Othello, Act 4, Scene 3 summary

What happens

1. Othello leaves with Lodovico after ordering Desdemona to go to bed and send Emilia away.
2. As Emilia helps her undress, Desdemona defends her love for Othello and asks for burial in the bed sheets.
3. Desdemona recalls Barbary, her mother’s abandoned maid, and sings the willow song that Barbary sings at her death.
4. Desdemona rejects unfaithfulness even for the whole world, while Emilia considers that reward sufficient.
5. Emilia argues that husbands’ misconduct encourages wives’ betrayal, but Desdemona prays to respond to mistreatment by becoming better.

In this scene

What to notice

Emilia connects wives’ wrongdoing to husbands’ example. Her argument contrasts with Desdemona’s refusal to repay mistreatment with wrongdoing.

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