Gender Relations In Antony And Cleopatra

Gender Relations Author Name Institution Affiliation Gender is one of the strong underlying layers in Antony and Cleopatra; in this paper, I will try to dig deep to present my analysis on this aspect. Antony and Cleopatra is one of the most famous plays by William Shakespeare. It is a tragic love story between the two key characters. Their love is based on emotions of power and lust. It will not be out of context to say here that both are self-centered and have their own motives in their minds. The relationship between Antony and Cleopatra is destructive in one sense because they are driven by their own mindset of being above of all in the world. During the entire play, the relationship between Antony and Cleopatra develops beyond the traditional roles of male and female. Cleopatra is seen as a disgraced person due to her power and magnitude; she is a manipulative woman who is in control of the empire. On the contrary, Antony, who is a male soldier, seems to be losing control over his masculinity and power as he comes closer to Cleopatra with time. Their gender-bending is more evidently seen when Cleopatra gets Antony drunk at one time, and they exchange their clothes, with she holding his sword like a man. This situation indicates how the exchange of gender roles is presented in the play. During the battle of Actium, their gender clash boils up even more, and Cleopatra insists to fight whereas Antony runs away in an unmanly fashion. The gender inequality between Antony and Cleopatra is made more evident around other characters of the play. Octavius and Octavia, two other important characters in the play, symbolize the traditional male and female roles. Octavius is strong and brave, and Octavia is gentle and submissive to the men. Thus, they both are shown as victorious to preserve the cultural norms of gender roles. Octavius makes a mockery of Antony at one place, saying that Antony is under the sway of Cleopatra and he lacks masculinity. Cleopatra was an Egyptian who had the vested values of being sensual and vigorous. William Shakespeare has contrasted these values in the pay by comparing them with the Roman values of logic and male-driven society. Different cultural values are the heart and soul of the play. Antony is found to be in an emotional conflict in the play, as he fails to fulfill his duties required by his empire. He falls victim to his internal rift, and h...