This caused the stripping of Cassio from his position as lieutenant. Rodrigo is a naïve person, and he likes to hear things that make it sound as if it would satisfy him. Knowing that he couldn’t marry Desdemona because her father didn’t want Rodrigo to be his son-in-law, he kept persisting in doing so.
Iago knew that if he said a few right words, he would be able to make Rodrigo trustworthy of him and he did this by advising Rodrigo to do things that would eliminate those whom Desdemona loved. Iago said that she was only loving them for the time being and that her love for these other people, meaning Othello and even Cassio would not last for eternity and eventually, she will return to Rodrigo. Rodrigo was overwhelmed with this idea and the joy it brought and so, he carried out all of Iago’s advice, believing that his ‘friend’ was doing him good. In this way, it is clear that Iago uses Rodrigo in a way that made Rodrigo have hope in himself in persisting to capture Desdemona’s heart yet truly, this was all benefiting Iago and his path towards becoming Lieutenant.
At the same time, not only is Iago helping Rodrigo build up self-confidence, he also puts Rodrigo down by saying he is nothing without Desdemona, and that he needs to have her. Iago is having a go at Rodrigo yet his words aren’t really understood by Rodrigo clearly and to cover this up, Iago gives further advice to Rodrigo that would again please his thoughts.
Another character that Iago seems to manipulate by building their self-esteem was Cassio. When Cassio was stripped of his position, he felt very down and likewise, he lost his sense of dignity because his reputation was damage and this concept was an important element in Cassio’s social life. Certainly Cassio wanted to regain his position as Lieutenant, and immediately after the incident, where he stabbed Montano, Iago came up to him and told him what he must do in order to be second-in-charge once again. Iago’s words were, “…Confess yourself freely to her importune her help to put you in your place again…” (Act 2 scene 3. 320). This meant that Cassio was to seek the help of Desdemona for if he wanted to get his place again, then the most effective way was to let Desdemona speak on behalf of Cassio. Yet Iago told Cassio to do this for it would lead him to the next step of pulling Othello into his conspiracy.
Cassio however was never in anyway put down by Cassio and the only thing he did was to support Cassio all the way like the ‘honest Iago’ should have done. To secure this chance that it would be of success in making Othello believe in the wrong, he made his own wife, Emilia obtain the vital item that sealed the fate of the story. This was the handkerchief of Othello, which was in the possession of Desdemona. Emilia did not know of why her husband wanted it but because she wanted to satisfy her husband and gain more of his affectionate love, she just did so. The only thing she really wanted at the time was to have Iago to love her and have her in his heart.
However, the character that was played on most by Iago was certainly Othello. After he was able to make Cassio request Desdemona for help, he used this chance and made Othello see things that from afar would not look so pleasant. Even more, with the incident of the handkerchief and how he and Cassio talked about Bianca when Othello interpret it to be Desdemona and even his words, which added fuel to the fire, Othello was finally overwhelmed with the idea of Cassio and Desdemona in having a relationship beyond that of a lady to her husband’s friend/Lieutenant.
To cleanse both Cassio and Desdemona of this unfaithfulness, Iago advised Othello to kill both of these two people. This was the only that Othello can avenge himself for such insult. Othello ordered Iago to kill Cassio while Iago advised Othello strangle Desdemona to death. “Good, good. The justice of it pleases, very good” (act 4 scene 1. l.208) were the words of Othello when he heard of this advice and it please him very well. It was also at this these moments that Iago was appointed the new Lieutenant, thus fulfilling his goals.
Through these actions, it is clear to be seen that Iago deliberately wants to remove Cassio permanently. He made Othello hate him and using the hatred that lurked within Othello’s heart, he advised Othello to kill Cassio for this was the way that he could get revenge and live as a man. It was through this that Iago was able to manipulate Othello in killing Cassio for him. Eventually, when the whole story was unveiled, Othello was caught to be a murderer and it meant the sacking of him as Lieutenant. This was how Iago brought about the diminishing of Othello’s life and self-confidence.
Iago brought all these mishaps through his control of the actions of those around him. In this way, he gave them hope and led them in a direction to resolve their personal problems, and in some cases, destroyed the confidence they had gained with the outcomes of the events, in which it was just to fulfill and satisfy his desires.
