M.q. Pilling

The Ensign's Wife M.q. Pilling

The structure of the novel moves between Emilia's own reminiscences and details of Emilia's life, birth and upbringing told through the voice of the family confessor. Emilia is from Chioggia, one of lagoon islands of Venice. She is betrothed to and marries Ensign Iago, the famous villain of Shakespeare's play, Othello. The story moves between the Doge's prison in Venice and the events leading up to Emilia's arrest for treason against the Venetian state. The descriptions of Chioggia, Venice and Cyprus are true to the layout of those sites from the 1600's and for the most part, today. Only slight changes are made to Shakespeare's storyline to develop the character of Emilia, the outspoken woman who ultimately exposes Iago's intrigue. The novel is set in the 1600's in Venice. A possible treason has taken place in Cyprus. The woman wounded in Cyprus, Emilia, is taken under guard to the prison in the Doge's palace in Venice accused of treachery against the Republic. Emilia is the sole survivor of the murders and suicide that have shaken the Republic and she is implicated for her role in the plot. It is clear that politics will engineer the outcome of Emilia's trial.