Desdemona: A Play About a Handkerchief

by Paula Vogel

Having slept with Othello's entire encampment, Desdemona revels in her bawdy tales of conquest. Her foils and rapt listeners are the other integral and re-imagined women of this Shakespeare Emilia, Desdemona's servant and the wife of Iago, and Bianca, now a majestic whore of Cyprus. The reluctantly loyal Emilia pesters Desdemona about a military promotion for her husband. Her motive, however, is that he leave her a wealthy widow, preferably sooner than later. Bianca, now a street-wise, yet painfully naive prostitute, visits Desdemona thinking she is a very good friend and fellow hooker (at least one night a week). Bianca thinks the worst when she soon discovers that Desdemona knows intimate details of the life of her lover, Cassio. Though Desdemona has never been intimate with Cassio, her life is soon in danger when her husband, Othello, also suspects her of infidelity.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Drama, Shakespeare, School, Fiction, Read For School

72 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1994

About the author

Paula Vogel is an American playwright and university professor. She received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play, How I Learned to Drive.

Vogel was born in Washington, D.C. to Donald Stephen Vogel, an advertising executive, and Phyllis Rita Bremerman, a secretary for United States Postal Service Training and Development Center. She is a graduate of The Catholic University of America (1974, B.A.) and Cornell University (1976, M.A.). Vogel also attended Bryn Mawr College from 1969 to 1970 and 1971 to 1972.

A productive playwright since the late 1970s, Vogel first came to national prominence with her AIDS-related seriocomedy The Baltimore Waltz, which won the Obie award for Best Play in 1992. She is best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning play How I Learned To Drive (1997), which examines the impact and echoes of child sexual abuse and incest. Other notable plays include Desdemona, A Play About A Handkerchief (1979); The Oldest Profession (1981); And Baby Makes Seven (1984); Hot 'N Throbbing (1994); and The Mineola Twins (1996).

Although no particular theme or topic dominates her work, she often examines traditionally controversial issues such as sexual abuse and prostitution. Asserting that she "writes the play backwards," moving from emotional circumstances and character to craft narrative structure, Vogel says, "My writing isn't actually guided by issues.... I only write about things that directly impact my life." Vogel adds, "If people get upset, it's because the play is working." Vogel's family, especially her late brother Carl Vogel, influences her writings. Vogel says, "In every play, there are a couple of places where I send a message to my late brother Carl. Just a little something in the atmosphere of every play to try and change the homophobia in our world." Carl's likeness appears in such plays as The Long Christmas Ride Home (2003), The Baltimore Waltz, and And Baby Makes Seven.

"Vogel tends to select sensitive, difficult, fraught issues to theatricalize," theatre theorist Jill Dolan comments, "and to spin them with a dramaturgy that’s at once creative, highly imaginative, and brutally honest."[3] Her work embraces theatrical devices from across several traditions, incorporating, in various works, direct address, bunraku puppetry, omniscient narration, and fantasy sequences. Critic David Finkel finds this breadth in Vogel's career to be reflective of a general tendency toward stylistic reinvention from work to work. "This playwright recoils at the notion of writing plays that are alike in their composition," Finkel writes. "She wants each play to be different in texture from those that have preceded it."

Vogel, a renowned teacher of playwriting, counts among her former students Susan Smith Blackburn Prize-winner Bridget Carpenter, Obie Award-winner Adam Bock, MacArthur Fellow Sarah Ruhl, and Pulitzer Prize-winners Nilo Cruz and Lynn Nottage.

During her two decades leading the graduate playwriting program and new play festival at Brown University, Vogel helped developed a nationally-recognized center for educational theatre, culminating in the creation of the Brown/Trinity Repertory Company Consortium with Oskar Eustis, then Trinity's artistic director, in 2002. She left Brown in 2008 to assume her current posts as adjunct professor and the Chair of the playwriting department at Yale School of Drama, and the Playwright-in-Residence at Yale Repertory Theatre. Vogel previously served as an instructor at Cornell University during her graduate work in the mid-1970s.

Recently Second Stage Theatre announced that they would be producing How I Learned To Drive as a part of their 2011-2012 season. It will be the first New York City production of this show in 15 years.

Subsequent to her Obie Award for Best Play (1992) and Pulitzer Prize in Drama (1998), Vogel received the Award for Literature from The American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2004.

She won the 1998 Susan Smith Blackburn P

Reviews

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this 4.5 stars if half stars were allowed. As a feminist-driven adaptation of Othello, this is a really good play. Vogel points to the kinds of female sociality that is generally suppressed in Shakespeare's work (admittedly partly because Shakespeare had to have boys perform women's parts). However, I do have one critique and one question about the play.

First, I don't understand why Vogel uses stage-Irish and stage-cockney dialects for Emilia and Bianca respectively. Emilia is supposed to be Venetian, and Bianca a Cypriot. So why have their accents been shifted to British class markers? Also, Vogel is an American, so her choice to use British stereotypes is definitely a specific choice.

