Strawberry Handkerchief

I chose an image about a handkerchief because it hit me how important the handkerchief was while seeing the movie version of Othello with Laurence Fishburne. This handkerchief is incredibly important to the entire play. Without this handkerchief, the play would not be what it is. Desdemona “giving” Cassio the handkerchief is the turning point of the play that seals the fate of numerous characters. Desdemona, Othello, Iago’s wife Emilia, and Rodrigo are all dead by the end of the play, while Cassio and Iago are injured, Iago also gets taken away to be tortured. Without the plotting of Iago, who convinced Othello that his wife Desdemona and Cassio were having an affair by giving Cassio Desdemona’s handkerchief which was given to her by Othello, these characters would still be fine and the handkerchief would still be in Desdemona’s possession. Desdemona losing this handkerchief was the most important scene in the play. It created a domino effect that took down many characters. Act 3 Scene 3 lines 288- 289 “Your napkin is too little. / [He puts the handkerchief from him, and she drops it.]” This is also important because what is about 10 minutes later in the time of the play, Othello is speaking to Iago about how earlier in the day Iago saw Cassio wipe his beard with the very same handkerchief that Othello saw just moments before still in Desdemona’s possession.

This image about the handkerchief is comical because the handkerchief looks freshly used and gross as Othello hands it to Desdemona.