page_title: Bianca (Othello)
section_title: Role in Othello
hierarchical_section_title: Bianca (Othello) / Role in Othello
caption_attribution_description: Bianca (1868-69). Oil on canvas. Worthing Museum and Art Gallery, UK. The model for Bianca was an American girl named Miss Lydiard: ‘a very beautiful fair American girl’ according to Hunt. Depicts Bianca, a character from Shakespeare’s Othello. She is Cassio’s jealous lover. Bianca plays a significant role in the progress of Iago’s scheme to incite Othello’s jealousy of Cassio. Traditionally regarded as a courtesan, Bianca was occasionally cut from performances in the 19th century on moral grounds.
context_page_description: Bianca is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's Othello. She is Cassio's jealous lover. Despite her brief appearance on stage, Bianca plays a significant role in the progress of Iago's scheme to make Othello believe that his wife Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. Bianca is traditionally regarded as a courtesan, although this occupation is not specifically designated in the drama. The character was occasionally cut from performances in the 19th century on moral grounds. Bianca is not to be confused with Bianca Minola in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.
context_section_description: In Act 3, Scene 3, Iago reveals to the audience that, having surreptitiously obtained the handkerchief that Othello had originally given Desdemona as a lover's token, he will lose it in Cassio's lodging. Upon discovering the handkerchief in the following scene, Cassio admires its craftsmanship and asks Bianca to copy it for him. Bianca, already furious with Cassio for his apparent disregard of their relationship, suggests that the handkerchief is a gift from another woman, but eventually agrees to his request.
  Midway through Act 4, Scene 1, and prior to Bianca's entrance, Othello has been secretly observing a bawdy discussion between Iago and Cassio about the latter's sexual exploits with a young woman. Thanks to Iago's impeccable planning (and some bad luck), neither speaker mentions the name of the woman in question; it is in fact Bianca, but Othello tragically assumes it to be his wife, Desdemona. Bianca suddenly enters, and her suspicions of Cassio are even greater than before. She is convinced that the handkerchief belongs to another woman, and throws it contemptuously at Cassio's feet. In Othello's eyes, her apparent jealousy confirms his wife's infidelity. This "evidence" completes Iago's manufactured case against Desdemona, and thereafter Othello is determined to murder both her and Cassio.
  In Act 5, Scene 1, Bianca arrives just after Cassio has been stabbed by Iago.  She reacts with horror and concern.  Iago, pretending to have just entered the scene, accuses Bianca of having been part of the group that attacked Cassio.  Iago claims her emotional reaction is due to her being caught rather than concern for Cassio and gets her to admit that Cassio ate at her home earlier that evening.  Both Iago and Emilia call her a prostitute, but Bianca replies "I am no strumpet; but of life as honest / as you that doth abuse me" (5.1.122-3).  She is led off at the end of the scene to be questioned about the attack and is not mentioned again in the play.
caption: Painting by William Holman Hunt
exif: {}