Again, please e-mail me if you have any questions or want to share any thoughst with me. I would love to hear from you.
Despite this failure on Emilia's part, she turns out to be the wisest of all the characters. She does not have the fault of self-righteousness which, if we must lay one on Desdemona, that is it. Unlike Desdemona, Emilia knows that there is evil in the world, that women cheat on their husbands as hubands do on wives, and that she herself would cheat on her husabnd and commit adultery if she could get him the whole world.
Emilia is also courageous enough to stand up to Othello and tell him that he is mistaken if he believes his wife a whore. She knows that if Desdemona is not pure than the world is at odds with itself and will crumble. She would even stake her life on her innocence and tells Othello that if he belives her unfaithful, then he is being mislead. Emilia knows that there is a scoundrel behind Othello's jealous rage, but Othello cannot believe a mere woman.
Ulitmately, Emilia does sacrifice her life for justice. She refuses to keep her mouth closed as her husabnd orders her. She tells those around Desdeomna's deathbed that Othello has murdered his wife and that Iago has convinced him to do it. Emilia is a no-nonsense, straight forward character. It is too bad that she was not this honest and straight forward when she found the handkerchief.