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Palamon
Emilia is Hippolyta’s younger sister and Theseus’s sister-in-law. Before Arcite and Palamon arrive in Athens, Emilia has little interest in men or marriage and spends her days admiring flowers. Moreover, there are subtle moments throughout the play that might suggest that Emilia engages in acts of physical intimacy with her female servants. Emilia conveys her disinterest in marriage in a conversation with Hippolyta. She recalls her profound love for Flavina, a childhood friend who died when both girls were 11 years old. Emilia believes that she’s incapable of loving a man like she loved Flavina. While Hippolyta predicts Emilia will change her mind someday, Emilia respectfully disagrees. Furthermore, Emilia only agrees to marry Palamon or Arcite to uphold her end of the compromise she reaches with Theseus in her attempt to spare the cousins’ lives. Emilia’s later inability to decide which cousin she’d prefer to marry reflects her continued indifference about marriage. To Emilia, Arcite and Palamon are equally attractive, noble, and superior to her. But Emilia’s indecision also reflects her compassionate and sympathetic nature: she can’t bear to choose one cousin and leave the other to die. Another essential part of Emilia’s character is her sense of duty. Emilia’s prayers to Diana in Act 5 reveal her desire to preserve her chastity and remain unwed. Nevertheless, she accepts her calling to marry the victor of Arcite and Palamon’s duel and resolves to marry whichever cousin the gods select for her. The limitations society places on women make Emilia more perceptive and critical of certain social norms. Unlike many of the play’s male characters, Emilia is unimpressed by Palamon and Arcite’s heroic battle to win her love. Instead, she laments how the cousins’ unchecked chivalry results in senseless bloodshed and the dissolution of their friendship, a bond Emilia recognizes as more profoundly meaningful than their sudden, frenzied love for her.
Emilia Quotes in The Two Noble Kinsmen
The The Two Noble Kinsmen quotes below are all either spoken by Emilia or refer to Emilia. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act 1, Scene 3 Quotes
Their knot of love,
Tied, weaved, entangled, with so true, so long,
And with a finger of so deep a cunning,
May be outworn, never undone. I think
Theseus cannot be umpire to himself,
Cleaving his conscience into twin and doing
Each side like justice, which he loves best.
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You’re out of breath,
And this high-speeded pace is but to say
That you shall never—like the maid Flavina—
Love any that’s called man.
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Act 1, Scene 4 Quotes
Th’ impartial gods, who from the mounted heavens
View us their mortal herd, behold who err
And, in their time, chastise.
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Act 2, Scene 2 Quotes
Yet, cousin,
Even from the bottom of these miseries,
From all that fortune can inflict upon us,
I see two comforts rising, two mere blessings,
If the gods please: to hold here a brave patience,
And the enjoying of our griefs together.
Whilst Palamon is with me, let me perish
If I think this our prison!
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Men are mad things.
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It is the very emblem of a maid.
For when the west wind courts her gently,
How modestly she blows and paints the sun
With her chaste blushes! When the north comes near her,
Rude and impatient, then, like chastity,
She locks her beauties in her bud again,
And leave him to base briers.
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Have I called thee friend?
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I shall live
To knock thy brains out[.]
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Act 2, Scene 4 Quotes
[…] To marry him is hopeless;
To be his whore is witless.
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Act 2, Scene 5 Quotes
Mark how his virtue, like a hidden sun,
Breaks through his baser garments
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Act 3, Scene 6 Quotes
Here, Palamon. This hand shall never more
Come near thee with such friendship.
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I’ll be cut a-pieces
Before I take this oath!
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No, never duke. ’Tis worse to me than begging
To take my life so basely; though I think
I shall never enjoy her, yet I’ll preserve
The honor of affection, and die for her,
Make death a devil!
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Act 4, Scene 2 Quotes
What sins have I committed, chaste Diana,
That my unspotted youth must now be soiled
With blood of princes, and my chastity
Be made the altar where the lives of lovers—
Two greater and two better never yet
Made mothers joy—must be the sacrifice
To my unhappy beauty?
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’Tis pity love should be so tyrannous.—
O, my soft-hearted sister, what think you?
Weep not till they weep blood. Wench, it must be.
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Poor wench, go weep, for whosoever wins
Loses a noble cousin for thy sins.
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Act 5, Scene 1 Quotes
Hail, sovereign queen of secrets, who hast power
To call the fiercest tyrant from his rage
And weep unto a girl[.]
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Act 5, Scene 3 Quotes
Is this winning?
O all you heavenly powers, where is your mercy?
But that your wills have said it must be so,
And charge me live to comfort this unfriended,
This miserable prince, that cuts away
a life more worthy from him than all women,
I should and would die too.
