Let husbands know
Their wives have sense like them: they see and smell
And have their palates both for sweet and sour,
As husbands have. What is it that they do
When they change us for others? Is it sport?
I think it is: and doth affection breed it?
I think it doth: is ‘t frailty that thus errs?
It is so too: and have not we affections,
Desires for sport, and frailty, as men have?
Then let them use us well: else let them know,
The ills we do, their ills instruct us so.
– William Shakespeare
Othello, Act 4, Scene 3. This speech by Emilia is often referred to as her "feminist speech." In it she breaks down gender barriers and challenges the sexual double standard that exists regarding gender and fidelity. When it comes to married men having affairs, she believes that what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Wives share the same senses, palates, frailties, affections and sexual desires as men, she points out. In her plea for women’s liberation and equality in marriage, she warns that husbands should treat their wives well. Otherwise the bad things wives do, they will have learned them from their husbands. Emilia’s speech mirrors Shylock’s famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech in The Merchant of Venice. It is also about double standards, Shylock arguing that if it’s right for one group to behave in a certain way, then it’s right for all groups.