Renaissance Plea for Women’s Rights, Essay Example

“Othello” is a play about the black man who married a white female and then murdered her out of his own unfounded jealousy. It is also a story about another dysfunctional marriage, namely of Emilia and Iago, that at the end also resulted into a murder of wife by her husband. While Desdemona is a pathetic victim of several circumstances, it is arguable that Emilia as a character is a very tragic female figure. Emilia’s portrayal represents a complex woman whose death was brought about not only because of her psychopathic husband but equally by her personal inner conflicts of loyalty and equality. Within the play Emilia is the one who explicitly speaks to the theme of marital love being the one who recognizes and understands the conflict between a man and a woman and inherits a unique role of a potential mediator.

Who is Emilia? All that the play allows to understand is that she is the wife of Iago and apparently a servant and a companion to Desdemona. Emilia and Iago do not have children that can lead into thinking about their possible intimate life issues since there was not much contraceptives in early 17^th century. Woman is constantly concerned about pleasing her husband. In the case when she takes Desdemona’s handkerchief she implies that she wants “nothing but to please his fantasy.” On a contrary Iago is a type of a person who tries “to manipulate others into self-destruction and often comes close to erupting into genuine, volcanic fury.” (The New York Times)

When analyzing the speech of Emilia in the play is it vital to note the structure of the arguments, resonances with various parts of the play and its dramatic function. Emilia’s speech is the only time in the play when two women, Emilia and Desdemona, are alone and it is a moment of potential shared confidences while not being disturbed by the presence of their husbands. A little earlier in the play Othello has publicly struck Desdemona and a naïve woman has no understanding of what has caused such cruel reaction. Therefore, when Emilia with her speech brings subject of disquisition on sexual double standard, it serves as the woman’s last attempt to save Desdemona from her own self-destructive female passivity. It is obvious that such conversation did not open up eyes of Desdemona on real facts. Woman is so innocently passive that she does not even imagine that Emilia can be right. Desdemona here is an example of an established role of female as a wife and a woman in the 17^th century. She is humble and naïve. She listens to her husband and does not question the society norms she lives in.

Contrary to Desdemona, Emilia in her thoughts and speech looks like an experienced debater. She has not spoken with so much force before but her numerous repetitions of the phrase “I think” reveal that the issues she is talking about were in her head for a while and she has given it a big consideration. Emilia uses metaphorical language when talking about husband’s dominance in the sexual life of a family. Even though she uses a lot of  “us” and “they” words in the speech, in reality she parallels her thoughts to her own experiences living with Iago. She concludes that men are “jealous for they’re jealous” and they do not even need a reason for that. When she talks about how husbands can hit their wives, she allows to understand that all her speech is not only to state the realities of a married life but also her personal loss of a great sense of belonging to her husband. Emilia’s language gives understanding that woman has lost the meaning in a sacred unity of marriage.

Important statement Emilia makes is when she says “why, we have galls, and though we have some grace, yet we have some revenge.” Talking of women’s “gall”, she namely speaks of women’s ability to fell resentment and anger which is a very natural human trait. However, at the same time “gall” means “sore”. Emilia now is talking of her human rights even though she might not even fully understand it. She speaks that women have wounds that are caused by men, their husbands. Women are in a position of victims of the system that they live in. The system of established norms and standards makes them controlled and silenced to men. But Emilia implies that both males and females are human by nature. Women might be more feminine and have more grace than man but then females should also have equal masculine rights for the revenge. Why? Well, because as every human being, women also have bodies, five senses same as men. She metaphorically says: “Let husbands know their wives have sense like them…” This statement clearly demonstrates the dual division of the world into submissive female and dominant male and is rhetorically crushed by the different model of equal experiences as bodies.

The speech of Emilia can indeed be called a Renaissance plea of a woman for her rights. From the above mentioned key points that the woman touches in her speech, it is clear that the norms of society that she lives in are too tight and definitely not just. Emilia understands the standards and she has been living with its accordance. However, now when facing a strong dissatisfaction with her marriage, she feels like she is in a cage. She continues and raises the points designed to have the obvious rightness of the answers. She questions the society for being loyal to men when it comes to cheating. “What is it that they do when they change us for others?” says Emilia. She is not being humble and submissive about this fact but more she demands answers and justice in the sacred meaning of marriage. Emilia questions why men have a permission to change women and make it look like a sport. If women are not allowed to do same, then why man seem to fully have this right?

Emilia continually uses repetition of men’s “sport… affection… frailty” with that of the women’s “affection…sport…frailty”. Here woman makes her verdict. Females and males are equally human in the desires they have. Traditional characteristics that fit in with one of the genders in the discourse are obviously the qualities of the both. The point that Emilia was trying to prove is in itself an extraordinary opinion and recognition for the early 17^th century world, “a place with its own distinct rules and male-dominated social hierarchy.” (Guardian)

The very simple fact is that both men and women have bodies and it is these bodies that make them equal. Thus, both genders have an equal right for their recognition despite the existing hierarchy of the social structure. And if not? If not, woman is brave enough to respond that “then… the ills we do, their ills instruct us so.” Emilia is a clever woman to utilize the actual hierarchical state of things between the women and men. Woman warns that if treated unfairly, men should note that with power comes the sense of responsibility. If males are traditionally established to be morally superior to females, then they have to expect that their examples will be followed.

I agree that the speech of Emilia is indeed a Renaissance plea for women’s rights. Moreover, at the end she even tries to create a bond of sisterhood between herself and Desdemona calling themselves a “we”. After her marriage failed to provide her with at least a good companion, Emilia was brave enough to make this effort at least in her speech and rebel. “Emilia is sensational for her time”. (The Observer) She was probably one of few in her era but it was only the beginning. Desdemona failed to recognize the rightness of Emilia’s points and until her death remained in a usual submissive position. She never managed to break though the system. But the last words of Emilia are striking. She attempted to speak the truth at the hour of her own death. It was important for her to be faithful to herself until the very end and be able to express her thoughts… “So speaking as I think… I die.”

Works Cited

Brantley, Ben. “The General in His High-Tech Labyrinth.” The New York Times. 28 September 2009: 14

Gardner, Lyn. “Othello.” http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/sep/29/theatre. Shakespeare Guardian Newspaper. 29 September 2008

Kellaway, Kate. “A Desdemona to Die.” The Observer. 27 May 2007: C1

Shakespeare, William. “Othello.” Washington Square Press. 1993.