Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra
Fitz, L.T. Egyptian Queens and Male Reviewers: Sexist Attitudes in Antony and
Cleopatra Criticism. Shakespeare Quarterly 28 (1977): 297-316.
Many critics simplify women into two extremes when addressing Antony
and Cleopatra: the wicked and manipulative represented by Cleopatra, or chaste
and submissive represented by Octavia (304). This view, writes Fitz,
overemphasizes the relatively unimportant character of Octavia. The sexism of
critics is further evidenced in their attitude to the overt sexuality of Cleopatra.
When equally bawdy lines are spoken by male characters throughout the works of
Shakespeare it is not viewed with the same level of disgust. Rather, it is completely
taken in stride and left without comment.
Fitz goes on to address the reasons why the play has never been included
with the famous four great tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and King Lear. She
compares Antony and Cleopatra to King Lear, referencing both plays subject of love
and their relationship to the ruling of the public. The neglect of the plays inclusion
with the others seems to imply that love between the sexes is lower on a hierarchy
of values than familial love. If this is the case, Fitz asks why Othello holds a place
among the four great tragedies, while Antony and Cleopatra does not. The
difference is that Othello concerns a male protagonist, while Cleopatra is denied her
proper role as heroine.
This view that Antony is the only protagonist of the play is to Fitz the most
extreme example of sexism in assessments of the tragedy. After all, Antony dies in
act four and the last act of the play is Cleopatras alone. The form that other
Shakespearean tragedies take is that the play is not over until the death of the
tragic hero. Though many see this fact as a flaw in the script, Fitz sees it as
evidence that the main conflict is between Cleopatra and Caesar, and Antony is
merely a middleman.
Perhaps the most convincing evidence that Fitz gives is in her comparison
of the play to Plutarchs Life of Marcus Antonius on which it was based.
Shakespeares adaptation shows that he had much more interest in Cleopatra as a
human being than as a source of trouble for Antony. He pays close attention to her
motivations, and the majority of his changes to the plot serve to provide
understanding for Cleopatras actions. Shakespeare completely fabricates the dare
of Caesar as a reason for fighting at sea, for example, rather than having Cleopatra
suggest it as in Plutarchs version. The fact that Cleopatra flees the battle of Actium
provides for her blame in the downfall, which, according to Fitz, is another
requirement of a tragic hero. Fitz justifies the act using fear as Cleopatras excuse
and referring to her ignorance of the result and her fervent apologies. Unlike
Plutarch, Shakespeare includes a denial that Cleopatra conspired with Caesar,
justifies her fear in Antonys lines that he will kill her, and includes her dying
speeches among other additions which elicit sympathy for the Queen. Most
importantly, he includes her name in the title.