The woman and sovereign in Antony and Cleopatra

125 Pages·2006·1.85 MB·English

by  Wirtanen, Mildred.

THE WOMAN AND SOVEREIGN IN ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA
Mildred Wirtanen
B.A., Simon Fraser University, 1972
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS
i n the Department
of
English
@
Mildred Wirtanen 1980
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
January 1980
All rights reserved. This thesis may not be
reproduced i n whole or i n part, by photocopy
or other means, without permission of the author.
Approval
Name: Mi 1 dred W ir tanen
Degree: Master of Arts
Title of Thesis: The Woman and Sovereign in Antony and Cleopatra
Exami n in g Comi t tee :
Chai rperson: Paul Del my
~-
.
Ann Messenge'r
Senior Supervisor
Betty Lahert--
-
F-- Kay Stockholder
External Examiner
Associate Professor
Department of English
University of British Columbia
. & / q & ,
Date Approved &, ,l -
,
T hareby gr'ant to Simon t r ~ s e rU ~ ~ v e r s ~thtey r ight to lend
my thesis or dissertation (the t i t l o of which i s shown below) t.o ttsers
of the Sl1110n t rascr Unlversi ty 1 I~I"JI) I, drd LU llldke 1)aratial or sinq le
copies only for such users or i n response to a requebt fronr the
11l)ldry
of any other university, or other educatianal institution, on i tr, owl
behalf or for one of its user:,. I further dyrec that permission for
mu1 tiple copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be grantf~tl
by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copyir~g
or publication of this thesis for financ ial gain shall not be al loweti
without my written permission.
Title of Thesis/Dissertation:
The Woman And Sovereign In Antony And Cleopatra
--- .- .---.- -------- .
Author ,:
(signature)
Abstract
Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra poses many problems for the crit i c,
not the least o f which is how we are to understand the character of
Cleopatra. Is she a whore or a queen, or both? How are we to react to her
relationship with Antony? Is her suicide an expression of her love for
Antony, of her dread of the triumph Octavius plans, or i s it simply her
admission that she i s powerless to manipulate Octavius? Why does she
delay that suicide? Whi le critical opinion varies, the greatest emphasis
has been upon her degeneracy, her absolute control of Antony, and her
.
neglect of her sovereign responsi bi1 i t i es Most frequently, cri tics see
Cleopatra as the dominant and ma1 i.gn influence i n Antony's life; they see
him as a man torn between two worlds : that represented by honour, duty and
empire, and that represented by his submission to his obsessive love for
Cleopatra and his repudiation of the world of power and prestige. It i s
my belief that Cleopatra is a dedicated and responsible queen, and that,
far from being the destructive and dominant influence i n Antony's life, she
i s- his captive, her person and her state held subject to the w i l l of an
b
ambitious an_d_ headstrong Antony.
_- -._ ._--
In reviewing Cleopatra's l i f e and death as they are portrayed i n
Antony and Cleopatra, I have given some attention to the historical context
-3
. ,'
of the play. Antony was the most powerful influence i n Cleopatra's 1 i w
v- ----_. . - _ ----
-- *
Octavius the most powerful influence in her final hate. I have, therefore,
before turning to a closer examination of her relationships with these two
men, undertaken a brief review of both of their characters. Since any
exami nation o'f Cleopatra 's behavi our--especial l y of her behaviour in Act
V--must be incomplete i f it concentrates predominantly upon her role as a
L
woman, I have paid particular attention to her role as a sovereiaq, and
have assessed her responses to the political events depicted i n the play,
for these events directly and tragically affect her 1i f e and her reign. I
have included some critical opinion which, because of its almost unanimous
support of a view of Cleopatra that i s contrary to what I believe to be
Shakespeare's po.rtraya1 of her, 'is of value i n the interest of balance.
The evidence of the play does not support the generally accepted view.
a
K9
of Cleopatra's degeneracy; her reputation as a harlot i s _o=_&t_.js cay
,- -- *-
fully nurt-ur.ed by th--e -R om-a ns. As well, the evidence of the text i s more
-.-
sugges ti ve of a Cleopatra who is powerless to move Antony to any act towards
which he i s ndt already favourably disposed and i n which he does not see
his own interests being served. I do not agree with those who see
-
Cleopatra as the cause of Antony 's "tragic fa1 1" ; rather, because of
Antony's folly and mismanagement, Cleopatra's 1 o n ~ ~ ~ l ~ g l P t n m ahienr ~ i t l
..-.- ,
I
state against overpoweri n go dds,, i s brought to it s tragic concl usj on. anbhe I
Illy.--- ---- --- --. -
&7
&.,~recigi.tatedi nb Oetavim ' power. An unprej udi ced readi ng of the text
shows that her death i s her acknowledgement of the close of that struggle,
+.., " - - . .--. ,. =*- >
an assertion of her nobility, and a detenninati-on that if her l i f e b s
passed out of her control, her death w i l l not. Further, the delay that
_,
precedes her death i s motivated by her sense of responsibility to Egypt and
to her heirs; she must, i f possible, make a final attempt to gain that which,
a
from the moment of her defeat, has been her one request of Octavius: t-h- e
crown of Egypt for her son. She fails, but her character as a responsible
queen i s unta-r. nished.
b----.-r-

