In Othello, where is Emilias loyalty?
In Act 3, Emilia is clearly loyal to her husband. She steals the handkerchief because Iago bade her to and she remains silent when Othello questions Desdemona as to its whereabouts. But at the end of the play in Act 5, Emilia’s loyalties change. She cares not for Othello’s sword, and she will vouch for Desdemona’s faithfulness even if it means her own death. When she finds out that Iago is the instigator of the slander against her mistress, Emilia does not hesitate to tell the truth about the handkerchief even if it means that she will “ne’er go home again.’ Emilia becomes heroic at the end of the play, and she is the one who makes Othello understand the wrongness of his action, clears Desdemona’s name, and exposes Iago for the villain that he is. She is loyal to Desdemona, wanting to die by her mistress’s side, but she is more loyal to Truth.
