Othello: That is a fault.
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 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.

I was stumped for awhile on what would make for an interesting topic for my final blog post. As I began skimming through the play again though I came across the scene where Othello starts to explain to Desdemona the history of the handkerchief. The passage above is the story.

Othello starts by saying “that is a fault”, which refers to Desdemona making a mistake by not keeping the cloth on her at all times. I remember reading the play the first time and thinking to myself that he should probably relax and not get mad at her over something like that. She clearly loves him deeply at this point and I wouldn’t think it necessary to start a fight over a gift that he gave to her. However in hindsight, after learning the importance and history of the handkerchief, it is not only wise of Desdemona to keep it on her because of its sentimental value, but also because of the magic that exists within it. Othello goes on to explain that an Egyptian charmer gifted the handkerchief to his mother so that its powers could help her woo his father. There was a catch though, Othello explains, ” 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.” For me this part of the text certainly “resists easy explanation”. I was confused as to whether or not Othello was making this up just to scare Desdemona? Perhaps he wanted to scare her into being loyal or to forewarn her that she has no wiggle room in regards to disloyalty. I was not sold on the fact that the handkerchief itself carried this much power or importance. Regardless of the cloth did or not, the fact of the matter was that this was a clear foreshadowing set in place by Shakespeare, and us the readers/viewers were not to take it lightly. He continues on to explain how his mother warned him to be wise in which woman he chooses to regift the handkerchief too. As its powers are still present and if he gives it to the wrong woman, he will never find a love that strong again.

After re-reading this passage a few times I thought it was really cool just how powerful and important the handkerchief actually was. Did you guys overlook this importance at all? Did you think it was fair of Othello to put such a responsibility on Desdemona without warning her? Do you believe the handkerchief actually carried this much weight or was it just a story to hype it up?