What is the significance of the handkerchief as a symbol in Othello?

the handkerchief in the play is almost like a character in itself, imbued with layers of significance. Othello tells Desdemona of its mystical origins.. it was sewed by a sibyl in "prophetic fury"... it was made from mummified silkworms... and handed over to Othello's mother by his father. when one reads about the origin of the kerchief, the racial "otherness" of Othello seems enhanced. Shakespeare cleverly portrays him in accordance with the western notion of the mystic oriental. this only adds to highlight othello's racial otherness, of which he has become an irrevocable victim. this is the first thing that strikes the reader.

what then draws our attention, is the function performed by the kerchief- that of keeping the husband unflinchingly in love with his wife. but as Othello gives it 2 Desdemona, its significance gets reversed, n it becomes a symbol of female chastity, not male fidelity. hence, the loss of it, and its resurfacing from a whore's (Bianca) possession seems to signify (for othello), Desdemona's moral decadence and depravity.

it is noteworthy how the kerchief travels thruogh 3 echelons of Venetian society- nobility (desdemona), militia (emilia) and the whore-house (bianca).

when at last the kerchief is restored, and the truth of its disappearance is revealed, the kerchief fulfills its former role. it restores othello's love for desdemona. miraculously, she is again hailed as being virtuous and chaste. shakespeare very cleverly uses such a trivial thing as a handkerchief, as a mark of matrimonial trust. it shows that the ties of matrimony r as delicate as d kerchief itself, and can be lost easily.

more importantly, it is but ironic that d keeper of d kerchief has to be the wife, not d husband. thus, it is the woman who is the site and symbol of patriarchal ideology. it is she, on whom the onus lies for the preservation of marital relations. it is notewothy how easily desdemona is pronounced guilty of cuckolding othello, whereas it was he who got readily manipulated by the crafty Iago. but desdemona bears the brunt.