Emilia (Othello) nature in sharp contrast to Desdemona, who seems almost unable to believe that any woman could contemplate such an act. Throughout the play, Iago uses Emilia's close friendship with Desdemona to gain access to her and, in particular, asks her to steal Desdemona's handkerchief, which he subsequently drops in Cassio's house and later uses this as evidence to convince Othello that Cassio has been with Desdemona. Emilia does not agree to steal the handkerchief for Iago. Iago snatches it from her and all she can do is ask about what he'll do with it (III.iii.310–320). Iago is the one who
Desdemona been numerous screen modernisations and adaptions of the play. During 1999 Edinburgh Film Festival, Adil Hussain, cast as Othello, fell in love with Kristen Jain, who was playing Desdemona. He ended up tightly hugging her, much to her & audience shock, instead of "killing" her as per the script and thus forcing the curtains to be brought down immediately. They eventually got married, 8 years later, in 2007. In "O" (2001), Julia Stiles played a character based on Desdemona in a version of "Othello" set in a contemporary high school. A 2001 British made-for-television film featuring Keeley Hawes as Desdemona