In the play “Othello,” by William Shakespeare, there are two major feminine

figures that attract our attention. These are women with different auras about the and

they are; Desdemona the wife of Othello and Emilia the wife of Iago. They are part and

parcel of what goes on in the play and eventually how the crisis of the play is resolved.

These two females of the play can be compared and contrasted in a number of ways.

They are both the wives of soldiers and powerful fighting men. They are similar in the

way they both fit into Iago’s plot and exit the play in similar fashion. But, they contrast

greatly in the way their husbands view them.

To begin, both Desdemona and Emilia are the wives of men of action. Their

husbands are in the Venetian military and not just ordinary men but men who hold

positions and value. Desdemona is the wife of Othello who is a General in the army with

men under his command. Emilia’s husband is Iago who is the ancient of Othello. So it

can clearly be seen that these ladies are subjects to their husbands and as it is with

military wives they should adhere to what their husbands tell them to do.

Next, two ladies are also similar in the manner they fit in Iago’s plot of

destruction. Unknowingly to both Desdemona and Emilia, they both play right into Iago’s

master plan of destruction. Desdemona tries innocently to help another soldier, Cassio,

come back into the favor of Othello but she is seen as a great opportunity to Iago. He uses

this opportunity to poison Othello’s mind that his wife is unfaithful. Iago also uses his

own wife Emilia in his plan so that she does not even suspect it until it is too late. The

perfect plot was when Iago had his wife steal Desdemona’s handkerchief. These ladies

both come to a tragic end as a result of Iago’s scheming. Their own husbands kill them

both.

Finally, there is the great contrast between these two women. It is the way they

are viewed by their own husbands. In the beginning of the play, there is Desdemona and

Othello who are very much in love and treat each other with love and compassion. They

were genuinely a happy couple who could be seen and appreciated for their good fortune

in each other. On the other hand, there is Emilia and Iago, a totally different couple

altogether. They can be seen as a couple but, they are not ideal. They tend to bicker and

fight which is a one sided argument since Iago is the one to be doing most of the talking.

They are totally the opposite of Othello and Desdemona.

In conclusion, it should be clearly seen that there are similarities and differences

between the two main female characters of the play; Desdemona and Emilia. They are the

subjects of their husbands and are supposed to be faithful. Both ladies are similar in their

choice of husbands, both being men of action and in the military. They also both

unknowingly carry out parts of Iago’s plot and end up in the same fate, death by the

hands of their own husbands. However, both Desdemona and Emilia are different in the

manner in which their husbands treat them. Desdemona is different because Othello treats

her with love and a certain degree of respect. Emilia has it worst to put up with Iago and

put up with his insults. So here we have it, these two women although they are of

different social circles, they are alike and different in some very interesting ways.