Treatment Of Women In Othello

Othello written by William Shakespeare is a very interesting and double-minded play. I chose the passage of Emilia’s speech to Desdemona not because it was odd but because Emilia stood out to me as a very opinionated woman. I wanted to work with it more closely because Emilia captured my attention with her slightly exaggerated opinions on men. I got a strong sense of inequality with this whole scene (4.3). Emilia thinks that it is the husbands’ fault for their wives to be cheating: “But I do think it is their husbands‘ faults if wives do fall” (4.3.87-88). I feel like she is being way too cruel in the next couple of lines. She may even sound crazy because she’s rambling on. It clearly shows how much Emilia displeases the fact that Desdemona is married to Othello. The whole conversation started when Desdemona told Emilia of Othello’s orders for them of that night. Something must have ticked Emilia off when Desdemona said: “We must not now displease him” (4.3.17); and Emilia following with: “I would you had never seen him” (4.3.18). I definitely see a clear picture of Emilia’s feelings on men because she really doesn’t hold back. The one thing about this scene that I found odd was the song; I really didn’t quite understand what that was all about and why it was really relevant.
When Emilia tells Desdemona that she would cheat on her husband, Desdemona’s reaction is somewhat innocent but seemed a bit staged: “Beshrew me, if I would do such a wrong for the whole world” (4.3.79-80). That was when Emilia needed to state her opinions on men and their cheating ways, so she gives a cruel but whole hearted explanation to prove that she is right. Emilia clearly has a grudge towards the man kind race. She says that whatever the husbands do to their wives, the women make a comeback with a plan of revenge. She seems to question her own self with why their men do this to