Yet I’ll not shed her blood;
Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow,
And smooth as monumental alabaster.
– William Shakespeare
Othello, Act 5, Scene 2. In the play’s final scene, Othello is trying to bring himself to kill Desdemona. He acknowledges the irreversible nature of the terrible deed he is about to commit. Using a metaphor and simile he compares Desdemona’s perfect and unblemished skin to white snow and monumental alabaster. White symbolizes Desdemona’s purity and goodness. Othello seems to momentarily have second thoughts about killing his wife, saying that he won’t stain her perfect white skin with her red blood. He doesn’t wish to disfigure her or spoil her beauty.