The play’s central female friendship between Desdemona and Emilia inspires resistance and the courage to speak the truth, resulting in Iago’s exposure and Desdemona’s exoneration. Friendship offers protection, solace, and—finally—redemption as Desdemona and Emilia struggle to navigate and survive in a violent, male-dominated world. Emilia and Desdemona are fundamentally ‘unlike:’ maidservant and gentlewoman, older and younger, sexually experienced and naïve. But the qualities they share are more important than what sets them apart: both are wives and women, isolated and alone in a foreign land at war. Desdemona and Emilia turn to each other for companionship and comfort, and discover an equal in intelligence, virtue, loyalty, and generosity. As the play progresses, the bond between Desdemona and Emilia is strengthened by shared experiences of abuse and increasing fear of male violence.
The two women are expected to obey and submit to their husbands in exchange for financial security and protection, but as Othello’s jealousy builds it falls to Emilia to educate Desdemona on the realities of married life. She tells Desdemona "They are all but stomachs, and we all but food; / They eat us hungerly, and when they are full / They belch us”.
As the world Desdemona thought she understood and the man she thought she loved unravels, and the play descends into violent madness, Emilia’s friendship represents a lifeline for Desdemona. Desdemona’s despair culminates in Act 4, Scene 3—also known as the Willow Song scene—one of the few scenes in Shakespeare’s canon where women occupy the stage alone and unobserved. The Willow Song scene provides a much-needed respite from chaos and violence as the wrenching, pure pain of Desdemona’s song underscores her innocence and fidelity. Affection for and duty to her friend inspires Emilia to speak freely and courageously, regardless of propriety or the threat of retaliation. She calls upon her role as friend to shake Desdemona from all-encompassing despair and to mount an attack on pervasive, insidious male hypocrisy "I do think it is their husbands’ faults / If wives do fall".
Carol Thomas says ""friendship between women is established" with Desdemona and Emilia. Bloom says "Emilia's loyalty to her friend... is what remains whole in the debacle of Othello". Carol Thomas says "Emilia is the foil for Desdemona and corrects Desdemona's occasional naivete". This suggests Emilia is essential to help Desdemona navigate an adult world.