female relationships

Question 1

‘This Lodivco is a proper man’/’a very handsome man’

Answer 1

While Emilia’s measure of love is on appearance, showing her disillusionment with male personalities, Desdemona’s attraction is based on a spiritual level showing her idealised view that allows her to love deeply, maybe even too deeply

Question 2

‘Thou art rash as fire to say/ that she was false. O, she was heavenly true.

Answer 2

Emilia combats Othello’s helli.sh description of Desdemona with light and heaven, revealing the truth of her mistress and showing the solidarity between females

Question 3

‘Lay me by my mistress’ side’/ ‘I will play the swan and die in music’

Answer 3

Swan is an image of wisdom s.howing Emilia’s overall function, which is to depict the truth under a patriarchal society - she wants to be by Desdemona and the image of the two women dead next to one another with the men around emphasises patriarchy