Note to Othello, 1.1.21: "almost damn'd in a fair wife"


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Othello,
Act 1, Scene 1, line 21.
almost damn'd in a fair wife: In Shakespeare's source, Cinthio, Cassio's counterpart has a wife, but in this play we never hear another mention of Cassio's wife, and when the scene moves to Cyprus, Cassio has a mistress—Bianca, who is a prostitute. Perhaps the point is that Cassio is a ladies' man.