Characters
Emilia
Worldly As a worldly individual, Emilia has grown cynical of men and holds a jaundiced view of romantic relationships. She outlines these views to Desdemona telling her that women are used and then abandoned by men: ‘They are all but stomachs, and we all but food: / To eat us hungerly, and when they are full, / They belch us’ (Act 3 , Sc 4). This counterbalances Iago’s cynical view of women and also serves to emphasise the romantic love enjoyed by Othello and Desdemona. In Act 4, Sc 3 Desdemona naïvely struggles to believe that any woman could be disloyal to her
husband. With worldly knowledge, Emilia replies that there are in fact many. She admits that she herself would be willing to have an affair, not for trivial items, but for ‘the whole world’: ‘Marry, I would not do such a thing for a joint-ring, nor for measures of lawn, nor for gowns, petticoats, nor caps, nor any petty exhibition. But for the whole world?’
Emilia then goes on to say: ‘Why, who would not make her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch?’ It is interesting how Emilia seems willing to cheat on her husband but the reward she imagines is to empower him (‘make him a monarch’). This is a strange mix of cynical practicality but also wifely loyalty. Seeing that Iago has suspected Emilia of infidelity in the past, it seems that mistrust and cynicism characterise their marriage. However, as we have already seen, Emilia is loyal to Iago throughout most of the play. It seems that she is trying to impress on Desdemona that women often do immoral things but also wishes to stress her devotion to Iago. Emilia is deeply cynical and emphatically blames men for any problems in a relationship: ‘But
I do think it is their husbands’ faults / If wives do fall’. She accuses men of harbouring ‘peevish jealousies’, restraining their wives’ freedoms, being physically and verbally abusive and of neglect. Emilia concludes by telling Desdemona: ‘Then let them use us well: else let them know, / The ills we do, their ills instruct us so’
(Act 4, Sc 3). However, despite this acknowledgement that men can be bullies and abusive, she remains true to
Iago until the final scene. By stealing the handkerchief for Iago, Emilia compromises her friendship with Desdemona. She is unable to see her husband for the villain that he is. Ultimately Emilia is a worldly and knowing character, but when it comes to her own husband she is blinded to the truth.
Redeems Herself Emilia’s greatest failing is her unwillingness to reveal to Desdemona the truth about the handkerchief. Emilia’s actions may stem from her loyalty to Iago or perhaps a sense of self-preservation as it is she who secured the handkerchief for Iago. However, Emilia does redeem herself towards the end of the play. She staunchly defends Desdemona’s honour as Othello interrogates her: ‘I durst, my lord, to
wager she is honest, / Lay down my soul at stake’ (Act 4, Sc 2). Her comment pre-empts the cost of her eventual honesty: her life. In the final scene Emilia bravely stands up to Othello by insisting on Desdemona’s innocence and raising the alarm upon her death: ‘Thou hast not half that power to do me harm As I have to be hurt.O gull! O dolt! As ignorant as dirt! Thou hast done a deed – I care not for thy sword – I’ll make thee known, Though I lost twenty lives. Help! Help Ho! Help! The Moor hath killed my mistress! Murder! Murder!’ (Act 5, Sc 2).
Emilia struggles with the idea of defying her husband (‘’Tis proper I obey him – but / not now’)
but her commitment to Desdemona overcomes this. She exposes Iago as a villain: ‘I will not charm my tongue. I am bound to speak. / My mistress here lies murdered in her bed.’ Her dying indictment
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