Act V: Emilia

As Act V of Shakespear's Othello the Moor of Venice progresses toward the end of the plot, we see some exceptional shifts in some of the characters' demeanors. The biggest character change that I saw was in Emilia. From the beginning of the play, Emilia's character is seen as subordinate to the others. Iago was a terrible husband to her which was evident from his mysogyny. He disrespected all women let alone his own wife. He treated her as his property, and she was to do what he told her to. She was even considered a sort of maid or servant of Desdemona; although, Desdemona thought of Emilia as more as a friend than as a subservient. Throughout all of this, Emilia's character is portrayed as a quiet woman who does what is expected of her without fault. However, by the end of Act V, Emilia changes drastically.

First, Emilia comes back to check on Othello and Desdemona even though Othello clearly told her to leave and stay away for the night. Then, after Othello has harmed Desdemona to the point of death, Emilia realizes that all of this was Iago's doing. She realizes that by her giving that hankerchief to Iago, Desdemona's death was finally sentenced. From then on, she shifts her focus toward her husband. She throws Iago under the bus and expresses the true man he is. "You told a lie, an odius, damned lie, upon my soul, a lie, a wicked lie!" (Shakespeare, 1455, V.ii.179-180). Then after Iago demands her to stop talking, (just as he had in the very first few scenes), instead of backing down, she says, "I will not charm my tongue, I am bound to speak. My mistress here lies murdered in her bed!" (Shakespeare, 1455,V.ii.183-184). She then goes on to tell of how exactly Iago was the one to blaim for the entire manipulation of the events. She trully came alive by the end of the play.