Othello’s handkerchief

Introduction

William Shakespeare’s 1622 play “Othello” is a timeless classic that tells the story of two lovers whose love for each other suffers a tragic ending. Throughout the story, the handkerchief exchanges hands amongst the characters. This use of a handkerchief by Shakespeare as a literary symbol symbolizes different meanings to both the characters and the readers of the story. Even though the handkerchief is subject to many interpretations of its meaning, its importance in the story cannot be overlooked for it gives meaning to the story and helps in driving the plot of the story. Without the handkerchief, the story would be void of emotions for the handkerchief brings out different emotions in the reader when it changes hands and contrasting emotions of the characters in regards to the handkerchief.

The use of Othello’s handkerchief as a literary symbol enhances the readers understanding of the full text. By trying to uncover the hidden meanings that the handkerchief represents, the symbol tells us more about the characters and gives us a backstory of the characters that we are not told about in the story. A good example is that of the nature of the handkerchief itself where the color white with red strawberry patterns can be said to symbolize the consummated marriage between Desdemona and Othello.

The handkerchief was a gift to Desdemona from Othello, who gave it to her as a symbol of their love. To Othello, it represented his undying love for her, and this is based on the sentimental value that he placed on it. It was a family heirloom, and by giving it to Desdemona, it represented how much love he had for her. To Desdemona, the handkerchief was a demonstration of how much he loved her. He gave it to her and told her of its importance to his life. According to Othello,

“ Did an Egyptian to my mother give; She was a charmer, and could almost read the thoughts of people: she told her, while she kept it, ‘I Would make her amiable and subdue my father Entirely to her love, but if she lost it Or made gift of it, my father’s eye Should hold her loathed and his spirits should hunt After new fancies: she, dying, gave it me; And bid me, when my fate would have me wive, To give it her”. (3.4.54-62)

Although the handkerchief represents love to the couple, Lago turns this symbol to one that represents jealousy and suspicion. The losing of the handkerchief by Desdemona and ending up in Cassio’s possession only fueled the feelings of jealously and mistrust that had been planted by Lago about Desdemona being unfaithful to Othello. Lago managed to get the handkerchief through his wife Emilia, who posits, “My wayward husband hath a hundred times / Woo’d me to steal it” (3.3.292-293)”.  Emilia was glad that she picked up the handkerchief after Desdemona dropped it, for she knew how precious it was to Desdemona. Despite knowing how precious the handkerchief was, she went ahead to give it to Lago, who used it as a tool for revenge against Othello by planting it into Cassio’s chambers, knowing perfectly well that even though the handkerchief turning up in Cassio’s chambers is not proof of infidelity. Still, to Othello,  that was more than enough.

Before killing Desdemona, Othello laments, “That handkerchief which I so loved and gave thee / Thou gavest to Cassio” (5.2.48-49). In a state of shock, Desdemona refutes Othello’s claim by saying, “I never did / Offend you in my life; never loved Cassio / But with such general warranty of heaven / As I might love: I never gave him token” (5.2.58-61). In the end, Othello kills Desdemona for giving Cassio the handkerchief symbolizing that Desdemona was guilty of giving out the love that they had both promised to each other.

The handkerchief in Othello is described as a token of love, but it also signifies feelings of jealousy, pain, and suffering. In the first instance, Bianca, Cassio’s prostitute girlfriend becomes jealous when he sees a woman’s handkerchief in his wrist. It had been a while since they had seen each other and she asks inquisitively whether the handkerchief, “is some token from a newer friend: / To the felt absence now I feel a cause: / Is’t come to this? Well, well” (3.4.181-183). Cassio later explains that he found the handkerchief in his chambers, and he does not know who it belongs to. The feelings elicited by Bianca towards the handkerchief on Cassio’s wrist show that the handkerchief not only represents the love between Desdemona and Othello but also feelings of jealousy between Bianca and Cassio.

