Role of Women in Othello In William Shakespeare's tragic drama, Othello, the protagonist's wife, Desdemona, is the female protagonist. Secondly there is the old man's wife, Emilia, who is morally ambivalent. Thirdly there is Michele Cassio's fiancée, Bianca, who makes her appearance later in the play. This essay will analyze the roles of these three women. At the beginning of the play Iago convinces Desdemona's rejected suitor, Roderigo, to accompany him to the home of Brabantio, Desdemona's father, in the middle of the night. Once there the two wake up the senator by shouting loudly about his daughter's escape with Othello. This is the initial reference to the role of women in the play: the role of the wife. In response to the noise and Iago's vulgar descriptions of Desdemona's involvement with the general, Brabantio gets out of bed. Iago's obscene references to the senator's daughter present a second role for the woman: that of illicit lover. With Roderigo's help, he assembles a search party to go find Desdemona and bring her home. The father's attitude is that life without his Desdemona will be much worse than before: it is too real an evil: she is gone; and what comes of my despised time will be nothing but bitterness. (1.1) Here we see another role or function of women in the drama: that of consoler for the elderly. Brabantio is the old father and hates to lose the comforting services of his Desdemona. The daughter's husband, Othello, expresses to Iago his feelings regarding his affair with the senator's daughter, saying that I love the gentle Desdemona, I would not have my free, unhoused condition put in constituency...... half sheet......y true!” and accuses him of lying: You told a lie, a hateful, damned lie; On my soul, a lie, an evil lie. She is false to Cassio! (5.2) Then he accuses him of having provoked the murder: “And your complaints triggered the murder”. Emilia's extraordinary interrogation and conviction of her husband as the evil mastermind behind the crime results in Iago's killing. The despondent Othello, pained by remorse for the tragic mistake he made, stabs himself and dies on the bed next to his wife. It is thus seen that the roles of women are many and varied - and are fundamental to the successful development of the story.WORKS CITEDShakespeare, William. Othello. In Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No lines n..