Shakespeare, who is famous for his tragic genre, embodies this scheme of writing in Othello. As a common quality in many tragic stories, there is a character that centrally leads to the downfall of all the others. Serving as this trend in Shakespeare’s Othello, the character who is directly responsible for such downfall is Emilia. Although her intentions are not malicious, Emilia’s actions do lead to the defeat of many characters that are associated with the plot of this story. She is the catalyst that allows Iago to rescind many characters in the play, although she is never aware of Iago’s true mischief. The role of Emilia in the play is an essential one and without her importance, the overall story for Othello could have possibly been different and resulted in a different genre. Although not calculatedly, Emilia is methodical in the way that she acts in the play, this is made extremely evident in the case of the handkerchief. Emilia’s choices of when to speak and when not to speak have a consequence for many characters in the play and are vital to the understanding of how this oblivious character created the defeat that was as effective as it was.
In Shakespeare’s Othello, many characters change throughout the duration of the play, becoming complex characters. The character that undergoes the most dramatic transformation is Emilia. Emilia is an extraordinarily dynamic character with many facets; she could be seen as either the villain or the heroine in the play, depending on how her actions are interpreted. Emilia plays an integral role in the play Othello and is not a character that can be easily looked over. When the audience is primarily introduced to Emilia, she is aloof, even staying silent when Iago, her husband, speaks down to her in public which gives the audience the impression that she is a passive character. However, in the last act of the play, Emilia becomes outspoken and brave. She is no longer fearful of speaking up and defending herself and others. She speaks against Iago’s wishes, which ultimately leads to her death, but while speaking, shows the fearless side of her that has yet to be seen earlier throughout the play. Emilia transforms into a multifarious character that is integral to the outcome of the play Othello (Gay 82). Emilia’s transformation beginning as a passive character into an outspoken and courageous character occurs as the plot progresses which directly and dramatically affects the outcome of the play. The changes that Emilia undergoes during the play lead to her intricacy as a character and are a main component in the driving force behind many characters deaths and doom although it is clearly evident that Emilia does not do this out of malice.
Emilia is an incredibly round character that is not always outspoken throughout the play. She is a puzzling character because, unlike other complex characters in the play, she does not have any soliloquies. This does not allow the reader or audience member any insight into Emilia’s thoughts or opinions, and one must attempt to understand her thoughts and feelings through her actions and the way she conveys herself. There are various examples throughout the play when Emilia decides to speak up for herself, or not to speak. However, as the play a progress, the moments in which Emilia decides to speak is highly significant as she defends herself or others. Emilia being outspoken goes against the Elizabethan outlook on how women should act which are standards that could be described as “women must think of themselves as ‘other’ and man as primary or ‘subject’ ” (Iyasere 70). This quote perfectly demonstrates that women were not seen as equal to men at the time and women were at a social disadvantage. The way that Emilia speaks out to the magnitude that she does is entirely unheard of for this time period. Emilia addresses the role of women in society on multiple occasions, referring to it as a double standard (Hutchings 1). This outspokenness