Emilia Quotes Flashcards
What he will do with it,
Heaven knows, not I. (3.3.)
Emilia says this line after she picks up the handkerchief Desdemona has dropped, planning to turn it over to Iago. This quote shows that Emilia at this point feels little moral responsibility, and in fact might prefer not to know the details of what her husband is plotting. Later in the play, she will be devastated to realize how her action contributed to a chain of events culminating in Desdemona’s death.
’Tis not a year or two shows us a man. (3.4.)
Emilia explains to Desdemona that her friend is only newly married and may not yet understand her husband’s true nature. The quote suggests that Emilia has only gradually learned who Iago truly is, and that she is trying to encourage her friend to be more cautious and less naïve.
They are not ever jealous for the cause
But jealous for they’re jealous. (3.4.)
Here, Emilia and Desdemona argue about whether Othello will ever be satisfied about Desdemona’s innocence. Desdemona thinks she can prove her fidelity to her husband, but Emilia is more cynical and believes that now that Othello has become suspicious, he will never be able to fully trust his wife again. Emilia’s insight might come from her less-happy relationship, but it turns out to be true.
If any wretch have put this in your head
Let heaven requite it with the serpent’s curse. (4.2.)
Here, Emilia chastises Othello for doubting Desdemona’s fidelity. Ironically, Emilia immediately hits upon the truth that Othello’s suspicions result from someone else planting these ideas. However, she has no idea that it is actually her own husband who is the person she curses here. The quote reflects the important theme of deception, showing that even married couples may not truly know much about their spouse.
I am glad I have found this napkin,
This was her first remembrance from the Moor.
My wayward husband hath a hundred times
Wooed me to steal it, but she so loves the token
(For he conjured her she should ever keep it)
That she reserves it evermore about her
To kiss and talk to. I’ll have the work ta’en out
And give ʼt to Iago. What he will do with it
Heaven knows, not I.
I nothing but to please his fantasy.(3.3.297–306)
Emilia explains why she feels lucky to have found Desdemona’s handkerchief: Her husband, Iago, has been pestering her to snatch it for some time, and although she doesn’t know why he wants it, she’s happy to finally do as he asks. The handkerchief, a gift to Desdemona from Othello, symbolizes so much more than a mere token of affection. To Othello, the handkerchief symbolizes fidelity and his giving it to Desdemona represents a promise that he will be true to her, and a request that she stay true to him. Iago, understanding the object’s significance, plans to turn the token of love into a tool of destruction.
If it be not for some purpose of import,
Give ‘t me again. Poor lady, she’ll run mad
When she shall lack it.(3.3.324–326)
After handing over Desdemona’s handkerchief to Iago, Emilia explains that Desdemona will become extremely upset once she notices the object is missing, so unless the handkerchief serves some important purpose, she would like to return it to her mistress. Emilia recognizes the powerful love and loyalty Desdemona feels for Othello, and she knows that the handkerchief symbolizes these emotions. In this scene, Emilia’s loyalties—to her husband, Iago, and to her mistress, Desdemona—come into conflict. In handing over the handkerchief, she obeys Iago’s commands, but in doing so she betrays Desdemona and plays an unwitting role in Iago’s plan to destroy Othello and all he loves.
My mother had a maid called Barbary,
She was in love, and he she loved proved mad
And did forsake her. She had a song of “Willow,”
An old thing ʼtwas, but it expressed her fortune
And she died singing it. That song tonight
Will not go from my mind.(4.3.25–30)
Preparing for bed, Desdemona tells Emilia about a song she knows called “Willow.” Othello has just ordered Desdemona to bed, and to please and appease him, she has obeyed. She even has Emilia make up the bed with her wedding sheets. Desdemona seems to believe that Othello intends to come to the bedchamber to reconcile with her, but readers know his true intentions are to murder her there, in the bed that symbolizes the marital promise of fidelity he believes she broke. Her subconscious seems to understand her impending doom, however, for she can’t get “Willow”—a song symbolizing a forsaken woman’s sorrow and impending death—out of her mind. Just like Barbary, Desdemona will die soon after the song’s words fall from her lips.
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. (III.iv.)
Emilia says these words to Desdemona in an attempt to explain the irrational nature of jealousy. Even though jealous individuals may state specific reasons for their jealousy, jealousy has no cause but itself. In other words, jealous people are inherently jealous. Emilia signals the circularity of this logic with the confounding image of jealousy as a monster that gives birth to itself. Emilia’s image recalls Iago’s “green-eyed monster.” It also recalls the ancient symbol of the ouroboros, which depicts a snake swallowing its own tail and therefore stuck in a self-perpetuating loop.
