Othello Opinion Two

I figured in this blog I'd focus on the character of Emilia. Although she is not one of the main characters, I think she has a strong influence on each of the more central characters. She has greatly differing relationships with each; she is Desdemona's attendant, Iago's wife, and Othello's wife's attendant. With Desdemona, I see Emilia obviously as her foil character, but also as the person who attempts to teach Desdemona from her mistakes (IV.iii.49-81). Emilia can be seen as having much wisdom because of these mistakes that she's had to learn from, and the hardships that she's gone through in her life. The relationship between Iago and Emilia is one that makes me infuriated every time I read their interactions. It annoys me that Emilia won't stand up for herself (even though yes, I know this was the 17th century). She lets her husband walk all over her; with Iago, we see Emilia as a different person, one who lets men walk all over her. However, with Othello, she attempts to tell him the truth about Desdemona. Emilia proclaims Desdemona to be "honest, chaste, and true" (IV.ii.18). With Othello, Emilia tries to defend Desdemona; this shows strong character coming from her. It also shows the foil between Emilia and Iago. I took this part as one of the few times Emilia was defiant to her husband even though she doesn't know it. In my opinion, Emilia is a character to admire and respect.