Comparing Calpurnia And Portia In Shakespeare's Julius Ceasar

Despite Calypso being a character who defies typical constraints, she is not always the model of a defiant woman. In spite of the fact that she is repeatedly used by Homer to show disobedience against the role that is expected of her, she still shows characteristics of a normal female character in an epic poem. When Hermes comes to visit her, she sets “a table with ambrosia” and “a bowl of rosy nectar” (Homer, p. 386). Setting the table for a man is a sign of respect and shows that she accepts her role of catering towards the opposite sex. This is a crucial moment as Calypso has continuously shown contempt for a woman’s conventional duties. When she is introduced, she is described as sitting in her home “singing in a lovely voice as she wove at her loom with a golden shuttle” (Homer, p. 386). The loom is a direct symbol of a tamed woman, reiterated by Penelope’s extensive use of it throughout the epic. When Homer describes Calypso on her loom, he refers to her as

Volumnia, unlike the other women in the play such as Virgilia, does not recoil from war and the battlefield. Instead, Volumnia both identifies with the war hero and delights in both his triumphs and his pain. In describing the pride she would gain from her sons' deaths in battle, Volumnia separates herself from the other women in the play who want nothing to do with war, "I had rather eleven die nobly for their country than one voluptuously surfeit out of action." (1.3.20-21). Thus the pride that Coriolanus derives from his own wounds and wounded body is a product of his mother's pride in having a wounded son. Volumnia describes with pride Coriolanus's bloody brow, "Though you were born in Rome!' His bloody brow/ with his mailed hand then wiping" (1.3.31-32). The pride that Volumnia procures from her son's victories and injuries winds up reflecting itself on Coriolanus who describes these victories and wounds with equal pride. By the end of the first act, Volumnia's descriptions of mothering demonstrate the warlike spirit she has channeled into her raising of Coriolanus. The imagery she uses in Act 1 Scene 3 also separates her from the other women in the play. Volumnia speaks of "blood," "swords," and "death," while women like Virgilia speak of "sewing" and "butterflies."

Almost without thinking, he forgives her and wishes her to not punish herself with the thought that she might be a bad wife. He was quite compassionate towards Calypso, as he would do things to make her feel better “... He lay with her each night….” He let her keep him because he knew she was lonely and needed someone to help lift her from the proverbial hole she had fallen

      Circe and Calypso, while very tricky and sly, are still very strong feminine characters.  Circe takes Odysseus' crew and turns them into swine; when Odysseus is able to resist her spell, due to the Moly he had been given by Hermes, she is dismayed and takes him as her lover. She is mysterious and seductive and is strong even up against Odysseus.  Calypso is a sea nymph who keeps Odysseus captive for nine years, hoping to make him her husband.  She is a strong-willed temptress whose sultry ways are able to reel in even the most determined man.

In Act II Scene I of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Portia became irritated with Brutus’ impatient and ill-tempered attitude toward her in the event of Brutus’ internal conflicts over Caesar’s rise to power. Finally, after multiple incidents involving Brutus’ actions, Portia snapped and delivered a speech in an attempt to convince her husband to reveal his troubles. While it is Portia who delivered the speech, she portrays that persona of someone who is exasperated and disappointed with her husband in order to coerce him into confiding in her; she speaks in a harsher manner than normally would a wife at this time in history due to her goal. She has a very specific audience: Brutus, her husband; there are no other individuals to whom she is

This might be due to how the reader “[was] introduced first to Calixta’s husband and son” (Titi) and then the next scene showing her “sewing furiously on a sewing machine…greatly occupied” (Baym, Chopin). In constrast to Clarisse, there isn’t much said about her, however we are safe to assume her to be a hardworking wife and mother as well. Both of them married for their “only chance they had to a respectable life” (Titi). However, they became “miserable because Calixta did not marry the one she loved… and Clarisse married…whom she loved but would prefer to be single” (Titi). Their situation was most likely due to their social class and gender.

Both passages strongly allude to Comus projection of desire and wishes that he puts on the lady but thus demonstrates the falsifications of such that are purely derived not from characterization but his own confusion on sexuality. In first hearing the lady- Comus reveals to the audience a confused state of yearning for which he will project any image he can onto a character of specified gender. Even when revealing her true taste to him, he still attempts to project a imagery of a Lady onto her despite encountering her in the most unlade like way possible. Thus Comus means to complicate the conversation of Characterization by mistakingly creating a simplified state of character projection that leans closely to archetypal normality’s. This in turn guide a understanding of not the Lady’s character but of Comus who represents a ideological stance on women in society. In all, Comus is a performance that concedes to teach the audience about the qualities asserted to oneself when making false projections towards others- thus disclosing commentary on societal

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

but she behaves immorally. She is a very pretty woman who has a fling with her former lover Alcee while waiting out the storm. Calixta seems to be a good mother and to care for her husband, she just isn’t happy with him. For example, she worries about Bibi and Bobinot’s safety the storm, which proves she cares for them. Yet she finds comfort from her former lover Alcee while worrying about her husband and child. Chopin states “Alcee’s arm encircled her, and for an instant he drew he close and spasmodically to him” (The Storm 2). This proves she must care for her husband, but turns to Alcee when needed comforting.

Calpurnia is a much more positive caregiver, as she is a strict disciplinarian, but to a lesser degree than Aunt Alexandra. Likewise she is not a hypocrite; she could comment on the ways of white people because she has been raised in a white environment.

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.

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.

     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

However, when Calpurnia beseeched Caesar on her knees, he changed his mind quickly. When Calpurnia referred to Caesar’s confidence, it can be interpreted as his ego and pride ‘getting the better’ of his wisdom. Caesar’s pride may also rise from having a higher position to his wife as a man because the Romans lived in a patriarchal lifestyle. Calpurnia knew this and rather than appealing to his wisdom, she appealed to his ego and pride as a man and a someone of power. However, with outstanding contrast, the relationship between Brutus and Portia hold a significant difference between that of Caesar’s relationship with his wife.

There is no doubt her husband loves and cares for her but her feelings and passion seemed untouched by Bobinot. Before her marriage, Alcee seemed to satisfy her in a way that Bobinot does not, but since she loves her family she represses those feelings. The story of Calixta is saddening to me but as a mother myself, I can understand why she chooses to repress her feelings. Her husband seems to give her no cause to disrupt family life and leave the marriage and she does not make that decision based on pure selfish reasons. Her choice simply relieved her possible frustrations for a while.