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- He means that he is going to kill Desdemona because of "the cause," the crime that she has committed, a crime so horrible that he can't say its name even to the stars. Thus he denies to himself that he is killing her for himself, because he is jealous, because his sense of honor has been wounded.
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Why does Othello deny he is killing her?
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Hearing Emilia call at the door, Othello finishes off Desdemona, then lets in Emilia. Emilia tells him that Roderigo is dead and Cassio is wounded. Desdemona cries out that she has been murdered, clears Othello of the guilt, and dies. Othello declares that he killed her because she was a whore.
He bends down to kiss her once before he does the deed, she wakes, and he tells her to prepare to die. Growing frightened, Desdemona asks her husband why he means to kill her, and Othello responds that she has been unfaithful to him with Cassio—he has seen the proof in the handkerchief.
Act 5 Scene 2 – Key Scene. In this scene, Othello goes to Desdemona, convinced she must die. He tells her to pray to God and confess her sins before he kills her. She insists she has done nothing wrong. She denies giving Cassio the handkerchief but Othello assumes she is lying.
Her revelation is corroborated by information from Cassio and a letter found in Roderigo’s pocket. In a vain attempt to prevent his scheme from being revealed, Iago stabs and kills Emilia, and is then taken prisoner while Othello, lamenting the loss of his wife, kills himself next to her.
So sweet was ne'er so fatal. I must weep, But they are cruel tears. This sorrow’s heavenly, It strikes where it doth love. She wakes. OTHELLO. That's the reason for this, that's the reason, my soul. I won't say the reason to the chaste stars in the sky, but it is the reason.
"Othello does not kill Desdemona in jealousy, but in a conviction forced upon him by the almost superhuman art of Iago, such as any man must and would have entertained who had believed lago's honesty as Othello did."—
As he is dying, he says that he kissed Desdemona before he killed her. This suggests that perhaps his love for her flickered briefly within his dark soul before he murdered her. He reminds himself that perhaps he was not wholly corrupt, but he dies knowing that his soul is lost.
