Portia and Calpurnia in the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare were the wives of Brutus and Caesar. They had many more privileges at that time than most women because they were the wives of great noble Romans, and of course Calpurnia was the wife of the leader Julius Caesar. Since Brutus’ wife, Portia, was the daughter of the successful leader Cato, she was a very powerful Roman. But, they still were treated far from equals of their superior, their husbands. As wives of these specific Romans, they were treated with much higher respect than most women were at that time. Portia as an individual was described as pure in nature, youthful, and very beautiful. I believe that she took being a Roman woman to be quite difficult, and felt very underappreciated because of it. She wanted to show Brutus that she was worthy of his trust and to prove her worth to him, she cut open her thigh. She expresses her feelings of being his wife and a Roman women at that time in part of her monologue; “Therefore fear not, but tell me all you are concealing from me, for neither fire, nor lashes, nor goads will force me to divulge a word; I was not born to that extent a woman. Hence, if you still distrust me, it is better for me to die than to live; otherwise let no one think me longer the daughter of Cato or your wife.” All in all, she felt that she was less of a person, although being the daughter of Cato and the wife of Brutus, she still did not feel as though she would ever be able to
In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Caesar has become overly ambitious, so a group of men conspire to murder him. Many people and omens try to warn him of his doom, but he is too arrogant to think he will die. Calpurnia, his wife, tries to convince Caesar to stay at home; while Decius, one of the men who plots to kill him, insists that he comes to the Senate House. Calpurnia and Decius employ various rhetorical devices, which Calpurnia uses in an attempt to save Caesar from his fate, while Decius uses them to draw Caesar closer to his fate.
The basis of Shakespeare’s plays appears to focus mainly around the dominant male character and his conflicts, which tend to deal with a woman. There are only three women in the play Othello; Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca. The way in which these women behave and present themselves strongly reflects the ideological expectations of women within Shakespeare’s imagined Venetian society as well as the Elizabethan society in which he lived. This patriarchal Venetian society presented in the play depicts women as possessions of men who should remain submissive and meek at all times. The women are expected to unselfishly and unreservedly devote their lives to serve their fathers until they are of age to do so, their husbands. All three women love
In the play “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare, women play an important role. The women are important factors in foreshadowing and in the development of many of the characters. To look at the role of women in the play we must look deeper in to the roles of the only two women in the play; Calpurnia, wife of Caesar, and Portia, wife of Brutus. Both of these women are key in foreshadowing the murder of Caesar. After Caesar’s murder we do not hear much of either of them.
The only work that they could do was moneylender or something to similar. It is shown the idea of Shakespeare; he is a democrat, which means he is democratic in a traditional liberal sense of the world. In another way, he is all main equal and many of his plays show the women as the heroine and they are smarter than men, or just smart. In fact, with her idea, she solves the problem; she creates solutions in a way that is not normal exhibited from the society. However, it is possible to notice in this play that Portia has to disguise like a man, so it is notable the role of the women in this period. Shakespeare moved forward, he made a huge impact. He promoted a very democratic idea of the polis of sexist. A woman save the day of the Merchant, she was
Many people in history go through tragic situations that guide them towards suicide, the only last option in their mind. In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, three characters took away their own lives because of their troubles. Adversity reveals a person's true character as seen through the suicide of Portia, Cassius, and Brutus.
Draped in flowing teal cloth, Portia is a visual anomaly in comparison to the rest of the cast, who standardly is dressed in a strict uniform of white collared shirts, black kilts, and red sashes to accent. The stark contrast of just colour itself ostracizes Portia from the rest of the characters; a notable costuming choice, as she represents an entirely different dimension to the life of Brutus. In Julius Caesar. By William Shakespeare. Dir. Ron Jenkins. Shakespeare Company, Ground Zero Theatre, and Hit and Myth Productions, at Vertigo Theatre, Calgary. 06 October 2017. Performance, designer Victoria Krawchuk creates an archetype of Portia’s role in the show through costuming. Portia’s more traditional Roman look, an elegant dress and bare feet, resonate the image of a mythological goddess; symbols of both femininity and strength. Encompassing these characteristics perfectly, Portia acknowledges them herself in 2.1, 292-302, (Shakespeare, William. “Julius Caesar.” The Norton Shakespeare: Essential Plays, The Sonnets, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, Norton, 2016, pp. 1115-1180,) in which she states,
The critics and other readers of Shakespearean plays think that he treats women badly for a few reasons, one being that most of the women in his plays die a tragic death. One example is in the play, Julius Caesar. In this specific play, Portia who is Julius Caesar's wife kills herself by swallowing hot coals. Portia was highly respected in life, and in order to be highly respected in death, she felt that she had to show her bravery in an excruciatingly painful death. This shows that Shakespeare
In Shakespeare’s Othello, the role of women is greatly emphasized. The important characters of the play, Othello, Iago, and Cassio, each have a women that stands behind him. These women each have an obligation to remain loyal and respect their husband's wishes, especially Desdemona and Emilia.
