1954TLN 1954: [Iago snatches the handkerchief.]

Since the early printed texts include no stage directions governing the exchange of the handkerchief between Iago and Emilia, all that can be said for certain is that it is in Emilia's hands when Iago orders her to give it to him, and that it is in Iago's hands by TLN 1957 when Emilia requests its return. This edition follows Rowe in including a direction for Iago to take the handkerchief from his wife when, instead of following his command, she demands to know why he wants it. This reading emphasizes not only Iago's impatience, but also Emilia's independent-mindedness, a trait even more fully in evidence during her analysis of sexual double standards in 4.3. Alternatively, the scene could be staged with Emilia obediently handing over the handkerchief at Iago's command, and asking only thereafter about the use to which it will be put, though such an approach demands a meeker Emilia than the tone of her retorts easily supports. The nature of the transfer of the handkerchief is, in any event, important for how it inflects the characters of both Emilia and Iago, and for what it suggests to audiences about the relationship between them.