Jessica Foy. Othello Essay. English Iii. 14 February 2017.

She is then disowned by Barbantio with no further words directed to her by him but is referenced as a liar and should be kept on watch for her conniving ways by him towards Othello. Which then begins Shakespeare’s in depth writing on Othello and Desdemona’s relationship where she is as “a child to chiding” (4.2.119-120). Not even a moment after her father leaves Othello commands Iago to tell his wife, Emilia, to tend to Desdemona as a babysitter. Irony occurs within (2.1.169-171) where Desdemona challenges Iago and stands as an independent woman for Emilia objecting to his conclusion, that women no matter how beautiful or intelligent play the same “foul pranks”. However, as Othello’s jealousy and rage arises throughout the play it seems as her character has to fight even harder to breathe under his control; symbolic for her death of suffocation. Desdemona is a gentle women living under her love’s control with no power to object even if she had opposed this type of controlling relationship. As a higher class woman she had more power and respect over other women characters such as Emilia or Bianca, but is this dominance enough to feel in control of oneself? It is believed that Shakespeare added the 2 other

Emilia acts similarly when she defies her husband in the final Act of the play. She is of a middle class and serves as a maid and a loyal friend to Desdemona. Her character is somewhat different as she follows her husband, Iago, diligently but speaks disparagingly of men and believes them to be foolish and perverse. This is particularly evident in Act 4 Scene 3 “let husbands know their wives have sense like them: they see, and smell, and have palates both for sweet and sour” and “what is it that they do when they change us for others? Is it sport? I think it is”. She expresses the inequality between men and women living in this time

In Shakespeare’s “Othello”, Emilia is considered one of the minor characters. She is the wife of Iago and the lady in waiting to Desdemona. Emilia makes a crucial contribution to the play as a whole. She contributes to the characterization of a couple of key characters and adds to the dramatic irony of the play. She plays an essential role in the escalation of the dramatic action. She also adds to some of the themes of the play.

In the given passage, we see that Desdemona takes a very honest, romantic and loyal stance towards Othello, (this is also true of her relationship with him), where as Emilia speaks more ‘sense’... more ‘realistically’. Desdemona is melancholy but hopeful, and her defenses of true love against Emilia’s more cynical view of the world

In the play Othello, although Emilia is a minor character, she signifies plenty of importance. Emilia is crucial to Iago’s plan to wreck Othello’s life. Without Emilia, Iago could have never gotten a hold of Desdemona’s handkerchief. The handkerchief was used as a tool of persuasion by Iago to create the illusion that Desdemona was having an affair with Cassio(Tiles). Without seeing the handkerchief, Othello would have never believed such harsh accusations of his wife having the affair. Emilia in essence is the key player in Iago’s plan. Unfortunately, she does not realize what he has done until it is too late. Overall, Emilia’s situation in Othello is comparable to Jocasta’s in the play Oedipus the King.

In addition, Emilia is unwittingly responsible for Desdemona’s death because she is remains silent. The two women often talk about their husbands to one another; in spite of it Emilia doesn’t talk about Iago’s behavior toward her. Unlike Desdemona who declares, “Alas the day! I never gave him cause,” she suggests that Othello behavior toward her is unexplainable because she has not been unfaithful to him (3.4.157). Desdemona also reinforces Emilia to give her a reason as to why Othello is behaving this way; instead Emilia illustrates silence when she says:

Desdemona- Desdemona is Othello 's wife and her goal is to prove to Othello that she loves him. They make a sacrifice by eloping without her father knowing. She stays faithful to Othello the entire time despite his suspicion raised by Iago. She spends the entire time wondering why he 's being this way towards her and trying to steer his judgement in the other direction with the help of Emilia. This is to no prevail because she becomes the victim in the end due to the actions of Iago. She serves as a foil to Emilia because their ideals contrast each other. Desdemona has a naïveté to her that prevents her from even believing that wives cheat on their husbands while Emilia is sure of it and even believes the blame falls on the husband for the actions of the wife.

In Othello, the play vividly portrays the tragic fall of an admirable General who is transformed into a victim through manipulation by the atrocious villain, Iago. William Shakespeare illustrates the setting of Venice in the late 16th century, displaying gender inequality as an issue where wives are viewed as possessions belonging to their husbands. However, Emilia, being one of the most loyal characters, developed qualities of an early feminist who opposes unjustified treatment towards Desdemona. Emilia is practical and realistic due to her clear knowledge of humanity within both genders, in which she further challenges the male authority in order to advocate her right to speak.

