Strong Women In Julius Caesar

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“Behind every great man is a great woman.” Such a statement is very well-known nowadays since it is a common phrase used to promote the strength of women. Quite literally, the phrase means that men tend achieve greatness due to the strength that the woman who supports them has. However, the concept of women being strong has history that far extends that statement. For example, strong female characters are present in William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar is a tragedy that follows the historical events of the assassination of the ancient Roman politician, Julius Caesar. The play follows Brutus, a close friend of Caesar who is convinced to join the conspiracy created to kill Caesar so that he cannot be crowned and devised …show more content…

For example, Calphurnia says to Caesar, “Do not go forth today. Call it my fear/ that keeps you in the house, and not your own” (II.ii.54-55). To clarify, Calphurnia had dreamt the night before of Caesar’s assassination and had taken her dream as a sign of ill fortune towards Caesar. As a result, she begged him to stay home to avoid any misfortune. However, Caesar’s hubris stops him from believing that he would face any danger which prompts Calphurnia to kneel and offer that he can blame her for staying home. This proves that Calphurnia is mentally strong because she is ready to face accusation of being paranoid from other men if Caesar says that he chooses to stay home due to his wife’s fear of a misfortunate event. As well as having mental strength, Calphurnia possesses a large amount of support for Caesar’s decisions despite whether she agrees with them or not. For instance, Caesar says to Calphurnia, “How foolish do your fears seem now, Calphurnia!/ I am ashamed I did yield to them./ Give me my robe, for i will go” (II.ii.110-112). In other words, Caesar was dismissing Calphurnia’s fear due to speaking with Decius who persuaded him to go to the senate today. Caesar asks her to fetch him his robe and she does so. This proves that Calphurnia supports her husband because she respects his decision to go and does not argue with him despite not agreeing. Calphurnia is just as strong and supportive as Portia because she harbors enough mental strength to face accusation over being paranoid and she supports her husband’s decisions despite whether she agrees with