Desdemona and Emilia enter to inform Othello that he is expected at dinner. Othello says that he has a pain in his forehead, and Desdemona offers to bind his head with her handkerchief. Othello pushes her handkerchief away, telling her that it is too small.
The handkerchief drops to the floor, where it remains as Othello and Desdemona exit. Emilia, staying behind, picks up the handkerchief, remarking that her husband has asked her to steal it at least a hundred times. Iago enters, and Emilia teases him with the promise of a surprise.
He is ecstatic when she gives it to him, and sends her away. Othello declares that his soul is in torment, and that it would be better to be deceived completely than to suspect without proof.
He demands that Iago bring him visual evidence that Desdemona is a whore. Iago protests that it would be impossible to actually witness Desdemona and Cassio having sex, even if the two were as lustful as animals.
He promises that he can provide circumstantial evidence, however. Iago then claims to have witnessed Cassio wiping his beard with the handkerchief Othello gave Desdemona as her first gift. Furious, Othello cries out for blood. Othello promotes Iago to lieutenant.
The timing of events is very important in Act III. Othello manifests his confusion about his wife by telling her that he wishes to be left alone, and by spurning her offer of help when he tells her that he feels unwell. She also displays her strong, generous, and independent personality. Othello seems far more comfortable expressing his love for Desdemona when she is absent. Perhaps this is because her presence makes him conscious of her claim upon him and of his obligation to honor her requests, or perhaps this is because he is more in love with some idea or image of Desdemona than he is with Desdemona herself.
Given how much is at stake for Othello in his idea of Desdemona, it is remarkable how he becomes completely consumed by jealousy in such a short time. Moreover, it takes very little evidence to convince him of her unfaithfulness. All Iago has to do to Othello is make him doubt Desdemona, and jealousy spreads like a virus until he rejects her absolutely. This question places the debate in the abstract realm of perceptions and customs about the proper relationship between young women and the men in their lives.
Brabantio can expect that the Senators will side with fathers in matters of disobedient daughters and that their opinion will turn to his advantage. Considering that the play is set approximately in the late sixteenth century, Desdemona's defense of her actions is remarkably forthright, spirited, and courageous.
Her ten brief lines are models of concise rationale. Hers, she says, was and is a "divided duty": She remains bound to her noble father for her "life and education"; he remains her "lord of duty," and she will always honor him as such. Now, however, she has a husband, and she will give all her loyalty to her husband, just as her mother gave her loyalty to Brabantio. In other words, fathers must give way to husbands. Desdemona's argument, which sweeps personal matters into general principles, carries the day, and Brabantio abandons his accusation.
He does not concede that he was wrong, only that he cannot answer it. He never puts to question her participation in the courtship or the matter of witchcraft, which was his original accusation. Nor does he ask her how she could marry a man whom he thinks should disgust her. Simply he gives up, "I have done" and and abandons Desdemona and the whole idea of fatherhood. Brabantio's stubbornness is an integral part of his personality. He is not a fool, however: He is a man who is losing power, and there is no way he can accommodate that loss while retaining his self respect.
The Duke's attempts at conciliation fall on deaf ears. Desdemona, having embarked on marriage with Othello, wishes to accompany him into the field of war as a faithful wife. Let me go with him" The word "dear" here means "closely felt. The directness of this request takes even Othello by surprise.
Of course he wants his wife with him, and for the same reasons, and he supports her request, expressing it in a more socially acceptable manner: ". But to be free and bounteous of her mind" The Duke tells Othello that he can make what arrangements he likes. The important thing is that he must leave this very night because "th' affair calls [for] haste" Desdemona is somewhat taken aback by this order.
But notice the Moor's reply: He loves her "with all [his] heart" Truly, as the Duke notes to Brabantio, Othello "is far more fair than black" Immediately, there remains only for the Moor to leave some trusted officer behind, one who will see that Desdemona is brought to Cyprus safely.
Tragically, Othello chooses the very man whom he can trust least in all the world — "honest Iago" Brabantio is crushed; he is a defeated man who realizes that the Moor neither stole nor bewitched his daughter.
However, he will never understand how his "jewel" renounced all his paternal guidance and secretly married a man of a different race and nation. These last words to Othello in this scene are important. They are packed with irony and provide, in part, an example of dramatic presaging.
Desdemona does not deceive Othello, but before long Othello will be so convinced that she has deceived him that he will murder her. Othello's reply to Brabantio is likewise ironic: He vows, "my life upon her faith! Shortly, he will take his own life because of his lack of faith in her faith — in her innocent, chaste fidelity.
In a soliloquy that ends the act, Iago introduces a second motive for his hatred of Othello; he says that it is common gossip that the Moor "'twixt my sheets. It need hardly be pointed out here that we are listening to a man whose mind is poisoned. There is not the slightest bit of evidence anywhere in this play to indicate that Othello has had an affair with Emilia.
Iago also reveals his next malicious plan of action. Aware that Othello trusts him, he will convince the Moor that Cassio is "too familiar" with Desdemona. Othello, he says, "is of a free and open nature" ; precisely, in Iago's words, Othello is an "ass" — naive, in other words, and we recall that Othello himself has already admitted that he knows "little of this great world.
In the final couplet, which contains the reference to "hell and night" and to "monstrous birth" , we sense Iago rubbing his hands in glee; we see all too clearly the unnaturalness and the diabolical elements of his plans to destroy the union of Othello and Desdemona.
The witchcraft accusation raises the question, What constitutes evidence and proof of wrongdoing and what does not? In contrast to this intellectually powerful first impression, the audience confronts Othello as a visual spectacle: a black face surrounded by white faces, some of which are characters known to be hostile to him.
On the intellectual level, one looks up to Othello, while on the emotional level, one wonders already whether he can manage to survive. Previous Scene 1. Next Scene 3. Removing book from your Reading List will also remove any bookmarked pages associated with this title.
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