The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice Analytical Essay

555 Words2 Pages

In William Shakespeare’s play, Othello, the power that Iago has over Emilia in their relationship helps manifest the unfairness of gender roles thus, leading to a distortion of the worth of women. The power that Iago has over Emilia hurts Emilia’s self-confidence. The distortion of the worth of women ultimately leads to misunderstandings in Emilia’s view of relationships.
The distortion of gender roles and the diminishing worth of women causes the power Iago attempts to have over Emilia to be more obvious. Because Iago thirsts for power he attempts to force others into keeping his plans a secret from others. Emilia realizes that this is not going to help anyone other than Iago. At the end of the play Emilia overcomes Iago’s power by saying’ “I will not charm my tongue: I am bound to speak” (5, 2, 181). This means that she will not stay quiet like every other person, she will speak the truth. By saying this, Emilia ends Iago’s overbearing power over her and allows herself to tell the truth about Iago’s plans. Emilia is fed up with Iago’s selfish antics, thus causing her to tell the tr...

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