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Marriage Relationships in Julius Caesar Essay

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Marriage Relationships in Julius Caesar

The relationship between Brutus and Portia is of a loving one. Portia speaks to Brutus gently calling him, 'my dear lord' and `gentle' this actually shows that Portia respects and honors Brutus. Brutus also replies her gently and expresses his love for her in the lines `render me worthy of this noble wife' and `as dear to me as are the ruddy drops/that visits my sad heart'. In these lines, Brutus says that Portia is as dear to him as the blood in his heart. This shows that they have mutual respect as well as love.

While the love between Portia and Brutus is equally reciprocated, we can see and contrast Calphurnia's love for Caesar this way. Portias' concern for Brutus …show more content…

Caesar assumes the stand that the time of death is all decided in the heavens and `will come when it will come'. His obvious oppositions to his wife's opinion are an indication that her thoughts and opinions are not taken seriously and considered. Brutus on the other hand tries his best to cooperate with his wife and makes an effort to find out about the troubles and worries that she have. Brutus was the first to acknowledge his wife's presence and to ask about her, which highlight his sensitivity to her. After Portia explains her concerns, Brutus tries his best to assure her that everything is fine.

Portia kneels at the start of her conversation with Brutus. This shows that she is not ashamed of begging her husband to for his own benefit. She evens stabs herself in the thigh to convince Brutus that she us able to keep his troubles to herself. Calphurnia on the other hand, kneels only at the end of her conversation, when she is desperate. Calphurnia also does not make any physical sacrifices while Portia stabs herself in the thigh. She instead offers to sacrifice her public reputation, giving Caesar permission to use her cowardly fear as an excuse for his absence from the senate.

The husbands' reaction to their wives sacrifice is also different. After Portia stabs herself, Brutus exclaims that she is a `noble wife' and agrees to let her in on the conspiracy. Caesar reluctantly agrees to

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