¶ … Emilia, Wife of Iago
Do not learn of him, Emilia, though he be thy husband.[footnoteRef:1] [1: Othello, Act II, Scene i.]
More than once, I think to myself how life could have been differed between that of my previous past to that which I have now. A woman whose prospects boiled down to nothing as important as marriage could not have many to begin with. But a husband whose soul blackens the very environment, whose tongue twists morality, whose plots send shivers down my little spine? No, even this I had not asked for, not one bit.
If my good mother was still alive, I would wager that her argument would play out as follows:[footnoteRef:2] [2: Theme: The hardships of mother-daughter relationships (Lucy by Jamaica Kinkaid)]
How now, Emilia, where is your sense? Was it really so bad to leave Mantua[footnoteRef:3], to head face-front to the catastrophe that is your husband, Iago? [3: Location: Mantua is still a small town in Tuscany at Emilia's time period]
But I assure you, not everything about my situation was as bad as that. Not until that gods-cursed day.
I adore Desdemona. I would not -- nor could not -- ask for a better mistress in all the world. She is honest, kind, full of love and promise, and I her unworthy handmaiden, her protege, her confidante, even. Who could harm Desdemona the kind, Desdemona the pure and loved?
Iago could. Iago would harm innocence itself if he thought he could escape Justice's heavy sword. And oftentimes, I thought he found himself truly invincible, untouchable by the very good of society. My husband Iago, the untrustworthy plotter, always thinking ahead and turning predicaments to good use. Perhaps that was what had at first attracted me to him, for he was a clever man, and clever men were far and few. His eloquence had bewitched me at first, and Mantua, my beautiful Mantua, was forgotten on those courting days. But it has been...
Moreover, when Desdemona's handkerchief goes missing, and Othello approaches her about it, clearly thinking that she has given it to Cassio, Desdemona does not suspect that Emilia has taken the handkerchief from her. Unfortunately for Desdemona, her trusting nature ends up being her fatal flaw. Othello becomes increasingly cruel to Desdemona throughout the course of the play. Although the audience is not aware of their entire romantic history, it appears
Othello trusts him, so he lets his guard down. This allows Iago to see a weaker Othello and, as a result, shape his own personal image. This creates a conflict in the man that is already feeling out of place Iago simply feeds the fears Othello already has and adds to his disenchantment with a few lies of his own. Through a fairly simple process, Iago changes how Othello
She states, "I nothing but to please his fantasy," and she does not speculate that her "wayward husband" might have any malicious intent with one of Desdemonda's most precious items. Emila's unfailing trust in her husband is frustrating in light of Iago's deceit, and makes her seem even more remarkable of a character. Even when Desdemonda asks "Where should I lose that handkerchief, Emilia?" Emilia does not mention how
In fact, even when Othello enters their bedchamber and talks about killing her, entreating her to pray so that she does not die with a sin on her soul, Desdemona makes no effort to run from Othello, but questions him about why he is upset. (Othello, IV. iii, 45-51). Cassio's flaw is not as obvious in the beginning part of the play, but plays a major role in the downfall
Jealousy in Othello Othello, by William Shakespeare, is a play demonstrating that we all have strengths and weaknesses and that while the best of us will focus on people's strengths, the worst of us will not only not weaknesses but use them in destructive ways. Throughout the play, the weakness of jealousy, directly or indirectly, brings the destruction and downfall of all the major characters, including not only Othello and his
Role of Women in Othello The Conflicting Female Role in Shakespeare's Othello In Shakespeare's Othello, women are in a state of turmoil. On the one hand, the women in the play have to remain obedient to the subservient standards of life as a female in the 15th and 16th centuries in Europe. Yet, on the other hand, there are signs of a new, strong and independent female emerging within Shakespeare's characters.
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