THE HANDKERCHIEF MURDERS

THE HANDKERCHIEF MURDERS

This is Part Two of my Othello series.
For those who don't know the story, here is a succint summary. I was introduced to this play by one Charles Lamb, the best children's storyteller in Regency London (IMHO), so I will base my abstract on his version, but adding my own remarks.

So, there is this thirty-something non-com called Iago, who has developed an obsessive hatred for younger, cuter, more dashing Lieutenant Cassio... maybe because he loves this officer and isn't loved back, or maybe because their dark-skinned commanding officer, Othello, (the titular character and a newb when it comes to European culture) prefers the young lieutenant (he was even the best man at the general's wedding!). Thus, Iago hates Othello, AKA The Moor (read "The Dark Non-European") as well.
So, Iago has a cunning plan that actually can't fail (love this Blackadder catchphrase!).
Anyway, at the start, there is a lot to celebrate: the enemy's wiped out, the war is over, victory is theirs, and Othello, the outpost's governor, has just married a posh and cute-looking Desdemona. What more could be celebrated? What could possibly go wrong?
And then, Iago makes his move. That very evening, Cassio is on guard duty. Aware that the lieutenant is a lightweight, Iago successfully tries to get him drunk, which leads a rather intoxicated Cassio to start a fight under the influence. And thus, his commanding officer does not trust him any longer.
But didn't that commanding officer have a wife? So, advised by Iago, Cassio asks Desdemona to try to bridge the gap between her spouse and the young lieutenant.
Next step for Iago: to make the Moor believe the encounters between his wife and Cassio are actually the tip of a rather bad iceberg (that is, an affair). It is a bit trickier, given how much Othello loves his better half, but then, she loses a handkerchief that her lady-in-waiting, Emilia, picks up. And Emilia is married to Iago...
So, Cassio finds the handkerchief in his quarters and decides to keep it until he can give it to Desdemona, but this is misinterpreted not only by Othello, but also by the lieutenant's own girlfriend Bianca: both fall prey to the green-eyed monster (mentioned for the first time in literature!).
Nice work, Iago! It is not a love triangle as you intended, but a love square!
So, the Moor gives Iago three days to kill Cassio and decides to get rid of his wife himself.
That very evening, everyone's favorite noncom and his thugs set up a lieutenant trap, and Cassio falls head first into it (he is so lovably naive!). With a slash in his right leg, he is left for dead on the pavement, and he should have bled to death if Bianca hadn't found him and taken him to the surgeon's. But he is officially pronounced dead.
At the same time, Desdemona is all snuggled up in her coversheets, when Othello enters the bedchamber and wakes her up (in true fairytale style) with a kiss (although not a true love's kiss). He insults and physically beats her to pieces... but he doesn't stop there. In spite of the young lady's pleas for mercy and proclamation of her innocence, the Moor strangles her in a fit of jealous rage.
Enter Emilia, who laments her mistress's death, informs the general that Cassio is still alive, and reveals her husband's optionicidal (that means "lieutenant-killing") gambit, followed by young Cassio himself in a litter.
Shortly after the lady-in-waiting is disposed of by her spouse for knowing too much, the great general realizes his mistakes and bursts into tears: his beloved Desdemona was true after all! He then commands soldiers to arrest Iago and appoints the lieutenant his successor as governor.
Then, in a flood of tears, Othello stabs himself to the heart with his own sword and dies with one cold last kiss from his late lady.
Neither Lamb nor Shakespeare gives details on what happens after the Moor's suicide.
My own guess: Iago is tortured and executed, while Cassio recovers from his wound and marries Bianca.