Respuesta :
Answer:
I did an entire analysis and essay on Emilia from a feminist lense so I got you
Explanation:
Spoilers!
At the beginning of Othello, Shakespeare presents Desdeomna and Emilia to us as different women. Emilia is presented as a quiet, submissive wife while Desdemona is presented as being more confrontational and likely to stand up for herself. We see this in the scene where the boats arrive at Cyprus, where Iago makes rude comments towards women and Desdemona questions him while Emilia allows it to happen.
However, as the story progresses and we see Othello become more frustrated, he mistreats Desdemona more and more. While our first impressions may suggest that she wouldn't allow this, she does. The scene where he slaps her then demands she sit down shows that she is in fact a very submissive wife. She doesn't fight back against him and sits when he commands her to.
In contrast, when Emilia consols Desdemona later that night, she has one of the most powerful monologues in all of theatre history. What starts out as her joking eventually turns into a full, passionate monologue about how women are equal to men. As she says, "Let husbands know, their wives have sense like them,". She is essentially saying that it is unfair women are expected to be "good wives" and "perfect women" while men are allowed to cheat, drink, and do whatever else that want. Meanwhile, it is still the women who are put down. They are taught that they are less intelligent, weaker, and in general they are made to believe they have less worth than men.
Finally, in a true act of self-service and independence, Emilia not only is smart enough to piece together the manipulation that Iago used, she chooses to expose him. He is her husband, and in those days a women was never to speak poorly of her husband as all, let alone accuse him of such a terrible thing. Ultimately, she pays the price when he kills her, but she dies having agency as opposed to having been killed submissively like Desdemona is.
Emilia's character is incredibly progressive, especially when you consider she was written over four-hundred years ago. While her actions may not reflect a modern day woman completely, she displays her willingness to put herself first. Her awareness revolving the importance of women is unmatched throughout most of Shakespeare's other writing.