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Infinite pity
That four such eyes should be so fixed on one
That two must needs be blind for ‘t.
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Act 5, Scene 4 Quotes
His part is played, and though it were too short,
He did it well.
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[…] O you heavenly charmers,
What things you make of us! For what we lack
We laugh, for what we have are sorry, still
Are children in some kind.
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Emilia Character Timeline in The Two Noble Kinsmen
The timeline below shows where the character Emilia appears in The Two Noble Kinsmen. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1, Scene 1
...Hippolyta, his bride, enters next, escorted by Pirithous and wearing a garland on her head. Emilia enters after Hippolyta, followed by their attendants. The boy sings a song about the flowers...
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...then, Three Queens dressed in black and wearing veils enter and kneel before Hippolyta’s sister, Emilia. The First Queen begs Theseus to hear their request, and the Second and Third Queens...
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The Second Queen rises, and the Third Queen kneels to address Emilia. Emilia sees the Queen’s tear-streaked face and orders her to rise. The Third Queen tells...
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...him to strongly consider helping the Three Queens as soon as possible. The Queens beg Emilia to appeal to Theseus, as well. Emilia tells Theseus that she’ll never ask him for...
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Act 1, Scene 3
Pirithous, Hippolyta, and Emilia enter the temple. Before Pirithous leaves, Hippolyta asks him to send her best wishes to...
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After Pirithous leaves, Emilia asks Hippolyta if she’s noticed how Pirithous has lost interest in everything since Theseus left:...
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Emilia remembers her close childhood friend, Flavina, who died when they were only 11 years old....
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Act 2, Scene 2
...friendship. Arcite insists that even after they die, their spirits will remain intertwined. Just then, Emilia and her Woman enter below. Emilia asks about a specific flower, and her Woman tells...
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...what’s bothering him. Palamon replies, “Never till now I was in prison, Arcite,” and proclaims Emilia to be “a goddess.” Arcite laughs, but Palamon doesn’t budge. Emilia continues to browse the...
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Emilia and her Woman move inside. Palamon and Arcite rave about Emilia’s beauty. When they both...
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Arcite insists that he has just as much a right to love Emilia as Palamon does. He claims that he’s always been a faithful friend to Palamon and...
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...in a duel. He threatens to kill Arcite if he looks out the window at Emilia one more time. Arcite smugly tells Palamon he’ll jump out the window and into Emilia’s...
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...Arcite. He wonders if Theseus has noticed Arcite’s noble appearance and selected him to marry Emilia. Palamon directs his attention toward the garden outside his cell and longs to be a...
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...bemoans Arcite’s luck: now that he’s free, he can prove himself “a worthy lover” of Emilia by exhibiting bravery in battle—all out of spite toward Palamon.
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Act 2, Scene 3
...his good luck at being free while bemoaning his banishment, which inhibits him from seeing Emilia. In contrast, Palamon is lucky because he can look out the window and gaze upon...
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...games in disguise, win prizes, and, in so doing, prove himself an honorable suitor for Emilia.
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Act 2, Scene 5
Cornets sound to mark the entrance of Theseus, Hippolyta, Pirithous, Emilia, and Arcite (who’s in disguise). Theseus compliments Arcite on his admirable wrestling, comparing him to...
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...sure Arcite is taken care of. Pirithous gives Arcite the “most noble” job of serving Emilia, who promises to treat Arcite better than his lowly rank deserves.
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...He tells Arcite he has won the honor of leading the group. Theseus turns to Emilia and tells her she has a servant who “would be [Theseus’] master,” but tells Emilia...
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Act 3, Scene 1
...Hippolyta have parted ways to attend to their respective May Day responsibilities. Arcite thinks about Emilia, whose beauty would “challenge too the bank of any nymph / That makes the stream...
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...hands were unshackled and free to grasp a sword. Palamon accuses Arcite of lying about Emilia being his and proclaims his cousin to be “A very thief in love, a chaffy...
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...if Arcite can bring him some food. He promises that if Arcite is truthful about Emilia being his, he’ll forgive Arcite for his betrayal. Even if Arcite should kill Palamon, Palamon...
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...on having the last word and tells Arcite to remember that when Arcite looks at Emilia, he looks at Palamon’s mistress. When Arcite tries to interject, Palamon cuts him off. He...
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Act 3, Scene 3
...[Palamon] first.” Arcite toasts to Palamon’s health and drinks. When he promises not to mention Emilia, Palamon gives in and drinks. Afterward, Palamon ravenously feasts on the meat Arcite brought him....
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Act 3, Scene 5
Theseus, Pirithous, Hippolyta, and Emilia enter. Theseus orders the Schoolmaster to proceed, and the Schoolmaster gives a lengthy introduction about...
