How did Othello kill Desdemona?

In act 4, scene 1 of William Shakespeare's Othello, Iago draws Cassio into a conversation about Bianca that the eavesdropping Othello believes is about Desdemona. Bianca enters the scene and returns to Cassio the handkerchief that he gave to her, which is the handkerchief that Othello gave to Desdemona, and which Othello believes Desdemona gave to Cassio as a token of her love for him.

Othello is now convinced that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him with Cassio, and he rages against both of them, trying to decide how to kill them. "I will chop her into messes" (4.1.210), Othello says. Then he decides to poison her, and he asks Iago to get some poison for him (4.1.214), but Iago suggests that Othello "strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated" (4.1.217–218). The poetic justice of such a death appeals to Othello, and he agrees to strangle her.

However, in act 5, scene 2, when the time comes for Othello to kill Desdemona, he doesn't strangle her. The stage direction in the First Quarto of Othello, published in 1622, says that "he stifles her," which is somewhat vague. In the First Folio, published just one year later, the stage direction says that he "smothers her." Modern editions of Othello provide the stage direction "he smothers her" (at 5.2.100), and in most modern theatrical production of Othello, Othello smothers Desdemona with a pillow from their bed.

At the last moment, Othello might have decided to smother Desdemona instead of strangling her in order to leave her body unmolested and undefiled, even though hers is a body that Othello believes she herself defiled by being unfaithful to him with Cassio.

It's interesting that Othello, a fearsome warrior who can be imagined to have killed many men with his bare hands, appears to be wholly inept at killing Desdemona.

Othello must smother Desdemona not once, but twice. When Othello first smothers Desdemona, Emilia is heard calling to Othello from outside the bedroom door. The length of time that passes between Othello first smothering Desdemona and Emilia's appearance outside the door is entirely at the discretion of the director. Realistically, this passage of time should be more than a few seconds, but not so long that it becomes melodramatic or even comical. Even so, Othello is dismayed to find that Desdemona isn't yet dead when Emilia calls to him from outside the door, and he must redouble his efforts to suffocate her. He does so, and after another short passage of time, Othello believes that Desdemona is dead, "Still as the grave" (5.2.113).

Even so, Shakespeare planned a dramatic surprise for the audience, which likely accounts for Othello's apparent inability to kill Desdemona without considerable effort, and gives Shakespeare the opportunity to tie up a plot point about Cassio. After about two minutes of appearing to be dead, Desdemona regains consciousness and speaks from her death bed. She survives long enough to claim that she was "falsely murdered" (5.2.140) and that "A guiltless death I die" (5.2.146), and she still has enough presence of mind to try to protect Othello by lying to Emelia that she killed herself (5.2.148).

Why did Othello kill Desdemona and himself?

An argument can be made that societal prejudice leads to Othello's actions. He begins the play in a position of power in two ways—through the military and through his marriage. Because Othello is black, this would have been a problem in Venetian society, both when Othello was written, in the early 1600s, and slightly before, when its parent text was first published. Because of his race, the power that Othello gains is viewed as ill-gotten, especially by Iago (who is ultimately his undoing).

If it was only society that questioned the validity of Othello's position, he may have been able to persevere despite the prejudice. I would argue, though, that Othello's true fatal flaw is his self-doubt. He is entrenched in racist attitudes so far that he believes the worst in himself. As such, he values his reputation more than his own convictions. When he first considers the possibility of Desdemona's infidelity, he becomes angry.

Her name that was fresh
As Dian's visage, is now begrimed and black
As mine own face (III.iii.441-3).

The above example demonstrates two issues of importance. The first is Othello's emphasis on Desdemona's name. Her name by marriage is his, and a "good" name is the mark of a good reputation. In seemingly dirtying that name, Desdemona has sullied Othello's reputation. The unfortunate truth is that even though she is innocent, the mere rumor is enough to knock Othello down a peg. He is hyper-aware of this fact. The reason for his hyper-awareness is evidenced by the comparison he makes to his own face. Here, Othello essentially accuses Desdemona of making him seem as "black" as he actually is. Before now, he was white "passing" because of his honor. Now, because of her dishonor, he has to go through life living in the skin he was given at birth— something he had escaped for a time. This moment of self-doubt and the lashing of that self-doubt to his racial identity causes the downward spiral of suspicion and overcompensation that ultimately results in both Othello's and Desdemona's deaths.

Convinced by Iago that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him with Cassio, Othello, overwhelmed by his sense of betrayal, murders his innocent wife.

But he quickly comes to realize that he has been deceived, and that his own weakness (or tragic flaw), has caused him to kill the thing he loves the most in the world—and for no reason, as she had never been unfaithful.

As he is, at heart, a good and honorable man, when he sees what he has done, there is really no other recourse for him. It is not even that he will be dragged back to Venice to face the jeers and punishment that society would have in store for him. It's that he cannot live with himself, knowing what he has done.

One reason that Othello kills both himself and his wife is out of a duty to honor.

Why, any thing: An honorable murderer, if you will; For nought I did in hate, but all in honor. (Act 5, Scene 2)

He believes she has cheated on him and this would be humiliating for a man in his position, should it be made known. If he kills her, then she cannot cheat on him again, or any man.

Yet she must die, else she'll betray more men. Put out the light, and then put out the light: If I quench thee, thou flaming minister, I can again thy former light restore, Should I repent me; but once put out thy light, Thou cunning'st pattern of excelling nature, I know not where is that Promethean heat That can thy light relume. When I have pluck'd the rose, I cannot give it vital growth again. It must needs wither: I'll smell it on the tree. (Act 5, Scene 2)

Second, he still loves her and this passage shows us he wants to preserve that innocent memory of her. If he were to let her live, he would have to live with her as a cheater and a liar. Even as she tries to tell him before she dies that she has done no wrong, he does not hear her. He is so determined to believe she had cheated with Cassio. So, he kills her to preserve the good memories of her, as well.

How did Othello die?

In William Shakespeare's Othello, the titular character dies shortly after the play's anagnorisis.

Othello is convinced that Desdemona is unfaithful, and he smothers her to death in her bed. Immediately after this, Emilia exposes Iago's deceitful behavior. As she is dying after being stabbed by her husband in an attempt to silence her, Emilia tells Othello that Desdemona was always faithful to him and loved him dearly.

At this point, Othello begins to realize that Iago is a manipulative liar. He realizes that he killed his beloved wife based on false beliefs of her infidelity—beliefs that were planted, nurtured, and encouraged by Iago. Othello stabs Iago, wounding but not killing him, while lamenting the loss of his wife.

Part of Othello is still desperate to believe Iago in order to be able to justify his killing of Desdemona. Lodovico and Cassio provide further proof of Iago's villainy and Desdemona's innocence.

Lodovico tells Othello that he must take him to Venice, where he will be stripped of his title and made to answer for the murder of Desdemona.

After a brief speech in which he reflects on his life and accomplishments and worries about how he will be remembered, Othello stabs himself with a dagger and falls upon the dead body of his murdered wife.