The handkerchief contains more symbols as the game develops. When the handkerchief is presented for the first time it is a symbol of love, then it becomes a symbol of Desdemona's faithful and finally it becomes a symbol of the past and an object that contains the history of Othello's family. The handkerchief is a symbol for three different people: Othello, Desdemona and Iago. The handkerchief was first mentioned in the play in act 3. Othello complains of a headache. Desdemona takes the handkerchief and offers to put it on his head, but Othello refuses "The napkin is too small:" (III.iii.287). The handkerchief falls and is lost, coming into Emilia's possession. Emilia knows that her husband wants Othello's handkerchief. Emilia gives the handkerchief to Iago who uses it as a weapon in his plan. With the handkerchief that Iago plants he further enters Othello's mind when he states that he saw that Cassio had it. Because of the importance of the handkerchief to Othello, Iago's lie that Cassio had wiped his beard with the handkerchief serves to further multiply Othello's jealousy. This...