The "screen scene" in Richard Sheridan's The School for Scandal is actually act 4, scene 3, and it reveals some important facts about the play's characters and drives the plot forward. Let's look at this in more detail to help you better understand the significance of this scene.

Let's begin by reviewing what happens in the scene. Lady Teazle and Joseph Surface are discussing the possibility of an affair between the two of them when suddenly Lady Teazle's husband, Sir Peter, arrives. Lady Teazle immediately ducks behind a screen. Sir Peter proceeds to talk to Joseph about his concern that his wife is having an affair, but he thinks that Joseph's brother, Charles, is the culprit. Sir Peter also tells Joseph that he is planning to give his wife enough money to make her financially independent. Remember that Lady Teazle is listening to all of this. Sir Peter goes on to discuss the potential relationship between Joseph and Sir Peter's ward, Maria, but Joseph certainly does not want Lady Teazle to hear this.

Then Charles arrives, and Sir Peter steps into a closet to listen to the brothers' conversation. Along the way, Sir Peter notices that there is a woman behind the screen, but Joseph deflects his interest by telling him that it is a hat maker. Sir Peter and his wife each poke their heads out of their hiding places, just missing seeing each other. Charles assures his brother that he is not having an affair with Lady Teazle, for he is sure that Joseph is actually the one. Sir Peter is discovered, and the men make up.

Joseph leaves the room for a few minutes, and Sir Peter tells Charles that Joseph has a lady hiding behind the screen. They reveal Lady Teazle, much to everyone's surprise. Joseph makes up an explanation that Sir Peter does not believe, and Lady Teazle denounces Joseph, saying that he has tried to seduce her. She might have been willing to be seduced, but now she is touched by her husband's consideration for her.

In this scene, then, we see the true nature of several characters begin to appear. Joseph ends up trapped in his own lies and scheming. Charles shows that he is more or less a morally solid man. Sir Peter appears as a man with excellent intentions who is, perhaps, a bit too trusting. Lady Teazle is self-serving and sneaky.

The scene also drives the plot along, for the play only has one act left and the characters are moving toward their climax and resolutions scenes. The screen scene begins to reveal certain truths that set up for the final act of the play and the full revelation of the characters' schemes and plans.