The feminist critical perspective examines the roles that women play in literary works and their true significance to the text. Their roles are usually decided on by the society or time period in which the story is set. In "The Merchant of Venice," females were suppressed by the societal ideals of Shakespeare's Elizabethan era, which is portrayed through the characters of Portia and Jessica, who could not establish their own powerful identities because they were women. Portia and Jessica are the main female characters in the play. If they had been given a chance to show their skills, they undoubtedly would've been extremely strong women. However, they had to mask their abilities in order to appeal to their male counterparts. Their
n Shakespeare's play Othello many issues are undertaken and explored. The three women play a vital role in this. Only one of the women in this play survives. All the women have no separate identity within the play; all three are married or associated with a male character. Bianca is the mistress of Cassio, Emilia is married to Iago and Desdemona is married with Othello. According to the time that the play was written in and the general hierarchy within Venetian society men hold all the power and women are considered to be of low intellect. Yet it is the women that speak the most sense throughout the play and it is also the women that are able to trust other characters in the play. Each woman represents a different social level, Desdemona
In a cast of over 30 characters, there are only two women. This is a statement describing the world renown play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. These two female characters are Calpurnia, the wife of Julius Ceasar, and Portia, the wife of Marcus Brutus. Other than these two women, the cast is composed entirely of male characters. In a work of literature so populated by men, one may ask why Shakespeare takes the time to include any women at all. However, after further reflection, it is clear to see the reason as to why they are included. Upon including Calpurnia and Portia in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare deepens our understanding of their husbands, highlights the social values of the time, and
From the expansion days of Ancient Rome to the fall of the Roman Empire, women have always succumbed to living subjacent to the status of their omnipotent and dominant male figures. After leaving her childhood home and the rule of her father, a young Roman girl would then be coerced into the dominion of her husband, often taking a plethora of roles, ranging from lover, caretaker, and best friend. It is often lightheartedly stated that, “Behind every great man is an even greater woman,” and William Shakespeare exemplifies this concept beautifully in Julius Caesar, in which he effectively used the spouses of the two main characters to add more depth, drama, and literary elements to the play, bringing it to life. Although the only two
For thousands of years, humanity has been ruled mainly by a Patriarchal society. In this society women have often been seen as objects or inferior humans through the eyes of their male counterparts. The Elizabethan era was no exception to these beliefs, and works of literature often supported these misogynistic views. In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, however, the author appears to portray the characters of Portia and Calphurnia in a positive light, ignoring the common stereotypes often associated with female characters. Although Portia and Calphurnia have minor parts in the play, their strength is discernible. Both female characters are portrayed as
Seeing Roman wives of the upper classes out in public was definitely shocking in ancient Rome. Married women only appeared in public with their husbands or with a retinue of attendants. They participated in various activities such as shopping, festivals, sacrifices, games, and entertainment. They acted as hostesses and dined out, and were allowed to attended women-only social events. Many, if not all, Aristocratic women spent a great deal of time on personal grooming and beauty preparations. The “good wife” supervised the household and made sure her children were well-educated in Latin and in Greek culture, and steeped in the moral values of ancient Rome and the family's ancestors. Women who abide by these laws were also so called “matronas,” meaning respectable married woman. The most venerated "matrona" was the elderly patrician widow who had successfully raised children and advanced the family's name through high moral standards. In an economy of scarcity, idleness could not be tolerated. All women worked. The elite women ran their elite households; all the other women worked with their hands. In this arena, a woman had no rights of her own. A women's father had the right to give her in marriage to whomever he wished. Many of the famous alliances in Roman politics were partly based in marriage contracts. For instance, Julius Caesar married his daughter Julia to Pompey the Great, which created a bond between them that helped solidify the first triumvirate. Another example
Portia: Portia, being one of the main characters and the romantic heroine of the play, must be presented to the audience as a graceful, beautiful and intelligent person. We all know she’s beautiful, that needs no convincing. Portia is usually a fairly self-controlled person who likes to keep problems between her and her trustworthy lady-in-waiting, Nerissa. However there are certain times when she lets slip that she is an anxious person for example when Bassanio arrives at her mansion and is about to choose a casket. She has fallen in love with him and is having great difficulty in trying to conceal that fact. Her anxiety and confusion is what makes her lose her composure. Portia’s other appealing characteristic- probably one of the most apparent- is her graciousness, her amazing way of handling a situation with tact and