It can be said that when characters refuse to change, it brings about a fatal end. For example, in Romeo and Juliet, the adult Montagues and Capulets refuse to co-operate, which ultimately leads to the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet at the end of the play. However, in the case of Othello, although Othello and Emilia both have changed by the end, with Othello's change caused by Iago's manipulation and Emilia's being a final stand against her cruel husband, they both die in the last scene of the play. Therefore, perhaps it is not accurate to say that not changing is fatal, but that change may in fact lead to tragedy, however unjustified.
It is clear that throughout the play we see Othello change from being confident in his relationship with Desdemona to rapidly becoming more insecure and paranoid about being cuckolded by Desdemona, which, in the Shakespearean era would have been an insult to his reputation and honour as the woman would have been in control of the
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In Act 3 Scene 3, she is arguably portrayed as the typical submissive Elizabethan wife as she gives Desdemona's precious handkerchief to her husband Iago to 'please his fantasy'. A feminist viewpoint would link this to the subservience of women in society in the Shakespearean era, and how they were expected to obey their husbands at all times. However, by Act 4 Scene 3, she appears to be critical of marriage, saying that she would cuckold her husband 'to make him a monarch', and that 'it is their husbands' faults/If wives do fall'. By the end of the play, Emilia is aware of her place in society at the time- 'Tis proper I obey him', nevertheless she decides to reveal her husband's plotting despite having previously been loyal to him. However, this change in attitude towards her husband and marriage in general by the end of the play provokes Iago to murder her, and therefore it can be argued that the change that occurs within Emilia caused her tragic