3.73). Instead Othello encourages Desdemona's father to fetch her because he trusts that she will verify the marriage. While Othello's open trust initially is good for he and Desdemona it kills his relationship with Iago. Iago being one of Othello's generals has Othello's trust. Iago knows this and uses Othello's open hero's heart against him in horrible ways. In Act III scene III Iago and Othello have a conversation about who is doing Othello wrong. The reader can see Iago building Othello's trust in him before he explains that Desdemona and Cassio, another of Othello's generals, are having an affair. It is Othello's heroic ignorance that lets Iago take advantage of him and make Othello's heart close in with madness and paranoia. Iago in effect strips him of his heroic open heart and replaces it with a cold, evil one. .
We, the audience, know the extent of Othello's heroics by how he is treated by the Venetian council. However not everyone in Venice is a fan of Othello. Iago is one of Othello's generals and this plays antagonist. Iago's goal is to destroy everything that is Othello. We really have no idea why Iago wants to "get" Othello. There are many different explanations of why Iago hates Othello. Some of these reasons include racism, jealousy of Desdemona, getting passed over for lieutenant by Cassio, homosexual love for Othello and many others. However it seems that the reason that Iago does anything to anyone in this story is a lack of trust. Not to say that Iago does not trust the actions of the characters that he manipulates but, although Shakespeare never says it, Iago does not trust the actual characters. You can see his distrust towards his wife, Emilia, when she steals Desdemona's handkerchief and she hands it to him. "Be not acknown on't; I have use for it/ Go leave me" (3.3.358-59). Throughout the whole play Iago does not trust one soul, except his own. Could his lack of trust in his heart make his character the ultimate anti-hero? His untrusting personality is consistent through the play and could be the reason as to why Iago shows no signs of heroism.
