William Shakespeare's "Othello" can be read from a feminist perspective. Othello serves as an example of the patriarchal social status, the practice of privileges in marriages, and also the suppression and restriction of the Elizabethan woman. The women in that era were raised only to marry and bear children. As this being their only occupation, marriage held massive responsibilities of keeping the household together. The major expectation was that women were to be silent, obedient, and chaste to all men they came into contact with. The patriarchal rule justified the subordination of women to be natural order because women were thought and trained to be inferior to men. But in Act IV, Emilia's speech displays rebellion of the submissive woman culture.
The tragedy "Othello" is a play about an African-American man who marries a Caucasian woman. He later murders his wife Desdemona due to jealousy and false truths. Though the play focuses on the downfall of Othello and Desdemona's marriage, it also tells the story of another dysfunctional couple. The marriage of Iago and Emilia is portrayed as a love/hate relationship. Emilia's marriage to her husband seems like hell. Iago constantly mocks and disrespects her. He shows disregard to her feelings and lacks affection. Despite all this, Emilia yearns to please him. An example of her loyalty, would be stealing the handkerchief that belonged to Othello. "I nothing but to please his fantasy," she says while taking it (3.3). Though some people view her as desperate, it is arguable that Emilia is the true tragic female figure in this story. She is a complex woman, who dies by her own inner conflicts of loyalty and the yearning of independence and happiness as well as by the hands of her psychopathic husband.
To understand and relate to Emilia, one must ask; "who is Emilia?" "What are her characteristics?" All that Shakespeare tells the reader is that she is the wife of Iago and she has the position of being a servant/companion to Desdemona.
