Iago's Femininity In Othello

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Recommended: Othello and the portrayal of women

Juxtaposing an elevation of Emilia with a punch line diminishing females, Shakespeare explores Iago’s ability to appease those around him to accept his sexism without quarrel. Iago references Emilia’s tongue twice, once negatively, once positively, suggesting Iago changes his public personality with fluidity, but returns to his unconscious belief in female inferiority. Directing the negative mention toward a man and the positive toward Emilia, Iago succeeds at maintaining his masculinity among his peers by reinforcing traditional gender roles, but pacifies Emelia by complimenting her. Shakespeare builds Iago’s joke with phrases such as “She that could think” and “She that in wisdom,” representing a break from traditional thought of women as purely domestic workers without a male’s mental capacity.

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