Emilia

Emilia: The Forgotten Maiden

In Shakespeare’s Othello, Desdemona’s servant Emilia plays a crucial role in the tragic plot of this literary work. Although the importance of Emilia’s part does not rival that of Othello or Iago; Emilia’s significance tends to be overlooked/overshadowed. Emilia is underestimated and virtually ignored by the entire cast of characters. Her desperation, loneliness, insight, intelligence, and strength left uncalculated. The only character that utilizes Emilia is Iago and he ultimately exploits her to serve his own interests. However, at the end of the play, Emilia exposes Iago as the true villainous mastermind. Thereby, Emilia redeems herself for aiding Iago and catapults herself to a heroine status. The purpose of this paper is to show Emilia as the strongest and the most capable female character in this particular Shakespearian work.
Emilia is a desperate woman and the contextual evidence supports this statement.
In act II: 1 of Othe...