Desdemona: “I have none. Do not talk to me, Emilia./I cannot weep, nor answer have I none./But what should go by water. Prithee, tonight/Lay on my bed my wedding sheets–remember;/And call thy husband hither.” (Act IV, Scene ii, Lines 103-107)
This is the reply Desdemona gave Emilia when Emilia asked about their lord. Desdemona replied saying Othello was not a lord, which seems like an insult because he hurt her accusing her of cheating on him. But right after that, she still refers to Othello as her husband which I believe shows she still cares about and respects Othello even though she is hurt by him. When Desdemona tells Emilia, “I cannot weep, nor answer have I none.”, I believe Desdemona is saying there is no point of crying over this situation that she will prove herself to not be guilty of. She also says she does not know what is wrong with Othello because she has not actually been unfaithful to him, like he believes. She knows just how to prove herself to her husband, when she says “Lay on my bed my wedding sheets”. If she has sex with Othello and proves she is a virgin, there is no way he could think she still has cheated. This is a simple solution to a terrible problem and Desdemona was clever enough to prove herself in this way. Othello on the other hand, just took Iago’s word for it and based his entire assumption on a handkerchief, rather than giving his wife the benefit of the doubt and sleeping with her to prove her faithfulness. I believe this passage shows us that Desdemona really does love Othello because she wants to prove herself to him in order to stay with him. The fact that Othello does not try to trust Desdemona and let her prove herself, I believe shows that she is more of just an object of lust to him, rather than actual love. This passage also shows that Desdemona and Othello have not yet consummated their marriage, making Othello’s thoughts about Desdemona that much worse.
