“And we are governed with our mothers' spirits./Our yoke and sufferance show us womanish” (1.3.86-87). The women in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar are in many situations portrayed as weak or as a hindrance to their husbands lives and plans. Advice and ideas from Calpurnia and Portia are not taken seriously by Julius Caesar and Brutus. These character’s fatal flaws lead them to ignore their wives warnings and this caused trouble and eventually death for the men.
In the first scene of Act II, Portia is begging Brutus to disclose his plan to her. She has to persuade him that she is trustworthy and worthy of being told his plan. In an attempt to convince Brutus, Portia says this “I grant that I am a woman; but withal/A women that Lord Brutus took to wife/I grant that I am a woman, but withal/A woman well reputed, Cato's daughter./Think you I am no stronger than my sex,/Being so fathered and so husbanded?” (2.1.315-320). Portia says that she is a reputable man’s daughter and Brutus’s wife which makes her a better woman and therefore Brutus can and should tell her his plan. This plays into the modern idea that some women are better because they are not like other girls. This idea creates a powerful message of inferiority associated with femininity. This message is shown …show more content…
Julius Caesar and Brutus’s fatal character flaws cause them to worsen the situations at hand, many of which could have been prevented by listening to the women and their input. Portia and Calpurnia fall into the background of Julius Caesar, and even when brought to attention they are portrayed as weak and a burden to the men of the play. Words from them that should hold power, mean as little to the men around them as their lives and characters did to
In the first scene of Act II, Portia is begging Brutus to disclose his plan to her. She has to persuade him that she is trustworthy and worthy of being told his plan. In an attempt to convince Brutus, Portia says this “I grant that I am a woman; but withal/A women that Lord Brutus took to wife/I grant that I am a woman, but withal/A woman well reputed, Cato's daughter./Think you I am no stronger than my sex,/Being so fathered and so husbanded?” (2.1.315-320). Portia says that she is a reputable man’s daughter and Brutus’s wife which makes her a better woman and therefore Brutus can and should tell her his plan. This plays into the modern idea that some women are better because they are not like other girls. This idea creates a powerful message of inferiority associated with femininity. This message is shown …show more content…
Julius Caesar and Brutus’s fatal character flaws cause them to worsen the situations at hand, many of which could have been prevented by listening to the women and their input. Portia and Calpurnia fall into the background of Julius Caesar, and even when brought to attention they are portrayed as weak and a burden to the men of the play. Words from them that should hold power, mean as little to the men around them as their lives and characters did to