Bianca's Role in Othello

Bianca plays a very important role in Shakespeare’s “Othello”. She is not just a prostitute, she is a key character in Iago’s plans. When you first see Bianca, she does not seem important. As you near the end however, you realize she is used in some of Iago’s plots.
  One of the main plans Iago used Bianca in was when Othello was supposed to hear Cassio and Iago talking about Desdemona, and Cassio treating her as a fool and a whore, even though in reality Cassio was talking about Bianca. Without Bianca, this plan would not have worked out.
  Being used by Iago was not the only important role Bianca played however. Shakespeare makes Bianca’s character a very interesting person, sometimes foolish, but also very straight forward. She is the reason that Othello believes Iago later on, because as Othello is hiding during the talk between Cassio and Iago, Bianca comes in with the handkerchief. When Othello sees this, he says “By heaven, that should be my handkerchief!”, which shows he is believing even more so now that Cassio used Desdemona.
  Bianca was also a very unnecessary character for Shakespeare to add to the play. It seemed that Bianca was added just as a side role, but added a whole other section to “Othello”. If Bianca had not been created for this play, the majority of the lines she said could have been taken by another character quite easily. An example of a line of importance that someone else could have taken is “What is the matter, ho? Who is’t that cried?” (Act 5 Scene 1 Page 80).
  All in all, Bianca is an interesting woman, who was manipulated throughout the play, but still comes out in the same position as she started. Confused and ignorant at times, she is one of the characters who adds a fairly important role in the play.