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Soothsaying and Prophecy
Antony and Cleopatra frequently references the Egyptian practice of consulting with soothsayers to glimpse a picture of what’s to come. In act 1, scene 2, Cleopatra’s attendants ask the court Soothsayer to read their fortunes. He offers up humorously bland prophecies, concluding that Charmian and Iras share the same fortune: their pasts will prove better than their futures, and they will outlive their mistress. Though Charmian will outlive Cleopatra by a matter of seconds, Iras will in fact precede her mistress in death. Later consultations with the Soothsayer will, however, yield up true fortunes. For instance, in act 2, scene 3, Antony consults with the Soothsayer after negotiating with Octavius, and he makes two predictions that will come true: that Antony will return to Egypt, and that Octavius’s fortune will rise higher than his. Finally in act 4, scene 12, Scarus laments how “[t]he augurs” refuse to reveal their prophecies (4.12.5). Even so, he notes that they must know, since they “look grimly / And dare not speak their knowledge” (4.12.6–7). For an audience familiar with the historical events being dramatized on the stage, these prophecies confirm the tragedy to come and thereby amplify the play’s pathos.
Fortune and Chance
Closely linked to the motif of soothsaying and prophecy are the play’s numerous references to fortune and chance. These references arise most frequently in relation to the contest between Antony and Octavius. The play reflects a growing sense that Octavius’s fortunes are rising as Antony’s fall. Shakespeare first indicates this dynamic when Antony asks the Egyptian Soothsayer, “whose fortunes shall rise higher, Caesar’s or mine?” The Soothsayer immediately responds, “Caesar’s” (2.3.19–21). Indeed, Shakespeare portrays Octavius as a man who’s got fortune on his side and knows it. Octavius implies as much when addressing his attendants, insisting that they mustn’t be too “troubled with the time” and should instead “let determined things to destiny / Hold unbewailed their way” (3.7.94–97). Enobarbus affirms Octavius’s sense of self-confidence when explaining to Antony why his fellow triumvir refuses to fight him in single combat: “He thinks, being twenty times of better fortune, / He is twenty men to one” (3.2.4–5). Though Octavius’s rising fortunes are clear, Antony remains in denial, believing that Cleopatra has stacked the cards in Octavius’s favor in a game of chance: “she . . . has / Packed cards with Caesar and false-played my glory / Unto an enemy’s triumph” (4.14.22–24).
Female Sexuality and Emasculation
Male characters in the play often rail against the power of female sexuality, which they repeatedly link to the threat of emasculation. Most often, they cite Cleopatra’s open and unapologetic sexuality as being responsible for Antony’s decline. The play opens with Philo making just such a connection, complaining that Antony’s “captain’s heart,” which once used to engage in “the scuffles of great fights,” now “reneges all temper / And is become the bellows and the fan / To fool a gypsy’s lust” (1.1.6–10). This concern about emasculation comes up again and again in the play, almost always relating to Antony’s affair with Cleopatra, whose “lust” is believed to warp the minds and judgment of all men—including “holy priests” and even the “great Caesar,” whom she made “lay his sword to bed” (2.2.280, 267). Clearly, Cleopatra’s sexuality is a threat to Roman masculinity. In the world of the play, the only way to for emasculated men to recuperate their masculinity is to exert control over female sexuality. Hence why Octavius wants to keep Cleopatra alive. If he can possess her legendary beauty and put it on display like a personal trophy, he will strengthen his legitimacy as the sole ruler of the new Roman Empire.
Read more about the fear of female sexuality as a theme in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