Good name i n man and woman, dear my lord,
Is the imnediate jewel of thei r souls.
Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, ' tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he who fi lches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed.
(Othello III.iii. l55-l6l)
Acknwl edgements
I wish to offer my sincere thanks to my Comnittee
and to qy External Examiner. I cannot adequately
express n\y gratitude to Dr. Ann Messenger, whose
,
advi ce unfai 1i n g patience, encouragement, and
kindness have been invaluable to me. I am deeply
indebted to her.
viii
Table of Contents
Approval Page ii
Abs tract iii
Dedi cation
Quotat i on
Acknowledgements
Tab1 e of Contents
Introduction
Chapter One: Antony
Chapter Two : Octavi us
Chapter Three : Cleopa tra
.
1 The Prologue : The Historical and Li terary Background
2. Cleopatra with Antony--before he goes
3. Cleopatra with Antony-when he returns
4. Cleopatra wi th Octavi us : a Preface
5. Cleopatra w it h Octavi us
A Selected Bibliography
Introduction
Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra poses many problems for the critic,
not the least of which i s how we are to understand the character of
Cleopatra. Is she a whore or a queen, or both? How are we to react to
her relationship with Antony? Is her suicide an expression of her love for
Antony, of her dread of the tri mph Octavi us plans, or i s it simply her
admission that she i s powerless to manipulate Octavius? Why does she delay
her suicide?
"She i s cunning past man's thought" ( I. ii.1 42) Antony declared, and
later, "Triple-turn'd whore, ' tis thou / Hast sold me to this novice, and
.'
heart / Makes only wars on thee" (1V.xi i.1 3-5) His words form the
basis for many crit ics ' attit udes towards Cleopatra's character. Coleridge
found that "the sense of criminality i n her passion i s lessened by our
"'
. . . .
insight into i t s depth and energy J. Wilson Knight speaks of
Cleopatra's "inscrutably evi 1 callowness. "3 And Bradley's condemnation of
.
her i s unegui vocal : "She destroys him [~ntonyl" 4 Thus the critics accept,
perpetuate, and add dimensions to what is, i n the play, a Roman creation:
the w t h of Cleopatra, the traitorous, destructive harlot who brought ruin
to Antony. Not only does the myth distort Cleopatra's character as
Shakespeare portrayed it, but it i s directly opposed to what Iw i l l dernon-
strate to be the reality of her position i n the play. As I understand the
play, Cleopatra was Antony's captive, her person and her state held subject
to his w i l l . She was nothing as simple as a destructive harlot; she was a
composite of conflicting opposites, frai 1, feminine, and vulnerable; strong
and dominant,*an intelli g ent and capable strategist; a woman enslaved by