Emilia
Function
Emilia is Iago’s wife and assigned to be a lady’s maid to Desdemona after her marriage to
Othello. She also quickly becomes Desdemona’s confidante and hears about her mistress’s
sorrow and heartache at Othello’s unkindness. Desdemona’s innocence and new passion for
her husband is juxtaposed with Emilia’s more cynical take on male/female relationships.
An abused wife
There is little love lost between Emilia and Iago. He appears to be emotionally abusive,
dishonouring her in public and ordering her around in dismissive tones. That Emilia, who
clearly has a strong character, complies with his requests and fails to speak out until
Othello’s evidence impels her to, speaks of a wife who is either scared of her husband or
yearns for some crumbs of affection and has learnt that compliance is the only way to gain
favour. Thus she betrays her better instincts.
She obeys Iago in stealing the handkerchief given to Desdemona by Othello, but almost
immediately regrets it when she suspects him of planning to use it treacherously (Act 3
Scene 3). Emilia knows all too well the way her husband’s mind works. She’s aware that her
suspicious and possessive husband even suspects her of committing adultery with Othello.
There is absolutely no evidence to support his mistrust.
Moral ambivalence
There are a number of instances when it is hard to respect Emilia, even while an audience
might understand psychologically why she acts as she does.
Despite being loyal to her husband thus far, in Act 4 Scene 3 she admits her willingness to
cuckold him, on the basis that it would serve to advance his position. Her pragmatism seems
learnt from years with her Machiavellian husband.
It is hard to understand why she says nothing about the stolen handkerchief even when she
knows that its loss is causing trouble for her mistress. As a servant she is perhaps fearful of
owning up to her involvement.
She viciously lays into Bianca at the end of Act 5 Scene 1 – perhaps because Bianca is a
scapegoat for Emilia’s own sense of complicity, perhaps because she wants to please Iago,
perhaps because Bianca’s assertion that she and Emilia are alike in honesty/morality has to
be refuted, given Bianca’s public reputation.
In the face of poor behaviour from husbands, Emilia’s solution is to play them at their own
game. It is understandable that she wants to make Iago pay for the pain he has inflicted and
to live beyond the constraints of an unsatisfactory marriage. To a modern audience, this
might seem a reasonable viewpoint, and Emilia can be seen as striking a blow for feminism.
Function
Emilia is Iago’s wife and assigned to be a lady’s maid to Desdemona after her marriage to
Othello. She also quickly becomes Desdemona’s confidante and hears about her mistress’s
sorrow and heartache at Othello’s unkindness. Desdemona’s innocence and new passion for
her husband is juxtaposed with Emilia’s more cynical take on male/female relationships.
An abused wife
There is little love lost between Emilia and Iago. He appears to be emotionally abusive,
dishonouring her in public and ordering her around in dismissive tones. That Emilia, who
clearly has a strong character, complies with his requests and fails to speak out until
Othello’s evidence impels her to, speaks of a wife who is either scared of her husband or
yearns for some crumbs of affection and has learnt that compliance is the only way to gain
favour. Thus she betrays her better instincts.
She obeys Iago in stealing the handkerchief given to Desdemona by Othello, but almost
immediately regrets it when she suspects him of planning to use it treacherously (Act 3
Scene 3). Emilia knows all too well the way her husband’s mind works. She’s aware that her
suspicious and possessive husband even suspects her of committing adultery with Othello.
There is absolutely no evidence to support his mistrust.
Moral ambivalence
There are a number of instances when it is hard to respect Emilia, even while an audience
might understand psychologically why she acts as she does.
Despite being loyal to her husband thus far, in Act 4 Scene 3 she admits her willingness to
cuckold him, on the basis that it would serve to advance his position. Her pragmatism seems
learnt from years with her Machiavellian husband.
It is hard to understand why she says nothing about the stolen handkerchief even when she
knows that its loss is causing trouble for her mistress. As a servant she is perhaps fearful of
owning up to her involvement.
She viciously lays into Bianca at the end of Act 5 Scene 1 – perhaps because Bianca is a
scapegoat for Emilia’s own sense of complicity, perhaps because she wants to please Iago,
perhaps because Bianca’s assertion that she and Emilia are alike in honesty/morality has to
be refuted, given Bianca’s public reputation.
In the face of poor behaviour from husbands, Emilia’s solution is to play them at their own
game. It is understandable that she wants to make Iago pay for the pain he has inflicted and
to live beyond the constraints of an unsatisfactory marriage. To a modern audience, this
might seem a reasonable viewpoint, and Emilia can be seen as striking a blow for feminism.
