Women during the Renaissance were to be chaste, meaning that they couldn’t have had sex before marriage. To make sure that the women are chaste, there would be a white bed sheet that would be stained red if the women was still chaste. Desdemona cherishes the stained wedding sheets that she has from Othello. During her accusations that she is a whore and cheating with Cassio she asked Emilia to bring them to her in order to prove to Othello that she is chaste still chaste, “prithee, tonight lay on my be my wedding sheets, remember; and call thy husband hither” (Othello, pg. 136, ln 109-110). Since during the Renaissance, it was the custom to have a stained red sheet in order to prove that the women was chaste till the consummation of the marriage.
