PLAY: OTHELLO
"That handkerchief
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,
’Twould make her amiable and subdue my father
Entirely to her love, but if she lost it
Or made a 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. I did so: and take heed on ’t;
Make it a darling like your precious eye;
To lose’t or give’t away, were such perdition
As nothing else could match" (III.IV.57-70)
The handkerchief symbolizes a token of love and the strawberries that are embroidered on it is an English motif. Strawberries symbolize spring, fertility, reproduction, etc. These meanings accumulate as the handkerchief moves along in the plot. This passage highlights the foreign aspect to the play. Exotic foreignness and sexual intrigue are associated with the witchcraft of the handkerchief. The relationship between his mother and the Egyptian conveys female agency as well as female companionship. As Othello takes this story in his own words, he incorporates the concept of infidelity that occurs if it is exchanged improperly. The transformations that the handkerchief undergoes portray its use as a disciplining force of civility, teaching each person how to properly use it. There is a sense of contradicting combinations that are being made within this passage: Domestic & Exotic, Female sexuality & Fear.
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The handkerchief plot in Othello illustrates a larger theme regarding the idea that the characters believe what they want to believe, rather than what the evidence shows. Emilia does not suspect that Iago (her husband) wants the handkerchief in order to perform something corrupt. Rather, Emilia acts as though it is perfectly normal for a man to have “Wooed me to steal it,” as Emilia states. This line seems to be an aside, as though she must directly tell the audience that she does not suspect anything out of the ordinary, even though this is a somewhat strange request coming from Iago.
The fact that Emilia has several opportunities to tell Desdemona where the stolen handkerchief is, yet chooses not to, remains somewhat confusing. Emilia does not suspect Iago in any sort of underhandedness. This supports the notion that people will believe what they want to believe; Emilia does not wish to see her husband as being a criminal. Similarly, Othello believes Iago’s claims regarding Desdemona, instead of believing Desdemona herself when she tells him she is innocent. These events heighten the power of Iago by making him appear extremely cunning. Iago can make others believe what is untrue by feigning both his own honesty and telling Othello that Cassio is surely honest, even though he has already raised the idea that Cassio is sleeping with Desdemona. Thus, Iago makes it seem as though he want to believe the best in people.
-rebecca blayer
waldo, thurs 1-2
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