Extract - Act 4, Scene 3
Within this extract, in Act 4, Scene 3 of the play, Shakespeare constructs a moment of
quiet intimacy between Desdemona and Emilia that belies the overwhelming tragedy
closing in on them as the play progresses towards the ‘tragic loading’ scene. Here,
Shakespeare establishes female suffering in a patriarchal society as central to the
tragedy within the play, using Desdemona’s ‘virtue’ and innocence juxtaposed with
Emilia’s cynical realism to evoke both pathos for the tragic victims and societal critique
from the audience. The extract is set in a private, domestic space - a rare moment with
no male characters onstage - giving Emilia an unusual degree of agency and voice,
although emphasising that she is nevertheless constrained by societal expectations.
Prior to this scene, Othello has publicly struck Desdemona, lambasting her as a
‘cunning whore of Venice’ and accusing her of being ‘false’ by engaging in an illicit affair
with Cassio, demonstrating that Iago’s machinations and plan to ‘ensnare’ the tragic
victims in his ‘net’ is coming to fruition. The extract thus functions as a moment of
deceptive calmness, in which Shakespeare heightens the tragic inevitability of
Desdemona’s fate by presenting her as morally virtuous and pure yet woefully
unprepared and naive to the world around her. After this scene, the tragedy escalates
to its climax with the brutal murder of Desdemona by Othello, underscoring the
significance of this moment as the final expression of female power before patriarchal
violence extinguishes it, as exemplified by Othello’s repeated assertion in Act 5, Scene
2 that he has a perverse duty to ‘put out the [Desdemona’s] light’ by smothering her,
and Iago stabbing Emilia, symbolising the complete subjugation of women in the play to
the wills of their jealous husbands.
Shakespeare presents Desdemona as the archetypal innocent tragic victim, whose
unwavering virtue and passivity make her undeserving fate all the more tragic. During
this scene, Shakespeare arguably uses Desdemona’s lack of dialogue as a contrast to
her earlier assertiveness, when she proclaimed her ‘divided duty’ to her husband and
father in Act 1, Scene 3 amd her boldness in petitioning Othello for Cassio to be
reinstated as his ‘solicitor’, to show that the superficiality of the power her upper class
status affords her, as she becomes increasingly subdued and ultimately succumbs to
male malice. This is further emphasised by Desdemona’s naively idealistic questioning
that ‘Does thou in conscience think…that there be a women who do abuse their
husbands in such gross kind?’, suggesting her childish disbelief of the idea of women’s
infidelity, which is also exemplified by the repetition of ‘for all the world?’ showing her
naive astonishment and ignorance to the debauchery of the world, thereby heightening
the pathos we feel towards her impending death as we see her in an increasingly
vulnerable state, a ‘child for chiding’ that Emilia is essentially taking on a maternal role
towards. Moreover, the language Shakespeare uses surrounding Desdemona contains
© Humanities Unlocked. | AQA A-Level English Literature 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is
prohibited.
Within this extract, in Act 4, Scene 3 of the play, Shakespeare constructs a moment of
quiet intimacy between Desdemona and Emilia that belies the overwhelming tragedy
closing in on them as the play progresses towards the ‘tragic loading’ scene. Here,
Shakespeare establishes female suffering in a patriarchal society as central to the
tragedy within the play, using Desdemona’s ‘virtue’ and innocence juxtaposed with
Emilia’s cynical realism to evoke both pathos for the tragic victims and societal critique
from the audience. The extract is set in a private, domestic space - a rare moment with
no male characters onstage - giving Emilia an unusual degree of agency and voice,
although emphasising that she is nevertheless constrained by societal expectations.
Prior to this scene, Othello has publicly struck Desdemona, lambasting her as a
‘cunning whore of Venice’ and accusing her of being ‘false’ by engaging in an illicit affair
with Cassio, demonstrating that Iago’s machinations and plan to ‘ensnare’ the tragic
victims in his ‘net’ is coming to fruition. The extract thus functions as a moment of
deceptive calmness, in which Shakespeare heightens the tragic inevitability of
Desdemona’s fate by presenting her as morally virtuous and pure yet woefully
unprepared and naive to the world around her. After this scene, the tragedy escalates
to its climax with the brutal murder of Desdemona by Othello, underscoring the
significance of this moment as the final expression of female power before patriarchal
violence extinguishes it, as exemplified by Othello’s repeated assertion in Act 5, Scene
2 that he has a perverse duty to ‘put out the [Desdemona’s] light’ by smothering her,
and Iago stabbing Emilia, symbolising the complete subjugation of women in the play to
the wills of their jealous husbands.
Shakespeare presents Desdemona as the archetypal innocent tragic victim, whose
unwavering virtue and passivity make her undeserving fate all the more tragic. During
this scene, Shakespeare arguably uses Desdemona’s lack of dialogue as a contrast to
her earlier assertiveness, when she proclaimed her ‘divided duty’ to her husband and
father in Act 1, Scene 3 amd her boldness in petitioning Othello for Cassio to be
reinstated as his ‘solicitor’, to show that the superficiality of the power her upper class
status affords her, as she becomes increasingly subdued and ultimately succumbs to
male malice. This is further emphasised by Desdemona’s naively idealistic questioning
that ‘Does thou in conscience think…that there be a women who do abuse their
husbands in such gross kind?’, suggesting her childish disbelief of the idea of women’s
infidelity, which is also exemplified by the repetition of ‘for all the world?’ showing her
naive astonishment and ignorance to the debauchery of the world, thereby heightening
the pathos we feel towards her impending death as we see her in an increasingly
vulnerable state, a ‘child for chiding’ that Emilia is essentially taking on a maternal role
towards. Moreover, the language Shakespeare uses surrounding Desdemona contains
© Humanities Unlocked. | AQA A-Level English Literature 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is
prohibited.
