In William Shakespeare's story Othello he makes use of the symbol that helps the meaning of the handkerchief. This symbol is that of the handkerchief a gift that Othello gave to his new wife Desdemona. This symbol show love from the very beginning of the story and play that marked an very important event in their new life together til the end of their love together. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and interpreting the deception of the symbolism of the handkerchief.
The handkerchief that Othello owns was his mothers, which she then passed down to her son for his new lovely wife it was woven by an Egyptian Sibyl with some silk worms and dyed in the mummies maidens hearts. The Egyptian gave the handkerchief to Othello mother and told her that as long as she kept this handkerchief then her husband would stay devoted to her forever but if the wife was to loose the handkerchief or misplace it then she would have to say goodbye to her husband for good since she had lost it. So when Othello gave his wife Desdemona the handkerchief he also told her the story that came along behind the handkerchief so that she would know what it really meant to him and his mother.
Iago had use the handkerchief apart of this plan because he feels that the handkerchief is a good symbol of Desdemonas faith to his friend Othello by obtaining this symbol of her faith, he was able to deploy his plan of revenge against Othello with the helping of this words doubt of this fidelity is placed deep within the crevices of the mind of Othello. So Iago tried to make Othello think that his wife Desdemona was having an affair behind his back with Cassio who Iago shared the plan with. So Othello asked Desdemona for the handkerchief and when she isn't able to produce it for him he charges her that she was cheating on him which means in his own words She was being unfaithful and infidelity since she couldn't show him the handkerchief that he gave to her on their wedding night.
The handkerchief means a lot to Desdemona because it was a special gift given to her by her husband on the wedding night but she had lost the handkerchief which she didn't know that she had dropped it on the night that her and Othello was having an discussion about Cassio so now that she lost it she must suffer the bad consequences of loosing the gift her husband Othello gave to her. Iago planned the handkerchief on Cassio to make Othello think that Desdemona gave it to him to Cassio the handkerchief doesn't mean nothing but a pretty object that Iago gave to him and his lady Bianca she has some symbols and a signal that Cassio doesn't really care for anymore since she had found the handkerchief laying on their bed.
Iago try to trick Cassio but getting him drunk then had Roderigo a former suitor of Desdemona which Iago has convinced to aid him with the hope of winning Desdemona back by picking a fight with Cassio which ends him to get arrested. Later on in the story fortune drops Desdemona handkerchief into Iagos hand which Emilia gives it to him and plants it in Cassio room and then Iago goes back and tell Othello that he saw Cassio with it then Iago manipulates a conversation with Cassio about his courtesan to make it appear to Othello who was behind a wall eavesdropping hearing everything that Cassio was saying about Desdemona. So Othello tells Iago to kill Cassio and then go and confront Desdemona about the situation but Emilia took up for Desdemona and now Othello is starting to believe Iago about his wife infidelity with Cassio. Desdemona tires to help the Cassio because he is completely distraught because the stripping of his rank is more he can bear.
Meanwhile Othello is trying to figure out what to do with Desdemona Iago has Roderigo attempt to murder Cassio so when Roderigo failed to do it. Iago slays him so that Roderigo cant implicate him in the affair with Desdemona so later on Iago told Othello that Cassio admitted to having sex with Desdemona in their bed on the sheets from their honey moon night. Othello came to his mind hat he would kill his wife Desdemona while she was sleep even though she tried to deny the charges that she was innocent and faithful to him. But still in her death she protects her husband so instead of telling the truth Desdemona took the blame for her own death. Later on Othello gets the truth about his wife in which Iago tells him that he was lying about everything that happen so Othello stabbed Iago in the side before killing his self he said some words to Iago but Othello killed his self and then laid down beside his wife in their bed on the same sheets she killed her on.
The handkerchief is important in William Shakespeares play Othello because had it not been for the handkerchief or the loss of it then Iago would have never been able to consumer the result he wanted to do with the revenge on his friend Othello.
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