The handkerchief is white with red strawberries representing beauty, fertility and purity. It is important because it had belonged to Othello’s mother. It had been given to his father by his mother as a way to ensure his faithfulness to her. The handkerchief symbolizes loyalty, and faithfulness as well as family history to Othello. Othello implies that the handkerchief has magical properties when he says “there’s magic in it” (cite). This gives the implication that the handkerchief has a darker side to it. Later events seem to indicate that the magic/ power of the handkerchief lies in the intention of the person. Othello’s mother believed that the handkerchief kept her husband faithful to her. She did not question its power and for it was a positive symbol. This seems to be different in Othello’s case.
Othello gave the handkerchief to Desdemona as a symbol of his love, because of the Desdemona always has the handkerchief with her “to kiss and talk to”. The handkerchief then goes missing. Unbeknownst to Desdemona Iago has stolen it in his quest to kill Othello and take his money. In Act 2 Scene 4 become a negative object when Desdemona lies to Othello when he asks for the handkerchief. Telling him “I say it is not lost.” When Othello asks her to bring it to him she starts talking about Cassio. Othello starts to suspect that she has had an affair with Cassio. He then asks for the handkerchief two more times and when he does not receive it he leaves in anger believing that Desdemona has lost the handkerchief during a tryst with Cassio. After this exchange Othello begins to behave differently towards Desdemona.
Knowing that he has put a wedge between Othello and Desdemona. Iago acts to strengthen the rift between them by putting negative thoughts in Othello’s head. Iago makes subtle hints that Desdemona and Cassio have been having an affair saying that he has seen Cassio “wipe his beard with” a handkerchief that he thinks belongs to Desdemona. This feeds into Othello’s suspicions since he has seen the Handkerchief in Cassio’s hand himself and Desdemona lied to him about still having it. Iago is able to easily manipulate Othello in to thinking that Desdemona is having an affair based on nothing more than a misplaced handkerchief. Even when Othello wants to see proof of their affair with his own eyes Iago is able to manipulate him away from thinking clearly and convinces him that he right. Soon Othello wants Cassio dead within three days and he wants revenge on Desdemona.
So where for his father and mother the handkerchief is a symbol of their faithfulness and devotion to each other. For Othello it seems to symbolizes the dark side of these things. In a way he does not view Desdemona as a lover, but as a possession. One can see this in the scene Emilia after he has killed Desdemona and is now referring to her as a “whore”. We later find out in Act 5 Scene 2 that Emilia had found the handkerchief and had given it to Cassio. Othello kills himself at the end of the play because of his guilt over killing Desdemona.
In conclusion, Shakespeare used the handkerchief as a plot device. He sets it up as a magical device that acted in a positive way by giving Othello’s parents a happy marriage. At the same time the fact that the marriage was only happy because the handkerchief kept his father faithful put in question the true nature of their relationship. Othello has done the same thing as his mother by giving Desdemona the handkerchief. His reliance on the handkerchief is what enables Iago to manipulate him.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William, Burton Raffel, and Harold Bloom. Othello. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005. Print.