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Act 3, Scene 6
...Arcite that he will kill him for getting in the way of his love for Emilia. Arcite tells Palamon that dying comes as naturally to him as speaking or sleeping, but...
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Just then, Theseus, Hippolyta, Emilia, and Pirithous arrive. When Theseus spots the dueling knights, he calls them traitors and angrily...
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...acted disobediently after Palamon denied that he had been an honorable and worthy servant to Emilia, whom he loves. Arcite suggests that Emilia decide whether or not he’s a traitor.
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...as he can kill Arcite slightly earlier so he can be sure Arcite never has Emilia. Theseus honors Palamon’s request, citing the undeserved mercy he showed Arcite by freeing him after...
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Hippolyta turns to Emilia and pleads with her to show mercy on the men and beg Theseus not to...
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Theseus asks Emilia what she’d suggest as an alternative to killing the cousins. Emilia suggests banishment. However, Theseus...
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Emilia reminds Theseus that he made this oath in a state of anger. She also reminds...
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...proclaims that he’ll kill himself before taking such an oath and forgetting his love for Emilia. He reaffirms his duty to kill Arcite. Arcite, too, refuses to take the oath. Even...
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Emilia refuses to have any part in either cousin’s death. Theseus draws up a new agreement:...
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Act 4, Scene 1
...First Friend tells him that—with a few conditions—Theseus will pardon the cousins due to Hippolyta, Emilia, and Pirithous’s urging. However, there’s nothing new to report regarding the Jailer’s fate. Second Friend...
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Act 4, Scene 2
Emilia sits alone, holding two portraits: one of Arcite and one of Palamon. She resolves to...
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Next, Emilia turns to Palamon’s picture and determines that he is Arcite’s foil: Palamon isn’t nearly as...
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Emilia drops to her knees and asks for forgiveness. She first addresses Palamon, whom she sees...
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A Gentleman enters Emilia’s room to inform her of the knights' arrival. Emilia laments her impossible predicament and invokes...
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...Theseus orders the attendants to send in Palamon, Arcite, and their assembled knights. Theseus tells Emilia she must love one of the cousins; Emilia wishes she didn’t have to choose so...
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Emilia asks if these men have to die, too. Pirithous interjects to note this second knight’s...
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...seeing the brave knights fight, though she wishes love weren’t “so tyrannous.” She turns to Emilia and begs her not to cry. Theseus tells Emilia that she “ha[s] steeled ’em with...
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Everyone exits but Emilia, who bemoans her impossible situation: “Poor wench, go weep, for whosoever wins / Loses a...
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Act 4, Scene 3
The Jailer’s Daughter enters and utters nonsense about Emilia’s schoolmaster, Geraldo. She claims that Dido will see Palamon in the afterlife, fall in love...
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Act 5, Scene 1
Emilia enters dressed in white and accompanied by her maids. She wears a wheaten wreath on...
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...from the alter, and a rose tree bearing a single rose appears in its place. Emilia interprets the rose to mean that both knights will lose the battle, and she will...
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Act 5, Scene 3
Theseus, Hippolyta, Emilia, and their attendants head toward the battlefield. Emilia refuses to go any further, not wanting...
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Alone, Emilia compares Arcite’s and Palamon’s portraits. She remarks on Arcite’s gentle but intense face and his...
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Emilia hears horns that signal the first charge, and she anguishes over the battle’s potential outcomes....
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A Servant enters and tells Emilia that the crowd is shouting “À Palamon,” which means Arcite has lost. Emilia offers her...
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The Servant returns and tells Emilia that although Palamon nearly pressed Arcite’s body to the pyramid, Arcite fought back and remains...
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Emilia hears cornets blaring from the battlefield, and the crowd cheers, “Arcite, victory!” The Servant reenters...
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Theseus, Hippolyta, Pirithous, Arcite, and their Attendants enter. Theseus turns to Emilia and proclaims that the gods have given her a knight. Arcite addresses Emilia and tells...
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Theseus orders Arcite to wear the garland he’s won and claim his rightful prize, Emilia. He orders the losers to receive their punishment, which is something they must surely want,...
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Act 5, Scene 4
According to Pirithous, Arcite was riding a black horse Emilia gave him. The horse didn’t have a single white hair on it, which is a...
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Theseus, Hippolyta, and Emilia enter with Arcite, who is seated in a chair. Palamon laments the tragic end the...
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Palamon praises Arcite. Emilia closes Arcite's eyes. She cries as she tells him what a good man he was....
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...himself, as “they themselves become / The executioners.” Theseus orders Palamon to go off with Emilia and vows to treat Palamon’s Knights as friends. The court will hold a funeral for...
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