How Does Othello Love Desdemona

This awareness expresses some of his doubt regarding Desdemona’s faithfulness and true love for him. Cahn argues that “Iago does not plant suspicion inside Othello. Rather the seed is there from the start, and Iago brilliantly cultivates it” (Cahn 111). The objects meaning to Othello is the most important as it is what determines his actions towards his wife. Othello refers to the handkerchief as “that recognizance and pledge of love” (5.2.221). Othello gave this as his first gift to Desdemona according to Emilia- “this was her first remembrance from the moor” (3.3.300). It is it not until far later in the play when Othello is demanding for Desdemona to show that it is in her presence that he reveals how magical the token truly is. It seems odd that upon gracing her with the gift he would not have emphasized how tremendous and magical were its

Martin Orkin explains that perhaps this idea is just part of his “cultural African belief in the innate power of material to affect and protect marriage…” (Orkin 40). Desdemona was obviously blinded to Othello’s deeper appreciation for the handkerchief until he reveals its magical origins in act three scene four, “That handkerchief did an Egyptian to my mother give” (III.iv.53-54). As Desdemona is dumbfounded by the account she hears, she begins to question the truth of this tale. Othello argues with her and strongly believes that there is magic built into its very fiber. A two hundred year old lady wove it and the strawberries on it were dyed using mummified hearts of virgin maidens (III.iv.68-73). A discrepancy of his story surfaces later in act five when Othello claims, “It was a handkerchief, an antique token my father gave my mother” (IV.ii.23-24). Othello not only contradicts himself in regards to the origins of the handkerchief but he also tells Brabantio that he has never used magic in the court