Pain is also another emotion that the handkerchief symbolizes apart from love and jealousy. The pain that Othello felt when he first saw the handkerchief on Cassio’s hand was indescribable. He posits, “I saw it in his hand: It was a handkerchief, an antique token. My father gave my mother” (5.2.210-217). With Desdemona being unable to explain where her handkerchief was, Othello had to grapple with the fact that his family heirloom had been gifted to another man. The sight of Desdemona’s handkerchief on Cassio’s wrist brought about pain in Othello, for he felt betrayed and angered by the fact that the first gift he ever gave to Desdemona ended up in another man’s wrist. The intimate gift that represented love for both of them now was a source of pain for Othello.

Upon losing the handkerchief, it turned out to be a symbol of suffering for Desdemona. She tirelessly looked for it. In her attempt to locate it, she asks, “Where should I lose that handkerchief, Emilia?” (3.4.23). Desdemona had always kept her handkerchief close, for she knew unconsciously that it would wreak havoc in her relationship. Even though she asserts, “my noble Moor / Is true of mind and made of no such baseness / As jealous creatures are,” she is aware that the handkerchief has the potential to ruin her marriage. Coincidentally without the handkerchief in her possession, her relationship with Othello turned sour. They were doing perfectly well as a couple until when she lost the handkerchief that her marriage began to sour.

Different scholars have analyzed the literary symbol of the handkerchief. They have come up with unusual or similar reservations about the symbol. According to Huq, the handkerchief represents “Desdemona’s marriage,” specifically the state that it was in.  Apart from the feelings of love, pain, and suffering highlighted above, the handkerchief also represents a marriage breakdown fueled by the lack of communication and external factors such as people. The lack of communication is seen where both Desdemona and Othello are unable to communicate with one another information they know about the handkerchief. Desdemona knows that she has misplaced their handkerchief and cannot find it while Othello thinks that Desdemona has committed an unforgivable act by gifting his family heirloom to Cassio. By keeping silent on the issue of the handkerchief that is Desdemona telling Othello that she has misplaced it and Othello telling Desdemona that he saw it on Cassio, the two suffer from their lack of communication, which leads to their ruin.

The other symbolic meaning that the handkerchief had on Desdemona’s marriage was the fact that the handkerchief passed through almost all of the characters’ hands. It is symbolic in that it shows how external influences on their marriage led to the failure of her marriage and the end of her life. The characters were able to affect her marriage from Emilia, who stole the handkerchief when she dropped it, to Lago, who used it to have his revenge against Cassio and finally to Cassio, who, by wearing it, confirmed Othello’s suspicions of Desdemona cheating on him. The act of the handkerchief changing hands symbolizes how external factors such as people led to the end of Desdemona’s marriage.

Contrary to my interpretation of the handkerchief symbolizing something to most of the characters, Smith, just like Huq, who focused on Desdemona, chooses to interpret the handkerchief in what it symbolizes in Othello. For him, he brings out the “issue of blackness and race” and this is based on Othello’s heritage and his marrying a woman from a different race. His counterargument seems to be one who tries to unfold the hidden meaning of the handkerchief and not to only focus on the literal meanings when providing an analysis of the literary symbol.

In conclusion, different readers interpret the text differently. The range of interpretations helps us in interrogating whether what we understood to be the meaning of the literary symbol is what the author meant for us to understand. Without interpretations, it would be difficult to truly appreciate the effect and impact of literary symbols on our understanding of the text. “Othello”, just like any cautionary text, is of more interest to us as a literary masterpiece whose use of literary symbols shows their significance in the literary world.

Works Cited

Huq, Syed Anwarul. “Desdemona s Handkerchief: Its Symbolic Significance.” Stamford Journal of English 7 (2012): 159-168.

Shakespeare, William. Othello. Vol. 6. Classic Books Company, 2001.

Smith, Ian. “Othello’s black handkerchief.” Shakespeare Quarterly 64.1 (2013): 1-25.