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Bianca is a prostitute looking for love, which she foolishly thinks that Cassio can give her. She first appears at the end of the third act, when Cassio is waiting in hopes that Desdemona might be able to bring Othello back with a decision about his job.
Cassio and Bianca make up, unlike the tragic central couple. We know this because Cassio is dining with Bianca before he is wounded in the final scene. In Act V, Bianca’s genuine love for Cassio is seen when she discovers her lover has been stabbed: ‘Alas, he faints!
Here's a run-through of a scene done for the benefit of a News Herald photographer. Actors are in partial costume (Converse sneakers are not part of the show.)
Cassio and Bianca are still together when he is wounded by Roderigo in Act 5. She defends Cassio and fights back against Emilia who calls her a ‘strumpet’.
Othello has recognized his handkerchief and, coming out of hiding when Cassio and Bianca are gone, wonders how he should murder his former lieutenant. Othello goes on to lament his hardheartedness and love for Desdemona, but Iago reminds him of his purpose.
Cassio functions mainly to move the plot forward by inadvertently becoming a pawn in Iago’s plan. Cassio’s thoughts, feelings, and motivations are rarely revealed, but his character and behavior are significant for creating the conditions under which Iago can enact his plan.
This article explores how Shakespeare transforms his early picture of female virtue embodied by Bianca Minola - safely stowed in her chambers in The Taming of the Shrew - into the freedom we find in Othello's
