudices associated with his skin, is deemed worthy of love by the beautiful Desdemona due to his service to the Venetian government. He himself reiterates this in defense of his marriage, saying: “I must be found. /My parts, my title, and my perfect soul/ shall rightly manifest me (1.2.30-32),” and is ultimately accepted by the authority of Desdemona's father and the Duke of Venice. From the beginning, Shakespeare establishes the importance of duty in Othello's world. His devotion to the Venetian state is rewarded by the devotion of his wife and those who serve him. However, at the end of the play, Othello finds that his life and reputation have been destroyed due to the clever calculations of his duplicitous officer, Iago. The unfolding of Iago's plan sparks confusion and conflict in all the characters, forcing them to balance between what they feel and their sense of duty in their respective roles and showing the consequences of deception, veiled or perceived. In Othello, duty and love are invariably intertwined, and as the tragedy unfolds, Shakespeare demonstrates love's ability to pervert the conception of duty. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The character who is perhaps most steadfast in her sense of duty is Desdemona. In her first lines of the play, Desdemona addresses the sense of divided duty she faces between her father and her new husband. She says to her father: “My noble father,/ I perceive here a divided duty./ To you I am bound for life and education/… you are the lord of duty/… But here is my husband. And as much duty as my mother showed / To you, preferring you to her father” (1.3.181-190). Taking her mother as an example, Desdemona takes on the feminine duty of dedicating herself fully to her husband. From the beginning of the play, Desdemona is exalted as the embodiment of feminine ideals. Brabantio, boasting of his daughter's virtues, describes her as “A girl who is never bold” (1.3.97). Despite the initial dilemma between her duty as a daughter and her new duty as a wife, she is determined and remains faithful to this commitment until her death. The reader can trace her devotion from the beginning of her marital bliss in her desire to go into battle to stay by her husband's side, until his final death. Even though she is innocent, once he gives in to Iago's suspicion, Othello becomes increasingly cruel to his wife. However, after he repeatedly accuses her of cheating on him with Cassio and cruelly labels her a whore, Desdemona arguably becomes more determined to remain respectful towards her husband, telling Iago and Emilia, "And she always will, even if will shake me off / For a beggar's divorce: love him tenderly, / Comfort denies me! Unkindness can do much, / And his unkindness can defeat my life, / But never defile my love” (4.2.162- 166).This response shows that Desdemona's love for her husband has distorted her sense of duty to the point of causing her to die for it. Furthermore, after being humiliated by her husband who beats her in front of visiting dignitaries, she is comforted from Emilia speaking out against inequalities between men and women. Desdemona simply responds by saying that she hopes to use women who speak out against their husbands as an example of how not to act (4.3.61-82). rewarded, in the end, Desdemona is likely punished for her unwavering love and sense of duty as the object of her tireless devotion becomes thehis eventual murderer. Desdemona is a character seemingly connected by the love she has for the male figures in her life. The only instance where she defended herself against the will of men in her life is when she defends her marriage to Othello and shifts her loyalty from her father to her husband. It is this quality that ultimately clouds his sense of the value of his own life, to the point that up until the end, in the final moments before his death, he still addresses Othello as "my lord" (5.2.88). Unlike Desdemona, Emilia's sense of duty is much less tied to any man in her life. Emilia also makes a strong statement against the kind of blind female devotion practiced by Desdemona when she says, “Let their husbands know/Their wives have as good sense as they. They see and smell/And have a taste for both sweet and sour, as husbands have,” essentially saying that women have no greater responsibility than men to remain respectful (4.3.70-74). Instead, being almost always at his side, Emilia focuses her devotion above all on Desdemona rather than on her husband. However, despite her contentious relationship with Iago and her mistreatment of him, Emilia also experiences love's ability to cloud one's sense of duty. While love obscures Desdemona, Emilia is clouded by the desire to receive it. When he finds Desdemona's handkerchief, he decides to bring it to Iago, dismissing his suspicions by saying, "What he will do with it / Heaven knows, not I. / I do nothing but please his fancy" (3.3.306-308). Emilia's desire to receive love from her husband distracts her from her duty to her mistress and leads her to provide Iago with the final piece needed to complete his plan. This not only costs his lover's life, but his own as well. Meanwhile, through the character of Iago, Shakespeare demonstrates how actions are influenced in the absence of duty or love. Ironically, Iago is the first character in Othello to bring up the concept of duty, and in doing so, his ambiguous nature is revealed early on. After bitterly stating his complaints about Othello's authority and Cassio's promotion of himself, Roderigo responds that he would leave if he were in Iago's position. However, Iago responds by revealing his true motives, saying, "I follow him to serve him my turn" (1.1.44). Iago's belief that Othello has wronged him has erased any sense of duty and has instead manifested itself in revenge. In fact, he continues to denigrate those who, in his eyes, are blinded by a sense of duty towards others, and instead exalts those who are selfish. He tells Roderigo: "There are others / Who, adorned in forms of faces of duty, / Still keep their hearts attentive to themselves / And, throwing only demonstrations of service to their lords, prosper well with them" (1.1.52 - 56). Iago expresses the belief that a feigned sense of duty can be used to one's advantage. As he tells Roderigo, “Following him, I follow only myself” (1.1.60). Iago is bound only to himself, but he unmistakably understands the significant role that duty plays in Othello's life and is able to use this knowledge to his advantage. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now Iago actually instills doubt in Othello about Desdemona's devotion to him through the guise of a dutiful servant who has only his master's interests in mind. As Othello realizes his contrived suspicions towards Cassio, Iago masterfully evokes his sense of duty towards Othello to use his master's misplaced trust against him by reassuring him with phrases such as "My lord, you know that I love you" and "I am bound to every act of duty".