My critique of the play is that by turning Desdemona into a woman having sex with everyone in sight, Othello's suspicions are ironically confirmed in this play--not specifically that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio, but that she is cheating on him. I get Vogel's point about liberating women's sexuality, but the problem she doesn't seem to resolve is that when Desdemona is cheating on Othello, his jealousy is justified in a way that it isn't justified in Shakespeare's text.

[Cate Oken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting modern adaptation of Shakespeare. A chilling finale. 4 stars

[zilver · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This play disappointed me rather substantially. It seems Vogel wanted to ask the question, what happens if we focus on Desdemona and trade her personality out with Emilia's. As a picture of domestic abuse, the play could have been poignant, but unlike the masterpiece that is How I Learned to Drive, this play just doesn't measure up to Vogel's usual delivery. I think the Shakespeare angle was the big misstep. Othello, who never appears onstage, seems unmotivated in his cruelty, and those who know the play recognize this decision as playing into Iago's racialization of him. Knowing the original makes that seem rather hollow. But the real problem I had with this one is Desdemona, who becomes a flat character (not that she isn't in Shakespeare, but I expected Vogel to texture her much more than the final result)... and her only character trait seems to be "cruel." There are so many places where this play tries to refer to the original, but so few where it lines up in a satisfying - or even enlightening - way. If I weren't asked to compare it to Shakespeare's original constantly, I would've probably liked it more. The delivery method Vogel chose, however, prevents that, and constantly (at least three times) putting Emilia's lines in Desdemona's mouth really just made this behind-the-scenes retelling feel more like a parallel universe... A decision that that felt unnecessary and dissatisfying for my money. If Vogel didn't want to parallel Shakespeare, I can't understand why she did to the minimal degree seen here.

[Rylee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would rate 0 stars if I could. It's written under the guise of girl empowerment and sex-positivity, but it takes everything that makes the original play a tragedy and throws it out the window. Othello is a tragedy *because* Desdemona was never unfaithful and never even considered being unfaithful to Othello, and he is poisoned by Iago's lust for power and kills her anyway.

[Illiterate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is obviously the correct back story.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not expecting this. I've been reading the various retellings of the Othello story from a different perspective, and this one presents that of the three significant women characters: Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca. It's thought-provoking, to be sure, or maybe it's more accurate to say that it's simply provoking. Of the three, only Bianca gets developed here in a way that is in any way commensurate with what a close reading of Shakespeare's play might allow as plausible. Desdemona and Emilia are warped into odious caricatures. I won't say more on that because the surprise is part of this play's effect. The positive thing I can say here is that it forces us to think about class in ways that are not explored so much in Shakespeare. It also stirs the imagination to see that these women could easily have had very different lives and relationships than Shakespeare's play gives room to present. I think, however, that stirring that pot a bit more could yield decidedly tastier fare than this play offers.

[Franxine (Shadowtearling)]

Am I stupid for not understanding how this was meant to explore feminist themes such as women’s relationships with one another in a male-dominant society?

I don’t mind the premise. Vogel creates this irony where Desdemona actually does make a cuckold out of Othello but with everyone EXCEPT the man Othello truly suspects.

What I do mind is the switch of personalities between Desdemona and Emilia and almost makes them both the worst two people ever. Neither of their motivations made sense to me. Desdemona, who wants to be a worldly woman, and Emilia, who is this devout and devoted wife, act differently to what they say. I hated that Emilia got preachy with Desdemona all the time, and I hated that Desdemona so often dismissed Emilia. Their personalities may have been switched, but their actions were not (and this is the true failure of this play for me). We have Desdemona wanting that worldliness, but she's still so dependent on men to gain that independence. Emilia's devotion to her husband heavily contrasts with her hatred of him that it only seeks to promote that women are nothing if not for their husbands.

I get that it was trying to explore female sexuality (and I liked that Bianca showed pride in her job because it paid her bills even as people like Emilia berated her), but she “traveled the world through sex” (they “spilled their seed into her”) isn’t the most empowering idea to me. I don’t mind the crudeness, but I also don’t understand why sex for Desdemona had to have this grand meaning attached to it.

The “loyalty” to Desdemona makes no sense, either, especially since Emilia made it clear she DESPISED Iago only to reveal later that she took the handkerchief cause her husband wanted to have fun?? In the original Othello it made sense for her to take it and lie about it while still unwavering in her loyalty to Desdemona. Here, it makes Emilia’s characterization shaky at best.

I get that women are allowed to be “free” while having dreams of marriage (as was Bianca’s case), but the way the play undermines that idea also doesn’t sit well with me. Bianca didn’t exist beyond either Desdemona’s or Emilia’s opinions of her. Desdemona loves her because she’s this woman who gets to have all the sex and no marriage. Emilia hates her for the same thing. And then when Bianca admits she wants to marry Cassio, Desdemona is disappointed, and Emilia feels justified.

Instead of exploring how female friendship could have helped all these women (and altered the course of the play), we instead see a competition between them as class (and race??????) divide them, and they die before anything good happens to them!

I wanted this play to be something else, and it’s my fault for expecting so much of it.

