Comparison of Desdemona and Emilia from Shakespeare's Othello

How are the females’ self-consciousness, opposition, and pursuit blighted by the patriarchal society? In the play, Othello, William Shakespeare establishes abundantly colorful female images in order to interpret the rigid female gender roles of that era of sexism and to outline varying degrees of self-awareness under the male-dominated society. By comparing the lives of Desdemona and Emilia, in Othello, it can reveal how women react differently to the repression and bondage caused by traditional patriarchalism, which they possess entirely different attitudes, submissive and resistant respectively. It is evident that Desdemona and Emilia have unalike views of the androcentric society they associated with. Besides, their attitudes toward marital infidelity are completely dissimilar. Lastly, they also differ when facing the truth and their loyalty to their husbands.

Desdemona and Emilia Character Comparison: Complete Contrasts

Firstly, Desdemona and Emilia have distinct attitudes towards the idea of objectifying women, attitudes which are the concrete manifestation of their different levels of female consciousness. On the one hand, Desdemona is voluntarily constrained by the social framework through being the property of men, and regarding this servility as her part of steadfast faith. It is obvious that Desdemona fulfilled her duty to her father, “To you I am bound for life and education; My life and education both do learn me How to respect you; you are the lord of duty”. Consequently, Desdemona regards her father as her lord, which echoes the fact that she has no doubts about the subordination of women to men. She is a typical product of patriarchy as she is willingly burdened with a patriarchal system, which acknowledges that women, as men’s property, must fulfill the duty of being obedient to men. On the other hand, Emilia, being Desdemona’s foil, questions the objectification of women which inherited from patriarchy and criticizes the gender inequality of that era. Emilia’s harsh criticism is demonstrated as she is accusing a society male-dominated, “Let husbands know Their wives have sense like them: they see and smell And have their palates both for sweet and sour” (Shakespeare. 4. 3. 95). Clearly, Emilia thinks otherwise than Desdemona, since she complains that women are equal to men on the basis of humanity, and in which they are considered humans with thoughts and emotions, rather than objects. To sum up, Desdemona accepts the concept of being regarded as a subject by men, whereas Emilia tries to break it, which reflects their distinct- different responses to the male-dominated world.

Secondly, the contrasting ideas for females’ adultery that Desdemona and Emilia have, reveal their different degrees of sense of rebellion against patriarchy. Desdemona believes that women should unconditionally be loyal to their husbands no matter what unforgivable wrong they have done to them. To demonstrate, Desdemona asks Emilia regarding the possibility of women cheating on their husbands. The raising of this question shows that Desdemona can not fathom the idea of women having affairs because she thinks that under no circumstances can women commit adultery. In contrast, Emilia’s maturity foils Desdemona’s nature, when she contends that female infidelity is understandable. Emilia points out that women’s unfaithfulness is a form of revenge for male infidelity, the restraint of men in their freedom, and the exploitation of their human rights (Shakespeare. 4. 3. 105). Evidently, Emilia lays the blame for female infidelity issues on male oppression and disrespect, she also implies that double standards for men and women, because the society only condemns women for infidelity, but ignores the reason for the disloyal behavior, the reason which is the persecution of women by their husbands. In conclusion, under an oppressed female society, compared to Desdemona’s attitude of women should always be loyal, Emilia has a higher degree of female subject consciousness by holding distinct beliefs for wives’ infidelity by harboring that women can actually be unfaithful to challenge the sovereignty of males.

Lastly, Desdemona’s unconditional obedience and Emilia’s rebelliousness contrast sharply when making a choice between exposing the criminals their husbands do and being subordinate to their husbands. Desdemona takes credit for her death instead of denouncing Othello’s crimes of killing her. This point is demonstrated as Desdemona responds to Emilia about Desdemona’s murderer, whilst she replies, “Nobody; I myself. Farewell”. Desdemona remains loyal to Othello by defending his reputation on her deathbed even though Othello murders her out of unfounded jealousy. In contrast, Emilia dares to defy Iago by deciding to reveal Iago’s plotting. As Emilia overcomes the fear caused by threats from Iago, she is stating in front of others that, “I will speak as liberal as the north”. Consequently, Emilia is outspoken in her criticism of Iago’s scheme as she realizes how Lgao indirectly murders Desdemona, she rebels against Iago rather than caring about her required obedience to him. Therefore, the opposite reactions to their husbands’ offenses, that Desdemona and Emilia have, means that Desdemona covers the reality while Emilia discloses the truth, showing their different fidelity to their husbands or to patriarchal ideology.

Conclusion

The passive Desdemona and defiant Emilia foil each other, since, in the patriarchal society, the former stoops to compromise, while the latter revolts against oppressors. It could be demonstrated by their contrasting reactions to the idea of gender inequality, female infidelity, and obedience to their husbands. Their unjust death shows that there is no match for the oppression of power, the tragic consequences for women are inevitable, whether they are obedient or rebellious under the society in which men are seen as the authority. 

Works Cited

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