ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -The handkerchief initially is a gift given to Desdemona by Othello as a love token. It is subsequently symbolically transformed into Desdemona’s bedsheets, which she uses to reveal her true innocence and fidelity to Othello; and finally, Desdemona requests that the bedsheets be used to cover her as a death shroud.

Detailed explanation-2: -The handkerchief, a gift to Desdemona from Othello, symbolizes so much more than a mere token of affection. To Othello, the handkerchief symbolizes fidelity and his giving it to Desdemona represents a promise that he will be true to her, and a request that she stay true to him.

Detailed explanation-3: -Othello goes on to tell Desdemona that his mother had given it to him on her deathbed, wanting him to give it to his future wife.

Detailed explanation-4: -Then Bianca storms out, followed by Cassio. Before he kills her, Othello accuses Desdemona of having an affair with Cassio and says, “That handkerchief which I so loved and gave thee / Thou gavest to Cassio” (5.2. 48-49).

Detailed explanation-5: -Othello demands her handkerchief, which she cannot produce. Othello tells the story of the handkerchief: it is an heirloom in his family, given by an Egyptian witch to his mother as a charm to keep her husband’s love. If the handkerchief were lost, the love would go.