Reputation is something that everyone should value in their own way, but to a certain extent. It is only when people overvalue and regard their reputation too highly that they begin to receive negative effects. Caring about your reputation is good for your social life and how you may interact with others. If you have a bad reputation within a society then you gain a poor outlook on yourself from your peers. If you develop a good reputation then you gain more respect and trust from other people. However, when you concern yourself with your reputation excessively as if it is the only thing in the world that could make you feel fulfilled, then it becomes dangerous.

In Othello by William Shakespeare, Cassio is revoked of his lieutenant ship by Othello. This instantly causes Cassio to become deranged over his reputation saying, “O, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial” (Shakespeare 2.3 281-283). Right after Cassio lost his occupation, his first thought was that his reputation had been ruined. He is deeply concerned with how others view him as and only cares about his prestige that was stripped away from him. This causes Cassio to become desperate to get his lieutenant ship back, willing to do anything. Thus making him easily susceptible to manipulation and making irrational decisions that he would not normally make.

This also relates to the practice of honor killings during the Dark Ages of Europe where “‘wise and smart women’ were considered sorceresses by the Church in Europe and were killed, burned or locked in hospitals for the ‘mentally ill’, Saadawi explained. The real reason for these heinous acts, she argued, was that male priests were afraid of losing power.” Because of the obsession with maintaining their high reputation, male priests would execute innocent women who were too wise for their own good. These male priests were too desperate to not lose their status and respect within society, so they made irrational decisions.

People may also resort to false flattery to have the good reputation of a kind person not knowing that you are thrown in Ditch II and covered with excrement according to Dante’s Inferno. Falsely flattering someone out of only caring about your reputation is a sin. Overall, people should put aside the overly self infatuation of their reputation as it can get to their head and affect their social mentality. It is okay to be reputable, but people should place more value on things in relation to themselves, not the opinions of others.