Yet Othello relapses
again. He has declared that he will not expostulate with her (IV. i.
217). But he cannot keep his word, and there follows the scene of
accusation. Its _dramatic_ purposes are obvious, but Othello seems to
have no purpose in it. He asks no questions, or, rather, none that shows
the least glimpse of doubt or hope. He is merely torturing himself.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 266: The reader who is puzzled by this passage should refer to
the conversation at the end of the thirtieth tale in the _Heptameron_.]
NOTE N.
TWO PASSAGES IN THE LAST SCENE OF _OTHELLO_.
(1) V. ii. 71 f. Desdemona demands that Cassio be sent for to 'confess'
the truth that she never gave him the handkerchief. Othello answers that
Cassio _has_ confessed the truth--has confessed the adultery. The
dialogue goes on:
_Des._ He will not say so.
_Oth._ No, his mouth is stopp'd:
Honest Iago hath ta'en order for 't.
_Des._ O! my fear interprets: what, is he dead?
_Oth._ Had all his hairs been lives, my great revenge
Had stomach for them all.
_Des._ Alas! he is _betray'd_ and _I_ undone.
It is a ghastly idea, but I believe Shakespeare means that, at the
mention of Iago's name, Desdemona suddenly sees that _he_ is the villain
whose existence he had declared to be impossible when, an hour before,
Emilia had suggested that someone had poisoned Othello's mind.
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