What is your pleasure, madam? How is’t with you? DESDEMONA. I cannot tell. Those that do teach young babes Do it with gentle means and easy tasks. He might have chid me so, for, in good faith, I am a child to chiding. IAGO. What’s the matter, lady? EMILIA. Alas, Iago, my lord hath so bewhor’d her, Thrown such despite and heavy terms upon her, As true hearts cannot bear. DESDEMONA. Am I that name, Iago? IAGO. What name, fair lady? DESDEMONA. Such as she says my lord did say I was. EMILIA. He call’d her whore: a beggar in his drink Could not have laid such terms upon his callet. IAGO. Why did he so? DESDEMONA. I do not know. I am sure I am none such. IAGO. Do not weep, do not weep: alas the day!
It seems to me that this passage reveals Desdemona’s complete innocence and emotional vulnerability. it also shows how her goodness and gentleness make her powerless in the face of Othello’s (rather misplaced) rage.
When Desdemona says, “He might have chid me so, for, in good faith, / I am a child to chiding,” she is expressing both confusion and humility, comparing herself to a child who deserves gentle correction rather than cruelty. Her tone shows that she cannot understand why she is being punished. This furthers the point that she is innocent and cannot understand why she is in "trouble." This childlike response highlights the tragedy of her situation, her patience and faith in love leave her defenseless against Othello’s false accusations.