New Paltz Students Blogging about Shakespeare
Monday, October 18, 2010
The Handkerchief
During our discussion of Othello in class last week there was discussion of a handkerchief of Othello’s that keeps making reappearances in the play. I found this interesting because usually when an item pokes its head in literature it means we have some symbolism on our hands. Because of this I have decided to dedicate my blog topic this week talking about the infamous handkerchief of Shakespeare’s story. As told by Othello in the play this handkerchief was enchanted by a 200 year-old sibyl to keep whoever has it in their possession to always be faithful to the person with was given by. Whether the handkerchief is really enchanted or not does not matter to the play however as it does a much better job of acting as symbolism than chanting spells. As we know Othello gives his love Desdemona this handkerchief much like Othello’s mother did to his father, in hopes that each would stay faithful. Because of the constant idea that it’s magical properties will keep whoever has it faithful the handkerchief becomes a symbol of faithfulness altogether. However when Iago get’s his hands on the handkerchief and Othello finds out it appears that his love Desdemona has been unfaithful, all because another man has the handkerchief and the bond it created between Othello and Desdemona had been broken because of this. Since Othello takes this as a sign of cheating it only increases the symbolism of the handkerchief and shows why it is so important to the story of Othello. Along with faithfulness the color of the handkerchief is also symbolic in its own way. The color red on a white background is symbolic of a virgin’s wedding night and its tarnished sheets. Items do not reappear a handful of times in literature unless there is symbolic meaning behind it as Othello’s handkerchief is no difference, but we all knew that didn’t we.
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3 comments:
Interesting post about the handkerchief. Definitley an important part of the play and a huge object representing symbolism and something that is magical to these characters. I think it is interesting that Shakespeare chose to use a handkerchief because although it may have many uses, for whatever reason, as I am reading this post, it makes me think of something that can be represented as a sexual object. I never thought about the color of the handkerchief and I loved the point you made about that and about the woman losing their virginity, very interesting. I also enjoyed how there are certain things about the play we find out through this handkerchief; such as Desdemona being unfaithful. Such a small object can symbolize so much!
The handkerchief undoubtedly play a key role in the symbolizing an important belief of faithfulness key to the plot of the play. This is made blatantly apparent, I however did not pick up on the meaning of the color, and now wonder if all the women holding it especially Desdemona were all virgins, is that essential for the "magic" of the handkerchief to keep couples faithful? Is purity needed at the time of which it is gifted?
Jimmie is right to call our attention to the sexual nature of the handkerchief's embroidery, and I like Ryan's follo-up point that the hanky is mainly circulated among the women in the play, perhaps suggesting its powers. But I also am struck by the final statement on the object--that it was a "trifle," something that shouldn't have been valued at all. Is Shakespeare, in the final moment of the play, warning us about reading too much in to symbolism?
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