Outline
This paper is an attempt to analyze the character of Emilia in William Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello. It begins with a thesis statement and the body discusses various questions like what is the role of Emilia. Is Emilia responsible for Desdemona’s death? What is her role in the handkerchief issue? Critical comments from books like Othello: New Perspectives by Virginia Mason Vaughan, Kent Cartwright, Dynamism of character in Shakespeare’s mature tragedies by Piotr Sadowski and The works of William Shakespeare edited by William George Clark, William Aldis Wright are included in this paper. It ends with a concluding paragraph that restates the thesis.
Emilia’s role in the play Othello
Emilia is a strong female character who plays the role of Iago’s unfortunate wife in William Shakespeare’s plays Othello. While Shakespeare portrays the character of Desdemona as an ideal of feminine virtue, Emilia is a common, sometimes vulgar woman. After a detailed study of the play, a reader can understand the fact that in many matters Emilia is far from conscientious, blunt in perception and emotion, and relatively devoid of imagination. Emilia plays a significant role in the play Othello and to an extent, she is a foil to the character of Desdemona. Emilia has the courage to admit that she is prepared to maintain her virtue only to a limit. Even though one can see Emilia escapes from the reader’s conception as a convict in Desdemona’s death, but she unwillingly joined in the secret plan against Othello. If one analysis the character of Emilia one can find that Emilia is a strong and influencing character, who does not know the evil plot of her husband and she is not responsible for the death of her mistress Desdemona.
Regarding the character of Emilia, it is crystal clear that she has within her the moral and ignoble elements. It is this dithering that often makes her suspicious like her husband, Iago. Emilia plays the dramatic role of making possible the stealing of the handkerchief which is the significant link in Iago’s conspiracy. Emilia lets Iago take the handkerchief knowing that its loss will distress Desdemona. Normally, a reader begrudges Emilia’s nastiness, but one admires her when she boldly lashes her husband Iago and Othello. The end of the play really falls on Emilia like a thunderbolt and she could not overcome the prick of consciousness at the end of her life. Virginia Mason Vaughan and Kent Cartwright enlist the character of Emilia when they clearly remark thus, “Emilia transforms into one of the play’s voices of truth, lifted almost to tragic structure as she uncovers her husband’s evil” (Vaughan and Cartwright, 163). Emilia does not support nick the handkerchief for her husband Iago. One can easily find that Iago is the man who drops the handkerchief in Cassio’s room for the successful implementation of his wicked plan against Othello. By stealing Desdemona’s handkerchief, she follows the duty of a wife and a good servant. In another way, Emilia is absolutely unaware of her husband’s evil deeds until the very conclusion of the play. Thus, it makes clear that Emilia, knowingly or unknowingly, becomes a part of her husband’s evil deeds.
Emilia is a strong character in the sense that it is she who helps to keep Iago’s relation with Othello. If she would reveal the real story of the handkerchief to Othello, the story would take another turn and it might even lead to the murder of Iago by Othello. Emilia buries the secret of the handkerchief with her in order to assure the safety of her husband. Anyway, it is crystal clear that Emilia never tries to save her husband’s life by telling a lie. The online article entitled Emilia’s Intentions in Othello gives relevant comments about the role of Emilia in Shakespeare’s play Othello. Christine Price remarks; “Despite limited knowledge of Emilia’s intent, the play implies that her intentions were innocuous even though they lead to harmful consequences.” (Price).
Emilia breaks the traditional concept of Elizabethan women. Even she has a submissive life under Iago; she always tries to protect female chastity. Even Emilia is not a foremost character in this play; she became the crucial factor in the destiny of many.
Emilia does not know the real purpose of Iago when he asked her to steal Desdemona’s handkerchief. Emilia loves her husband and steals the handkerchief for her husband, but she never tries to save his life by saying a lie about the matter.
“Dynamism of character in Shakespeare’s mature tragedies by Piotr Sadowski gives some critical comments about the character of Emilia in Shakespeare’s Othello. Piotr Sadowski remarks; “Emilia plays an important dramatic role in exposing her husband’s intrigue, but she can do this because she has all along held the key to it by her knowledge of and involvement with the fated handkerchief.” (Sadowski, 211). The book gives numerous ideas about various characters by William Shakespeare and the study is based on psychological criticism. Emilia fails to foresee her husband’s secret plot against Othello and the implications that the handkerchief will suddenly grasp when Othello identifies with Cassio. It is a bitter truth that Emilia became a tool in the hands of her husband Iago and he is a merciless villain who provides her a severe jolt and she exposes Iago’s wickedness.
