The Significance of Emilia in Othello Essay

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 Othello the Moor, Shakespeare combines destiny with a fatal character flaw and that flaw is jealousy.  Shakespeare's tragedy allows one character to hold the key to the entire web he has spun and that character is Emilia. Emilia is the lone character who garners the knowledge to all circumstances of the events surrounding the characters in Othello the Moor.  Although other characters in the play are privy to certain details of the unfolding events, Emilia is the character that uses this knowledge to the benefit of the play.  Emilia's character is minor yet necessary.  Without her character the play would have no means of unraveling the confusion created by the author.  Emilia, wife

The contrasting characters; Desdemona and Emilia, form an interesting and important relationship in the play Othello. Desdemona is very ‘sheltered’ from the ways of the world and Emilia is very ‘down to earth’ and ‘experienced’. From this difference we see a fascinating relationship between the two of them.

Despite her loyalty to Desdemona, Emilia chooses to impress her husband over her mistress not knowing Iago’s master plan. Emilia uses hyperbole to emphasize the amount of times her husband has asked her for this very symbolic handkerchief. Not expecting much harm, she gives the precious handkerchief to Iago who then helps Othello confirm that Desdemona is unfaithful. The lady in waiting takes into consideration the meaning and value of the handkerchief and how “wayward” her husband is but she still trusts Iago. Emilia finally finds out that Iago is the evil mastermind to the death of Desdemona when she finds out her husband framed Cassio and Desdemona’s relationship. Emilia explains to Othello the truth about the handkerchief “ that handkerchief thou speak’st of I found by fortune and did give my husband… he begged of me to steal’t ”(5.2.222-226). Emilia realizes her blindness to Iago's desperate want of the handkerchief costing her mistress's’ life. After Emilia reveals the truth to everyone, Iago stabs his wife and flees. Emilia dies an innocent death due to her blindness to her husband's true nature as she was deceived and manipulated in Iago's plan of revenge.

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:

    In William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello, the wife of the protagonist, Desdemona, is the main female character. Secondly, there is the ancient’s wife, Emilia, who is morally ambivalent. Thirdly, there is the girlfriend of Michael Cassio, Bianca, who makes her appearance later in the drama. This essay will analyze the roles of these three women.

Emilia has a similar role in this play, but she not only has an obligation to her husband Iago but she also has to answer to her mistress's powerful husband Othello. Throughout the play she has no choice but to play the role of a good obeying wife and keep what she knows to herself. She knows that she has that obligation to her husband, but she fights with herself because she seems to have a different obligation to her mistress. She has no choice but to go on living her everyday life, even after knowing what Iago was planning. She would not think of questioning him, because she would know the consequences.

Throughout the play, yes, Emilia certainly has her moments of shining independence and strength, and it is important to recognize those instances in order to decipher to what extent Emilia truly vouched for fair treatment and equality. In the midst of Shakespeare’s characterization of Iago as someone who disrespects women, Iago comments on his his spit fire of a wife by saying, “Sir, would she give you so much of her lips / As of her tongue she oft bestows on me / You’ll have enough.” (II.i.100-102). Iago shares a glimpse of how emilia behaves when nobody else is around, saying that she talks without end, given Iago’s demeaning nature it can be interpreted that he

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.

Emilia is the wife of Iago and Desdemona’s maidservant. Emilia, much like Desdemona, does not have much power but once again her presence has an effect. Her role in the play, apart from being Desdemona’s maid, is to fetch

In Shakespeare's tragedy, Othello, Emilia expresses her underrated intelligence to prove others' beliefs against her. Unlike the other women in the book, Emilia understands men and their thinking; therefore she shows no shame for standing up for what she believes in. Emilia unexpectedly ruins her husband's plan, which suddenly alters the outcome the story.

In the play Othello The Moor of Venice, by William Shakespeare, Emilia's speech (4.3.84-103) has been called renaissance plea to women's liberation. This is because she tells of what she has experienced with her husband Iago, and what is bound to happen to her mistress Desdemona. Comparing their both lives in her speech, it vividly explains what happens to so many women in who are in a relationship, who find themselves in the same problem. According to her speech, there are some married women who do cheat on their husbands, there are problems in marriage relationships that men are the cause of them and she warns men that women can do what men can do.

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

There are a great deal of plays that end with the death of a wife, often due to rumors of cheating. While many of these plays serve to provide violence in the private, domestic sphere, Othello pushes this issue into the public eye. Although there are many opinions on whose fault the deaths may be, Vanita argues that Desdemona and Emilia are very similar in their deaths. She feels that these deaths are caused by a series of ever escalating male characters as well as those who refuse to

The handkerchief is significant to the plot, mainly to Iago's manipulation of Othello and his convincing the latter of Desdemona's infidelity. Moreover, it sheds light over Iago, Desdemona, Othello and Emilia's characters, and is thus important to characterisation. The symbolic significance attached to the handkerchief reveals Othello's social background, his treatment of Desdemona and the latter's feelings towards her husband.