[Lea Dokter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting angle, but not very thrilling in my experience.

[Joti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so fucking great!! The untold story of the women: Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca - and the women’s space inside the palace at Cyprus. The women are being abused by their husbands and they try to each get their ‘kicks’ and just live - Desdemona has fun standing in for Bianca at her prostitute job, Bianca’s out and about with Cassio, Emilia’s faithful to D but wants to advance herself. Several of heir issues come down to money and economic dependence on men. And there’s several really poignant moments, like when Emilia’s telling D about how having sex with Iago was just so pleasureless for her and she started to think of the Rosary while he did her. And I also loved when they talk about how women’s existence goes ignored by men. Really taking up the feminist concerns in the play, alongside domestic abuse and violence, and the sexual behaviours of men.
I’d love to see this performed!!

[Grace Rhodes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I understand the reasoning and moral of the play however by outwardly saying that Desdemona has cheated on Othello gives Othello justification for his actions and undemines the effect his murder has on the audience as well as hinders the overall tragedy of the play.
I was also confused about the use of accents as Bianca is from Cyprus and Emilia is from Venice not stage-cockney or irish.
The author also drastically changed Emilia's character from a snarky, sassy, sneaky woman to a meek woman who knows her place and respects the order of things.

*spoilers ahead*

I did however love the ending. The fast paced scenes; the fight with Bianca when the bottle breaks and you think she's already died; the brushing of the hair counting down to her death; freezing at 100. Executed beautifully.

[Elizabeth Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was fully prepared to give this play two stars, because it’s not life-changing, and I adored the women characters of Othello, so I didn’t like how they were spun so much at first. I especially can’t stand a story about women backstabbing each other. But the end got me. It did end up being what I wanted it to be about: how women so frequently end up victims to men, no matter how good they are to them. I didn’t love it, but it did touch me.
(PG-13 rating)

[Amaranta · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why did you lie to me?????? Why most of the reviews say this is the feminist version??? Sexual liberation???? Where???? I'm so angry. It was awful. At least in my first reading I didn't find anything good in this play. Bianca almost killing desdemona for a man? Desdemona cheating on Othello because? And Emilia never being good? I can't

[Christy Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first it felt a little mean spirited. I kept wondering what desdemona did in the text to warrant this treatment (funny, because that’s also the point of othello.) But it was a breeze to read, and the ending was perfect.

[Liam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shit.

It reads like it was written by a caffeinated tenth-grader between episodes of Murphy Brown.

The fact that this play is widely anthologized is an injustice.

[gray eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes, I hate reading plays, because I wish I was in the theater watching it happen.

[Aubrey Nekvinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original and smart. I loved the energy of this play and the whole concept behind it.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for thesis. Not my favorite Othello adaptation but will probably include in thesis

[Sarah McCauley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Laura Burroughs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun idea

[Marc Tinent · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me ha dejado bastante frío. Parece que nunca llegue a arrancar del todo. Es interesante cómo reescribe lo que pasa en Othello, pero los personajes quedan medio vacíos y todo es un poco superficial.

[Ava Love · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly don’t even know what is happening

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give 3.5 if I could. Not my fave Paula Vogel but def brings up some interesting things to think abt

[Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This adaptation of William Shakespeare's Othello focuses on the women of the story. I liked this play and it addressed what I felt was the largest flaw in the original play. I think the private world of feminity and womanhood is explored in a unique way in this work. All three of the women are interesting in their own right, but I think their interactions are the best part of the play. The divides in class and status between Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca create some great tension. The critiques made by the playwright make this work fantastic to dissect. Overall, it is a smaller story than Othello, but in my opinion, this strengthens the play's purpose and makes it more effective. I enjoyed reading this and would recommend or use the material for an audition monologue.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and devastating, this really worked for me. A reworking of Othello from the lady point of view, it explores female relationships and jealousies through cinematic framing.

This is part of an effort to make up for my reduced reading time with the same strategy I used in college - read plays.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delicious. A comic three-woman play "written as a tribute (i.e., "rip-off") to the infamous play SHAKESPEARE THE SADIST by Wolfgang Bauer" according to Vogel. Funny, heart-breaking, a delightful imagining of the time leading up to Desdemona's final night.

[Lluvia Almanza · Rating 3 out of 5]

This play has its funny moments, but there is nothing special about it. I enjoy Shakespeare and I was excited to read this parody of it. It was alright, but there are better plays out there with more substance, This play did have its funny moments.

[Sarah Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you haven't read Othello do that before you read this. But then definitely do read this. A fascinating look at Othello through the eyes of Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca (the only characters in this play). It's edgy and surprising.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Desdemona retells Othello from Desdemona's point of view. There are only three characters, all women, in the entire play and it's presented in twenty-nine short segments. It was good, but I wasn't entirely captivated by it. At points, it seemed unnecessarily hyper-sexualized.

[Meredith Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this play. It is modern and charismatic with a breathtaking ending. It makes you question the way we, as women treat eachother in a world where we are all struggling to be treated equally.