Grace Bedford
Professor James H. Murphy
ENG-228-602
Othello Act 5
Iago, Emilia, and Cassio
Throughout the entire play, I couldn’t seem to find anything that Cassio did to show why
Othello would have chosen him as his lieutenant; I found Cassio to be pretty ineffectual. I
realize the importance of his role in the play (i.e., Iago’s using him to stir up Othello’s jealousy
and ultimate madness), but I think his character could have been totally eliminated. I wonder if
Iago, long before the play even opens, had anything to do with Othello choosing Cassio as his
lieutenant. Perhaps Iago recognized Cassio’s weak character (e.g., earlier in the play Iago gets
Cassio drunk knowing that Cassio can’t handle his drink); and Othello’s own weaknesses (e.g.,
insecurities caused from his being from a different culture), knowing that he could rid the two of
them with hopes of eventually taking over as ruler of Cyprus himself.
Emilia, Iago’s wife, unknowingly helps him with his plan to convince Othello that
Desdemona is sleeping with Cassio by stealing the handkerchief for him. Though she doesn’t
know why he wants it, she gives it to him because she wants to make him happy. In my opinion,
though Emilia might have been from a lower class, she portrays a very noble character; she
remains loyal and dedicated to those she loves, until she is given real reason not to. She tells
Othello that he was a fool to believe that Desdemona was anything other than faithful to and in
love with him. I believe that she even loved Iago, until she finds out from Othello that
Desdemona is dead because he believed that she had been unfaithful to him with Cassio. “My
husband?” she asks Othello several times when he tells her that it was Iago who told him “[t]hat
she was false in wedlock” (V.2.173). Because she recognized that Desdemona truly loved
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Othello and because of that love would never have been unfaithful to Othello, she is convinced
that Iago lied about Desdemona and Cassio—and calls him a villain. Emilia’s proof of
Desdemona’s faithfulness to Othello, unlike Othello’s, was based on Desdemona’s character
alone, not on what others said about her. When Iago appears, Emilia stands up to him. When he
tells her to “[c]harm [her] tongue” (V.2.219), she refuses telling him that she is “bound to speak”
(V.2.220); when he tells her to go home (V.2.231), she replies “Tis proper I obey him, but not
now” (V.2.233). She reveals the truth about the handkerchief, defending Desdemona’s honor
even after she is dead and exposing Iago’s deception, to which he can only reply “Villainous
whore” (V.2.273).
Without any doubt, I believe that Iago has the strongest character—he is by far the most
clever. I tried to convince myself throughout the play that he was insane, but now believe that he
was in fact ingenious—he remains deceitful throughout the play, overcoming any obstacles that
get in his way regardless of who is involved, what action he must take, and who he must engage
in order to accomplish what he needs done. Earlier in the play, Iago encourages Roderigo, who
wants back the gifts he believed had been give to Desdemona, to kill Cassio, which would delay
Othello’s and Desdemona’s departure and buy Roderigo more time to woo Desdemona.
Scene 5 Act 1 begins with Iago and Roderigo waiting for Cassio to show up so that
Roderigo can kill him. When Roderigo draws his sword as Cassio is approaching, Iago decides
it really does not matter who ends up killing who—he believes he’ll gain either way. He says
that if Roderigo lives, he will want back all the gold and jewels that Iago took from him; and if
Cassio lives, “he has a daily beauty in his life that makes [Iago] ugly” (V.1.20-1), showing for
the first time in the play that perhaps there is something about Iago that he himself does not like.
When Cassio approaches, Roderigo tries to kill him, but instead Cassio wounds him. Iago then
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stabs Cassio making it appear as if someone else did it and then having it seem like he’s
“rescuing” Cassio and killing Roderigo. Also in Act 5 is when Emilia reveals the truth about the
handkerchief, at which time Iago kills her.
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