If any wretch have put this in your head,
Let heaven requite it with the serpent’s curse!
For, if she be not honest, chaste, and true,
There’s no man happy; the purest of their wives
Is foul as slander.
– William Shakespeare
Othello, Act 4, Scene 2. Desdemona’s loyal handmaid Emilia criticizes Othello for doubting his wife’s fidelity. She describes Desdemona as the perfect model woman and wife – "honest, chaste and true." Ironically the very perceptive Emilia is right on the nail in questioning if Othello’s suspicions are the result of a "wretch" planting deceptive ideas into his head. She asks God to curse such a person like He cursed the Devil serpent in the Garden of Eden. Little does she know yet that the "wretch" is her husband Iago. Emilia the feminist highlights the subjugation of women within marriage. Using a simile, "foul as slander," she argues that the purest of wives can can be slandered and their reputation ruined by a husband like Othello. The sisterly bond beween Emilia and Desdmona symbolizes the importance of female solidarity in a male dominated society.