In Othello, Act IV, scene ii and iii, Emilia, Iago’s wife, reveals her opinion about relationships to the reader as she attempts to comfort Desdemona. She indefinitely believes that many men, as well as women, are frequently guilty of deception and betrayal of their partner. By this part of the play, Othello’s suspicions of Desdemona’s unfaithfulness have greatly increased, and he begins to accuse her of cheating on him. When Desdemona persistently denies his accusations, Othello becomes enraged. He sarcastically asks for her pardon and claims that he took her to be the “cunning whore of Venice” (Act IV, scene ii, line 88). Desdemona is heartbroken by her

Iago often refers to Othello as the "Moor" and when Emilia realises how Othello has treated his wife, she calls him "the blacker devil". As Iago's plan unfolds, Othello's suspicions and jealousy come to the fore. Iago's blasphemous expressions gradually infiltrate Othello's vocabulary as Othello becomes more and more convinced that Desdemona is being unfaithful. Initially he claims that while the marriage is expected to bring him some physical satisfaction, he and his wife value their mental attraction just as highly. However, as he becomes ensnared in Iago's trap, Othello reveals a more detailed acknowledgement of Desdemona's sexual appeal. As he discusses her death with Iago, he says he will not argue with Desdemona"lest her body and beauty unprovide my mind again".

In addition, Emilia proves her underrated intelligence by standing up for what she believes is right. Desdemona, Othello's wife, and Emilia's relationship grows because of her great loyalty towards her. At the end of the play Emilia stands up for Desdemona because Othello kills her. She explains Desdemona's true love for him and would never do anything to hurt him, which proves Desdemona's innocence. Not only does Emilia stand up for Desdemona, but she also voices her opinion to Othello. Emilia shows no fear standing up to Othello to prove to him that his wife has always been faithful. At first Othello finds it implausible but then Emilia says, "Thou art rash as fire, to say that she was false. O, she was heavenly true!" (Shakespeare V: ii, 165-166).Women are looked at in Othello as unintelligent and unfaithful, but Emilia changes that stereotype by standing up to the men. From the start Emilia and Iago's relationship always seemed rocky. Emilia's confidence in herself shows that she is not afraid to stand up to her husband. Emilia realizes the danger she puts herself in when she stands up to Iago. In order to make things right, she does whatever it takes, even if that means ruining their marriage or taking her life.

She begins the play as a independent and thoughtful person, but she must struggle against all odds to make Othello believe that she is not too independent. Desdemona is a symbol of innocence and helplessness. However in the beginning of the play, she seems to be mature and quite insightful of events around her. Iago often tells Othello that she is unfaithful. It seems that she refuses to accept what Iago is doing. She has a tendency to be sympathetic towards other people's situations, like Cassio. This also further inspired Othello's jealousy when Iago pointed out that Cassio and Desdemona were speaking in private. She often pays attention to other people’s thoughts, yet remains distrustful if they differ from her own. She has a loyalty to her husband in all aspects of life,

Coupled with Emilia’s obedience to Iago, his ploy can finally convince Othello of Desdemona’s unfaithfulness. Emilia does not agree with her husband, Iago very much, but she does obey him when she has the opportunity to do so. However, Emilia picks up Desdemona’s handkerchief, with no thought, only that it will please her husband, “what he will do with it /heaven knows, not I; /I nothing but please his fantasy,” (OTH.III.III.297-289). Subsequently, this handkerchief may not have much meaning to Emilia at this moment, but once she finally discovers the truth about her husband, she immediately accuses her husband of being a villain, and dies by his hands. Correspondingly, Emilia is also loyal to her husband, to such an extent as to lie to Desdemona about where her handkerchief has gone. As Desdemona worryingly searches for her handkerchief, Emilia denies knowing where she could have lost it, and suggests a different reason for Othello’s uneasiness, “I know no madam… /Is he not jealous?” (OTH.III.IV.14, 20). Emilia knows where the handkerchief has gone, but remains silent because her husband, Iago has told her to. As a result of Emilia’s loyalty Iago does not need to worry about others discovering where Othello’s handkerchief

Many authors choose to present love and it’s complications in similar ways, illustrating the fact that relationships often go through struggles due to the same problem; lack of communication. Whether it is platonic, familial and unrequited love, writers were able to demonstrate this through literature in the form of prose, poems and drama. The message the authors have successfully presented is that communication is key in every relationship, and if studied in depth, relationships which fail are often the ones which lack communication and the source of each problem in a storyline, is always due to misunderstandings. ‘Atonement’, ‘Othello’ and ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ are three of the main texts which present struggling relationships due to lack

In Othello by William Shakespeare, the villainous Iago devises a plot with the hopes that Othello and his wife, Desdemona, will be separated so that he can take Othello’s position as head of the Venetian Military. Iago’s scheme consists of him convincing Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him with his lieutenant, Cassio. Iago has told no one else about his ploy so while everyone else’s actions remain true, he manipulates their every move for his benefit. While their actions may not lead to results that they expected, exploring the reasoning behind everyone’s actions, can give insight to their values since the actions were based on what they believed was the best thing to do. To the characters of Othello, honor is more important than