Feminist Role In Othello

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Emilia, one of only three female characters in Shakespeare’s Othello, plays a vital role both thematically and in the advancement of the play’s plot. Although her blind loyalty to her husband turns the wheels of this tragedy, it is not a static quality throughout it. When examining the gender roles in the world of this play, the change in Emilia’s allegiances, which determine her actions, reveals the divergence between duty and integrity for women. Throughout most of the play, Emilia is loyal to a fault. She remains subservient to Iago until her duty to him causes her to betray the one she has to her friend and mistress, Desdemona. After becoming cognizant of her involvement in Iago’s villainy, Emilia abandons all loyalty she previously held to patriarchal forces and is motivated exclusively by morality and dedication to Desdemona. In many instances, Emilia and Iago’s relationship serves as a reflection of the misogyny of the play and the time period in which it was written. Throughout the play, the conduct of Iago and the rest of the male characters suggest they hold relatively strong antifeminist beliefs. Iago is especially expressive in his discrimination, frequently condemning the entirety of the gender as weak, useless, and sexually indiscriminate. Both an expectation that women should remain chaste and a fear of their deviation from this societal standard are prevalent and trouble various male characters. Iago is particularly concerned with these issues and accuses Emilia of having not one, but two, affairs. In his soliloquy he arraigns “…it is thought abroad, that ‘twixt my sheets / [Othello] has done my office,” or that everyone thinks Emilia and Othello are having an affair (1.3.387-88). It’s fairly evident that he has l... ... middle of paper ... ...s one of many who act as a pawn in Iago’s manipulation and, even in her attempts to help him, is repeatedly berated by his misogyny. However, at the end of the play, Emilia proves herself to be the sole character that Iago underestimates and fails to accurately predict. While he effortlessly manipulates the behavior of others, Iago is ironically unable to understand and control his wife, the person he should know best. Although she was initially subservient to the male domination of society, Emilia ultimately acted in favor of morality rather than duty. In her understanding of what had really happened, her loyalty shifted from patriarchy to companionship. No longer bound to any obligation to her husband or Othello, she acts exclusively in favor of morality and her duty to her friend. In this way, Emilia goes from being a victim in the tragedy to the heroine of it.

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