Emilia - character Flashcards
‘I nothing, but to please his fantasy’
Possessive pronouns suggest Emilia feels marginalised as Iago loves his revenge more than he loves her
‘They are all but stomachs and we all but food, they eat us hungerly, and when they are full, they belch us’
Emilia 3.4
Emilia laments the fickleness of men; the metaphor verbalises how men only use women to get what they desire and disregard them when they cannot be expended any further. Here, Shakespeare highlights the mistreatment of women
‘I will not charm my tongue; I am bound to speak’
Emilia 5.2
Emila, mirroring Iago’s authoritative tone through the modal verb to indicate that she is no longer bound to Iago or anyone else. It contrasts Iago’s statement which reinforces the patriarchy whilst Emilia’s demand juxtaposes it.
‘If any wretch have put it in your head, let heaven requite it with the serpent’s curse’
Emilia 4.2
Foreshadowing
‘But jealous souls will not be answered so; they are not ever jealous for the cause, but jealous for they’re jealous. It is a monster begot upon itself, born on itself
Emilia 3.4
Extended metaphor
Dramatic irony, this is what the lovers are doing
A halter pardon him and hell gnaw his bones! Why should he call her *****? Who keeps her company? What place, what time, what form, what likelihood?
O heaven, that such companions thou’dst unfold, and put in every honest hand a whip to lash the rascals naked through the world, even from the east to th’west!
E uses disturbing hellish imagery. Interestingly, this description relates to Iago, which generates a sense of anxiety, which can be seen as he attempts to remove her from the conversation, to which she refuses to do until ordered again later.
-Uses Desdemona’s own words in an attempt to prove how poor Othello’s behaviour is towards her, presenting the two women as dichotomies to each other in their outlook.
-Repeated use of questions suggests how ridiculous Desdemona’s reaction is, which increases the general annoyance at Othello
‘The world’a huge thing: it is a great price for a small vice’
act 3.3
Contrast woven through her language
In a deeply religious society, would there be such a thing as a small vice? The perfect rhyme reveals her assurance in her willingness to do anything for her husband
Does Emilia make Iago her god? contrasts Desdemona’s words
Shakespeare’s audience would have been familiar with the stereotype of the sexually decadent Italian female from visits to the theatre. Many Jacobean plays set in Italy feature courtesans and adulteresses. In Othello the perceived immorality of Italian women is neatly encapsulated in Emilia’s description of adultery as ‘a small vice’ (IV.3.69).
Nor I neither by this heavenly light; I might do’t as well i’th’dark.
Cynical comment
-Juxtaposition of dark and light
-Joke about infidelity, and casually comments about men
-Suggestion that Emilia would have an affair, which would a have been a shocking opinion from a women at the time, she would have an affair if it benefited her and her husband
-Rhyming couplet creates a cynical and flippant tone
‘But for all the whole world! Ud’s pity, who would not make her husband a cuckold, to make him a monarch?
4.3
Being given the world is giving women power
-Suggestion that Emilia is desperate to gain a sense of authority
-Stated in prose, suggesting that this conversation is of a low-nature
-Emilia has a philosophical way of thinkin
Thou hast not half that power to do me harm /As I have to be hurt. O gull! O dolt,/As ignorant as dirt! Thou hast done a deed - /I care not for your sword, I’ll make thee known/ though I lost twenty lives. ‘
5.2
When Othello tries to silence her and threatens her Emilia says she will get justice for her mistress and will risk her life to get it. She shows incredible strength of character and magnificent scorn for his attempt to intimidate her.
