Othello Act II

pg 1119, Question 3 "Are there any foil characters? What dramatic functions are served by the various minor characters? Do they shed light on the actions or motives of the major characters?"

"Come on, come on. You are pictures out of doors,
Bells in your parlors, wildcats in your kitchens,
Saints in your injuries, devils being offended,
Players in your housewifery, and housewives in your beds."
Act II, Scene i, lines 109-112

There are obvious tensions between the women and men so far in this play. An instance of this occurred when Iago, Iago's wife, Emilia, and Desdemona all had a conversation about women. Iago regards women as objects that are, "To suckle fools and chronicle small beer" (II, i, 159). Emilia's reaction to how her husband treats her is very quiet and submissive. She does not argue with what he has to say and we see the opposite reaction in Desdemona, who challenges Iago's words. Emilia and Desdemona are foil characters because their personalities contrast one another. Emilia is reserved and passive while Desdemona is aggressive and opinionated. These characters shine a light upon Iago's character: they reveal that Iago has a controlling attitude, because his wife Emilia quietly agrees with what Iago says. On the other hand, those who do not know Iago very well, like Desdemona, are appalled that a man could say such things about women. This conversation about ideal women portrays Iago's true character to the audience, without any need for a soliloquy. Iago is blunt, set in his ways, and he is not affected by what others may think. These qualities of Iago are possibly reasons for his plotting against Othello and Cassio.
Iago is very clever too and this is seen throughout Act II. He knows how to convince people into doing things they probably wouldn't otherwise do; for example, Iago was able to get Cassio drunk and he also was able to comfort Roderigo's worries that his money was almost spent (II, iii, 328) by saying that time would allow for the 'fruits to blossom.'
Seeing how Iago has managed to create mischief through manipulation thus far in the play leads me to believe even more serious plotting is to come...