Chapter Commentary of The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice - Study Guide by William Shakespeare

Desdemona let slip. Most important, however, is the handkerchief she lets slip at this point in the scene. Emilia picks it up to give to Iago who "hath a hundred times / Wooed me to steal it" (3.3.296-97). The handkerchief is symbolic and, to Othello, magical - "There’s magic in the web of it" (3.4.71). It was given to Othello’s mother by an Egyptian "charmer" who told her that while she kept it,

"Twould make her amiable and subdue [Othello’s] father

Entirely to her love; but if she lost it

Or made gift of it, [Othello’s] father’s eye

Should hold her loathed...

(3.4.61-64)

It was given to Othello by his mother, and to Desdemona by Othello. The handkerchief is the final piece of evidence that convinces Othello that Desdemona is false. It serves as the "ocular proof" which he demands. It is more than this, however. It is proof that Othello is regressing into an imagined past of witchcraft and superstition of the precise kind that he denied being involved in during Act I. In other words, under pressure he becomes his stereotype. This is evidenced by the fact that in Act V scene ii the story about the handkerchief reverses totally:

It was a handkerchief, an antique token

My father gave my mother

(3.5.214-5)

Othello is now complicit in his undoing. As Iago says,

Trifles light as air

Are to the jealous confirmations so strong

As proofs of holy writ(3.3.325-7)

Othello returns to Iago as he muses in this way and that he is changing is clear. Whilst he can find no evidence that Desdemona is false, neither can he have any peace now that the suspicion has been planted in his mind. He demands proof:

Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore,

Be sure of it, give me ocular proof[Catching hold of him]

Or by the worth of man’s eternal soul

Thou hadst better have been born a dog

Than answer to my wrath! (3.3.362-366)

The self-control is slipping. He is being reduced to the "bestial" by Iago’s poisoned words, just as Cassio was reduced by drink (cf. 2.3.360). Iago protests that he has only been honest, "I should be wise for honesty’s a fool", and offers to satisfy Othello. As he discusses the difficulties in providing Othello with the "ocular proof" that he demands, he paints for Othello obscene images, of Desdemona "topped" by Cassio, of the two, "prime as goats, as hot as monkeys, / As salt as wolves in pride" (3.3.406-7). This form of proof, he concludes, would be impossible to get. He describes instead one night where he was woken by Cassio talking in his sleep (3.3.416-428) of Desdemona. Here again, he paints for Othello a very vivid picture of Cassio and Desdemona lying together. This visual experience that Iago provides, however false, is very effective. "O monstrous! Monstrous!" Othello cries. Iago cleverly moves on, saying,