Femininity in Othello: Comparison of Desdemona and Emilia’s Characters

In the vast majority of Shakespearean works, female characters are used as simple pawns in men’s plots for power, revenge, or glory. In the tragedy Othello, the same is true for the two central female characters: Desdemona, the wife of Othello, and Emilia, the wife of Iago. Throughout the play, they are manipulated, objectified, and brutalized by Iago and Othello, which furthers Iago's deviant agenda. Shakespeare may have had their fates end tragically, he did not paint over their characters with a broad stroke. Desdemona and Emilia are both individuals in their own right, differing in status, thought, and speech/diction. While there are stark differences in Desdemona and Emilia’s characters, their shared loyalties to their husbands enables Iago to ensnare them in his web of deceit. The women’s exploitation by the men eventually leads to everyone's destruction. The similarities and differences between Desdemona and Emilia not only demonstrate the range of femininity in the play, but also juxtaposes their treatment by the men in Othello, which contextualizes the theme of betrayal and deceit.

Desdemona and Emilia are foils of one another, as many of their characteristics are direct opposites. In the 16th century, outer beauty was thought to translate to goodness and virtue, therefore when Desdedomona is described on several occasions as being “a maid so tender, fair, and happy”, Shakespeare is commenting on her fair and gracious personality as well as her looks (Shakespeare 1.2.85). Desdemona’s beauty is described before her entrance on stage, thus the audience presumes her goodness before even meeting her character. Emilia’s physical appearance, on the other hand, is never explicitly described either before or after her entrance to the stage. However, during Iago’s first soliloquy, he states that “it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets / ‘Has done my office”. He is stating that Othello has slept with his wife, Emilia. While this information is dubious, the audience subconsciously creates a negative, ugly depiction of Emilia based on the idea that her actions may be immoral and ugly. Quite simply, Desdemona is initially characterized as the light, while Emilia is the dark which suggests that Desdemona is naive and pure, while Emilia is more worldly.

Not only are their physical appearances (contextualized or otherwise) opposites, but so are their personalities. While Desdemona initially appears outspoken and eloquent, Emilia is quiet and soft spoken. Desdemona is bold, independent, and gracious, especially during her testimony in front of the Venictian Senate:

My noble father,

I do perceive here a divided duty.

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.

I am hitherto your daughter. But here's my

Husband,

And so much duty as my mother showed

To you, preferring you before her father,

So much I challenge that I may profess

Due to the Moor my lord.

The divided duty Desdemona discusses is shown in the difference in lines for “My noble father” and “Husband”. Not only is it visually showing the switch in loyalties, but also isolates their titles to highlight the importance of them in Desdemona’s life. To her father she owes her life and education, to her husband her love. The thought and eloquence of such a monologue demonstrated how learned she is, and her sensitivity towards her relationships. Her monologue is in prose, which is the language of wit and logical thought. Even though she is discussing love and loyalties, which would usually demand verse, the fact that it is prose alludes to Desdemona’s logical and principled nature.

In contrast, Emilia is described by Desdemona, that “she has no speech!”. Even when Iago insults her in Act Two Scene, Desdemona is the one to talk back, while Emilia simply takes the verbal abuse. This is perhaps not necessarily a difference in their personalities, as much as it is a difference in their social status. Generally, both women are well-off, however Emilia is Desdeoma’s attendant, thus she is lower in Venitican society.

As both women develop throughout the play, they remain foils of one another. There is a turning point in Desdemona and Emilia’s behaviors as Iago’s plot begins to take effect, most especially around Act 4, as Othello starts to suspect Desdemona of infidelity. Desdemona, the ideological female, becomes more meek and mild as her marriage with Othello weighs down on her. In contrast, Emilia, the “every-woman” becomes more alert and independent minded. In Act 4 Scene 3, Desdemona and Emilia have a discussion regarding infidelity by a wife. Desdemona cannot believe a woman could ever cheat or be disloyal to her husband, “Dost thou in conscience think — tell me, Emilia — That there be women do abuse their husbands, In such gross kind?”. Desdemona’s reaction to the fact that some women cheat on their husbands suggests her rigid principles, ideals of marriage and love for Othello. She states: “I do not far more mature, as she has a deeper understanding of men and women’s desires as time passes in a monogamous relationship. Emilia believes that if men can cheat, then why can’t women? Emilia says to Desdemona:

Let husbands know

Their wives have sense like them. They see, and

smell, …

When they change us for others? Is it sport?

I think it is. And doth affection breed it?

I think it doth…

And have not we affections,

Desires for sport, and frailty, as men have? 

Earlier in the play, it was Desdemona giving the long, eloquent monologues. However, as Desdemona begins to speak in shorter, fragmented prose, Emilia shifts to longer, logical prose. Her short monologue is defining for her character, not only because she voices a dangerous opinion, but because she isolates the similarities in men and women in the deliverance of her speech, and is clear about their meanings. She moves beyond the simple wife, attendant role she was given.

All the women in the play are essentially possessions to the men in their lives. Desdemona is the property of her father, then when she marries Othello, she becomes his. Othello says “To his conveyance I will assign my wife”.  The line implies Desdemona is his possession and needs to be guarded and transported. This would have been a matter of normalacy for the time, as women were considered to be the weaker sex and required protection that was achieved through marriage. Whilst Othello exits, the First Senator exclaims, “Adieu, brave Moor; use Desdemona well,” - the emphasis of the word “use” replaces the phrase “look after” in a darker tone, alluding to forced sexual relations. Not only has Othello laid claim to Desdemona in passing, but directly to her. When Othello says, “Let me have speech with you- Come my dear love, the purchase made, are the fruits to ensue” he further supports the idea that women’s purpose in a marriage is to procreate, no matter how lovely he says it. Emilia is Iago’s possession and pawn, especially when he manipulates her into stealing the all-important handkerchief. In Act 3 Scene 3, after Emilia takes Desdemona’s handkerchief when she accidentally drops it, Emilia says “I nothing but to please his fantasy” and meets up with Iago. She is defeated in any attempts to defy him, and her tactful language supports her fatigue. The handkerchief was Desdemona’s downfall, and Iago was able to secure it’s possession due to his power over his wife. The ultimate exploitation of the two women was when “he hath killed his wife”: when both Iago and Othello murder their wives. Their deaths were the last sacrifice they would make for their abusive husbands. The emotional, mental, and physical violence endured by these two women demonstrates the theme of betrayal and deceit in the play.

In Othello, Shakespeare juxtaposes 16th century feminism and misogyny to highlight the theme of betrayal and deviance. Today, it is common in literature to create dynamic and deep male characters, and neglect the female characters. Many female characters are the sum of stereotypes and archetypes, rather than their own individual motivations, feelings, and backstories. The women in Othello, Desdemona and Emilia, while exhibiting many stereotypical behaviours and traits of women in the 1500s, are both extremely individual. Desdemona and Emilia differ in more ways than one, and together they paint a particularly vivid picture of feminism in England at the time. The cruelty inflicted upon them by the men in the play highlight the complexity of life and relationships of the time. Emilia may have progressive views regarding women and infidelity, yet she has no power to enforce them in her own life without great risk. The patriarchal is a strong force in these women’s lives, and Shakespeare does not let them forget it. The betrayal both women feel in regards to their husbands, is representative of Iago’s betrayal of everyone in the play. One of Desdemona’s final lines is, “Alas, he is betrayed, and I undone”. She recognizes that Iago’s deviancy has led to the destruction of both Othello’s, and her life. By simply saying “I undone” perfectly embodies the complete defeat she feels. The misfortunes Desdemona and Emilia experience are microcosms of the plot as a whole.