Emilia in Shakespeare's Othello
Often in our society people are labelled as, or fit into a, certain character mould and their behaviour and actions remain consistent. However, in William Shakespeare's Othello, Emilia's character portrays three completely different archetypes and they all come through in strategical places throughout the course of the play. When introduced to Emilia, the reader sees her as a whore because of her worldly demeanour. While later on her husband, Iago, tricks her, thereby becoming a dupe. However as the play unfolds and Iago's sinister plot unravels Emilia emerges as a hero and her righteousness shines bright. Although a small character, Shakespeare uses Emilia and her three archetypes as a tool in creating his story line and eventually in tying it all together at the climactic conclusion of this tragic tale. The first of such archetypes is that of a whore with a realistic view on life. Introduced in Act 2, Scene 1 Emilia almost immediately is described as a whore by her husband, Iago: "You rise to play and go to bed to work." (Shakespeare, 2.1.3) He speaks poorly of her and repeatedly refers to her as a "wench" (3.3.311) and other things of that nature, which leads the reader to believe he has little to no respect for his wife.
She in return has little respect for her husband, and marriage as a whole: "They are all but stomachs, and we all but food; / They eat us hungerly, and when they are full, / They belch us." (3.4.104-106) Such statements indicate to the reader that Emilia is knowledgeable or worldly in the relations between man and wife. Obviously her marriage is less than ideal, and brings little, if any, satisfaction. This could have possibly tainted her views on marriage and men all together. In Act 4, Scene 3 Othello's wife, Desdemona, and Emilia have a conversation on cheating and what might drive a woman to make a "cuckhold" (4.3.78) of her husband. Here, Shakespeare creates a character foil between the two women. Desdemona can't imagine "That there be women do abuse their husbands / In such gross kind." (4.3.63) Whereas Emilia is portrayed in complete contrast, going on to say that she knows of such women and describes why a woman might do such a thing: " But I do think it is their husbands' faults / If wives do fall. Say that they slack their duties.../ or say they strike us." (4.3.89-93.91-92) She continues on to say; "Then let them use us well; else let them know, / The ills we do, their ills instruct us so." (4.3.105-106) She is so passionate about the issue and appears to be defending such women, leading one to believe that she is such a woman. One might note the rumour of the alleged affair between Emilia and Othello. Whether such an event took place or not is of little importance in determining that Emilia's character is that of a whore, but that is not the only archetype in which she possesses. Emilia becomes that of a dupe soon after she's introduced and this trait plays an important role in Shakespeare's plot. In Act 3, Scene 2 the reader learns that Iago desires Desdemona's handkerchief, so when she drops it, Emilia takes notice and tuck
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Approximate Word count = 1249
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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