William Shakespeare
Act III
As the conflict between Desdemona and Othello escalates, a major symbol of the play enters the action (I know that it's a major symbol because Mr. Costello told us to look out for it). The handkerchief is symbolic of several things within the context of the story. The most important meaning surrounding the image of the handkerchief is that of purity and of faithfulness. Othello tells the history of the fabric: "'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," (III.iv.53-57). With this information, it can be inferred that Othello is using the history of the handkerchief to explain why he doubts his wife's faithfulness. Because she is unable to produce the cloth, he assumes that it is lost and, therefore, Desdemona has lost the love of Othello. Additionally, Othello continues to tell that the handkerchief was "dyed in mummy which the skillful conserved of maiden's hearts" which means that the fabric was dyed using a special concoction mixed from the blood of virgins (III.iv.67-68). This image calls to mind the consummation of marriage after which the bloodied sheets of the couple are placed in a public place to prove the virginity of the wife. Then, again, is the audience reminded of the image of faithfulness and purity that is embedded within the handkerchief.
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