Race and loyalty in Othello William Shakespeare's Othello is a play set in Venice. The plot is based on the story of two people who love each other dearly and the problems and conflicts they face from the beginning. The conflicts are, for the most part, related to racial issues and questions of loyalty. These conflicts arise from the society surrounding the couple, as well as from the couple themselves since they are also part of this society, but with very different backgrounds: the female protagonist is the daughter of an esteemed Venetian senator: Brabantio. Othello, also known as the Moor, is a foreigner, black in color, has a past full of tragic and exotic stories and has proven himself worthy of the title of general of the Venetian army. Even before we, as the audience, have Having had the opportunity to meet Othello and Desdemona we learn that the union is considered as disgusting as it is scandalous. From the beginning everyone and everything seems to be working against them, but in the hope that love conquers all we don't allow ourselves to despair yet. And in fact the first act proves us right. After explaining why they love each other, the world seems to accept this alliance. But Brabantio's commentary tells us that all is not well: (I.iii.293-4) "Look to her, More, if thou hast eyes to see:/She has deceived her father and may she." By disobeying her father, Desdemona has shown herself capable of betraying the person she is supposed to love and, according to Venetian rules, obey. The phrase "look at her" suggests several things: that Desdemona needs to be watched closely, in other words; she cannot be trusted, nor Othello notice w... middle of paper... in one case, she, by marrying Othello, has lost her good name - in two senses, because she has committed a sin by not doing what her father commanded her and secondly because by marrying she acquired her husband's name. In both cases Othello seems to think that she has committed a crime. Her respectable self is lost due to her connection with him. He compares it to his own face: "dirty and black." It's not clear to me whether she is dirty now because he was dirty from the beginning or if he feels that she has made him dirty. What is certain, however, is that he is far from satisfied with his wife, the main root of the problem is his suspicion of her real character. His insecurity leads him to behave like Olav Tryggvason (kill the traitor) and ask questions similar to the one that Håkon the Jarl asked his lifelong companion: WHY ARE YOU SO VAGIGINATED AND SOMETIMES BLACK AS THE EARTH?