Meaning Of The Handkerchief In Othello

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In Othello by William Shakespeare, the handkerchief Othello gives his wife, Desdemona, serves as tangible evidence for Iago to convince Othello that Desdemona has been having an affair with Cassio. This seemingly simple token of Othello’s love for Desdemona creates a chain of events that draws all of the main characters together, in a way that further convinces Othello that Desdemona no longer loves him. Used by his mother to insure that his father remains faithful, Othello places great emphasis on the symbolic meaning of the handkerchief. This great emphasis makes it possible for Iago to manipulate the unplanned situations involving the handkerchief, highlighting his genius ability to manipulate, which serves as a motif throughout the play. …show more content…
He “directly steals it” (Stockholder). In a critical essay titled “Egregiously an Ass: Chance and Accident in Othello”, Katherine Stockholder discusses the significance of Iago directly taking the handkerchief from Emilia and had he not, his “power to manipulate random circumstances would be absent from the play” (Stockholder). The handkerchief not only symbolizes Desdemona and Othello’s love, it also symbolizes Iago’s genius manipulation skills. He figured out how to make an unplanned situation work toward his advantage. Regarding the list of occurrences the handkerchief is responsible for, displaying Iago’s master manipulating skills can now be …show more content…
The handkerchief represents Othello and Desdemona’s intense love for each other so when Othello sees Cassio with it, it seems to him that Desdemona has given their love away. Without the handkerchief, Iago’s allegations would fail to stick. Not only does Iago manipulate the handkerchief to go along with his plan, the handkerchief connects Othello, Desdemona, Iago, Emilia, Cassio and Bianca. This path, created by Iago, demonstrates Iago’s ability to manipulate each character in order to fulfill his deceptive plan. Feeling as if the handkerchief has been carelessly given to Cassio by Desdemona brings Othello to his angriest state, causing him to ask Iago to kill Cassio and himself vowing to kill Desdemona: the turning point of the

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