But I do think it is their husbands’ faults
If wives do fall: say that they slack their duties,
And pour our treasures into foreign laps,
Or else break out in peevish jealousies,
Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us,
Or scant our former having in despite;
Why, we have galls, and though we have some grace,
Yet have we some revenge.
– William Shakespeare
Othello, Act 4, Scene 3. Emilia refuses to condemn a wife for being unfaithful, but instead blames the husband for driving her to promiscuity. Using "treasures" as a metaphor for lovemaking, she says that unfaithful men neglect wives sexual needs and pour the seed that is rightfully theirs into other women. Or they impose restrains on wives out of jealousy, or physically abuse them. So women seek revenge by cheating too. Emilia is speaking about the role of women to Desdemona, whose husband Othello is consumed with jealousy and hit her in an earlier scene. Believing strongly in female equality,she is highlighting the double standard women face in male-female sexual relations.