Emilia is Iago's wife, and Desdemona's maid, a woman of practical intelligence and emotional resilience. She follows Iago in wifely duty, but during the play develops a strong loyalty to Desdemona and, at the end, denounces Iago's lies to defend Desdemona's reputation. She speaks disparagingly of men, but, until the last scene, she supports her husband when needed. When finally she sees the truth, Emilia abandons all loyalty to Iago and verbally attacks him for the villain he is. In response, he silences her by killing her. She believes most men are foolish, wicked, or perverse, and nothing she experiences during the course of the play disproves that assessment.
Emilia is Iago's wife, and Desdemona's maid, a woman of
practical intelligence and emotional resilience. She follows Iago
in wifely duty, but during the play develops a strong loyalty to
Desdemona and, at the end, denounces Iago's lies to defend
Desdemona's reputation. She speaks disparagingly of men, but, until
the last scene, she supports her husband when needed. When finally
she sees the truth, Emilia abandons all loyalty to Iago and
verbally attacks him for the villain he is. In response, he
silences her by killing her. She believes most men are foolish,
wicked, or perverse, and nothing she experiences during the course
of the play disproves that assessment.