It is difficult for a reader to reach the conclusion that Emilia is responsible for the death of Desdemona. Desdemona’s pathetic death was the result of the wild and evil intelligence of the villain Iago who is highly conscious of his intellectual supremacy over others. Iago’s plots against Othello were pre-planned and highly mischievous. Unwillingly, Emilia helps in the friction of the villainous plot. Emilia doesn’t know about Iago’s secret plan and she takes the handkerchief only for her husband’s satisfaction. Emilia utters for us the violent common emotion we feel, and her carelessness of her own life rises the overpowering weight of calamity that suppresses the reader and Emilia justifies herself with her outburst in the ending scene. Emilia never supports her husband to steal Desdemona’s handkerchief; only Iago grabs it from her and all she does is asking about what Iago would do with the handkerchief. When Desdemona speaks about the handkerchief, Emilia doesn’t know where it is. A reader can find that Emilia follows the duty of a wife and a servant. It is easy for a reader to understand that till the end Emilia remains perfectly true about the handkerchief and tells her opinion about Desdemona.
“She was too fond of her most filthy bargain.” (Clark and Wright, 908). Emilia’s heroism is entirely different from Desdemona.
From the murder of Desdemona, phoenix-like new Emilia is born. It is crystal clear that Desdemona’s death is an after-effect of the villainous plot by the diabolic intelligent Iago who is fully conscious of his intellectual supremacy over others that he has grown contemptuous of the weak wishes of other characters of the play. Considering Iago’s devilish plot and Othello’s jealousy, a reader faces difficulty to reach the conclusion that Emilia is responsible for the death of her beloved mistress Desdemona.
Emilia is a loyal wife and she expresses her loyalty off and on in the play. Throughout the play, a reader can see that Emilia consciously keeps loyalty and obedience to her husband Iago. From the beginning to the end, Emilia does not question her husband’s plan. Emilia’s loyalty and obedience reach their heights when Othello tackles Desdemona about the handkerchief. Emilia keeps silent even though she knows the secret about it. Iago depends on his belief that Emilia will remain obedient to him. When he makes the handkerchief issue, he is highly confident about his wife’s loyalty and service. More than this, Iago keeps moral supremacy towards Emilia by keeping the secret of her illegal relation with Othello. As a crooked villain, Iago tries to strengthen the relationship between Emilia and Desdemona and he easily destroys the life of Othello with the help of his wife. Iago never loves his wife and he only uses her as a tool. By showing his conquering nature, Iago ensures his belief that Emilia will remain obedient to him until she breaks her silence.
To conclude, one can infer that though Emilia is not a major character in William Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello, she plays a vital role in the dramatic actions. Emilia’s character with her vigorous feeling, low cunning and loose principles hand out to throw in strong relief from the delicate refinement, the moral qualities, and the acquiescence of her mistress Desdemona. As the play reaches its conclusion, one is encouraged to forget Emilia’s vulgarity and principles, and the reader develops a better observation of her spirit. One can see that Emilia is not fully responsible for the death of Desdemona in Othello. Going through the character of Emilia one can find that Emilia is a strong and influencing character, who does not know the evil plot of her husband and she is not responsible for the death of her mistress Desdemona.
Annotated Bibliography
Clark, William George., and Wright, William Aldis., eds. The works of William Shakespeare: Othello: Act V. J.B. Lippincott & co., 1867.
The book entitled, The works of William Shakespeare edited by William George Clark; William Aldis Wright is an asset of a literature student who likes great works of literature. In this book, the authors give a deep criticism about the role and responsibilities. The book gives text of the drama and also a critical study about the major characters.
DiYanni, Robert. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 6th ed. McGraw Hill. 2007. “Literature: reading fiction, poetry, and drama” by Robert DiYanni gives a lot of classic works and criticisms. It includes various literary works such as poetry, short story, novel, and plays. The book includes chapter revisions, translations, and adaptations. Author’s biography and interactive texts are highly useful for the reader. “Literature: reading fiction, poetry, and drama” by Robert DiYanni.
Price, Christine. Emilia’s Intentions in Othello: Misguided loyalty yields fatal consequences. Associated Content: Arts & Entertainment, 2009. Web.
The online article published under the title of Emilia’s Intentions in Othello gives relevant comments about the role of Emilia in Shakespeare’s play Othello. The author Christine Price remarks; “Despite limited knowledge of Emilia’s intent, the play implies that her intentions were innocuous even though they lead to harmful consequences The page gives numerous information and critical studies about the controversial issues of the play Othello.
Sadowski, Piotr. Dynamism of character in Shakespeare’s mature tragedies. University of Delaware Press, 2003.
The book entitled “Dynamism of character in Shakespeare’s mature tragedies by Piotr Sadowski gives some critical comments about the character of Emilia in Shakespeare’s Othello. Piotr Sadowski remarks; “Emilia plays an important dramatic role in exposing her husband’s intrigue, but she can do this because she has all along held the key to it by her knowledge of and involvement with the fated handkerchief.” The book is noted for its own innovative approach.
Vaughan,Virginia Mason., and Cartwright, Kent. Othello: New Perspectives. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1991.
Virginia Mason Vaughan and Kent Cartwright published the book which is entitled Emilia transforms in to one of the play’s voice of truth, lifted almost to tragic structure as she uncovers her husband’s evil discusses about the role and character of Emilia in Shakespeare’s Othello.The book offers an interesting range of critical analysis to Shakespeare’s contentious tragedy Othello. Writers provide a variety of social issues like feminism, deconstruction, and performance theory to examine the play Othello.