ue! O, farewell Pride, pomp and circumstance of glorious war!… Farewell! Othello’s occupation’s gone!Othello’s character was completely taken over by his weakness with his influence from Desdemona. Female sexuality destroys Othello’s masculinity: his ability for violent combat when he comes to face with Desdemona’s sexuality. Furthermore, Othello expresses his fear of female sexuality through the handkerchief which was given to Desdemona as a gift from Othello. Othello describes the handkerchief in being "A sibyl... In her prophetic fury sew'd the work;/The worms were hallow’d that did breed the silk;" which can be seen as a sexual reference with the image of the worms "breed[ing]". Also importantly, the handkerchief also represents the power that female sexuality has over men. When explaining the significance of the handkerchief to Desdemona, Othello says "…The thoughts of people: she told her, while she kept it,/’T would make her amiable and subdue my father/Entirely to her love…" Othello fears that Desdemona will not equate her desires to his own. The possibility that she should give away the handkerchief, and thus control her own desires, causes Othello great distress. As stated by Rob Wilson "…who can make of Desdemona’s handkerchief a (false) sign of her marital falseness and maternal betrayal and of mere handshake an index (sign) of adulterous lust…" Because of the symbolic value of the handkerchief, Othello took the lost handkerchief as a sign of marital disobedience. Throughout the play, Othello must confront his own insecurity towards Desdemona and also the possibility that Desdemona is having an affair, which his jealous rage led to his final fall.In order to regain his masculinity, Othello must control Desdemona’s sexuality. Othello first instinct is to violently destroy their marriage. He wants to "chop her into messes", spilling ...
