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Marital Power Plays, Gina Liu '14

2012 Fall Semester

William Shakespeare’s Othello describes the deterioration of the jealous Moorish general Othello’s marriage with Venetian noblewoman Desdemona. This domestic crisis, ignited by conniving manservant Iago’s careful manipulations, hinges upon one handkerchief, its significance within Othello’s and Desdemona’s courtship, and its engineered discovery in the bedchambers of Michael Cassio. Just as this small handkerchief assumes an integral role, the actions of Emilia, Iago’s wife, enable the fruition of his plots but ultimately result in his exposure and downfall; thus, Othello documents the decline of not one, but two marriages. The largest contrast between these two relationships is division of power, for …