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Essay on Sexuality in Shakespeare's Antony And Cleopatra

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Introduction

Although Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and Middleton and Rowley's The Changeling show some perceptible similarities in their portrayal of sexuality and romantic relationships, there are also important differences between them. Both plays tend to portray female sexuality as corrupting (as poison in The Changeling and as witchcraft in Antony and Cleopatra), yet the downward spiral of lust and violence in which Beatrice and De Flores are involved is ultimately in complete contrast to the noble and tragic end of Antony and Cleopatra's love affair. While the threat of female sexuality is present in both plays, the poison of The Changeling can only lead to disease and death, yet Cleopatra's magic retains its power to charm. In both plays, ideals of feminine behaviour such as silence, obedience, modesty and chastity are ostensibly endorsed. Yet there is a greatness in the unbounded passions of Egypt which, like the overflowing Nile, is fertile and infinitely varied, while the domestic drama of Beatrice's lust is petty and narrowing.

The grand emotional scale of Antony and Cleopatra seems to gesture towards the possibility of more satisfying and reciprocal sexual relationships, but I intend to argue that what appears to be a more pessimistic tone in The Changeling serves the purpose of offering a critique of sexual relationships in early modern society, while Antony and Cleopatra, because of its treatment of passion on such an epic scale, says less about the particular concerns of early modern society and its attitude to sexuality.

Both of these plays demonstrate a view of marriage as a means of uniting families and serving as a bond between men (Malcolmson, 2001, 147). From this point of view, the woman is merely a tool in the transaction and her sexual desires are not a part of the consideration. In Vermandero's assertion that Alonzo 'shall be bound to me, / As fast as this tie can hold him' (I.1.218-9), he refers to Beatrice as the 'tie' that binds them and Beatrice is in no doubt that this is a matter in which she has no choice when she comments, 'And his blessing / Is only mine, as I regard his name, / Else it goes from me, and turns head against me, / Transform'd into a curse' (II.1.20-3). Beatrice later echoes the word 'tie' to express her unwillingness to accept this control over her freedom to choose a partner when she says, 'how well were I now / If there were … no such tie as the command of parents!' (II.2.18-20)and she is clear that, were she a man, she would not be forced to marry against her desires (II.2.107-13). In Antony and Cleopatra, the woman who epitomises the conventional view of the participant in an expedient marriage that serves as a diplomatic union between men is Octavia, whose marriage to Antony is described as 'an unslipping knot' (II.2.127) and a 'cement' (III.2.29) in the relationship between Antony and Caesar. Octavia's virtue and her meek submission to her brother's will, however, reveals a lack of passion that Enobarbus describes as 'holy, cold and still' (II.6.119-120). In such circumstances, there are contradictory expectations placed on women, who are required to act as passive instruments and yet be sexually responsive to their husbands' demands.

In The Changeling there appears to be an acceptance that male sexuality is active and that men pursue their desires by a variety of means. Tomazo, Alsemero, Jasperino, Alibius, Lollio, Antonio, Franciscus and De Flores are all actively involved in pursuing their sexual desires. Male sexuality is compared with fingers thrust into gloves and rings (I.1.231-235 and I.2.26-31) and with 'a greedy hand thrust in a dish' (III.4.31). Such overt pursuit of conquest must be defended against and the sub-plot of The Changeling focuses on the necessity for men to protect their wives from being preyed upon by other men. Alibius imprisons his wife and has her constantly watched, putting her on a level with the fools and madmen in the hospital. His metaphorical wish to 'lock' Isabella up in his 'arms and bosom' (III.3.249) is thus played out literally, as Isabella herself is aware (III.3.248). The need to protect Beatrice's virtue is similarly alluded to when her father exhibits care over protecting the secrets of his citadel from strangers (I.1.161-6). As Malcolmson (2002, 150) observes, 'Vermandero fears invasion, and the imagery of penetration and invasion continues throughout the play'. However, the play also betrays another aspect to male sexuality that Lollio highlights when he draws a parallel between sexual and social control, commenting on how both madmen and women are tamed 'with our commanding pizzles' (IV.3.61-2) - a play on words that 'associates [his] whip with male genitals and links leadership and authority with sexual aggression' (Malcolmson, 2002, 149). In this construction, male (sexual) aggression is not merely a negative force which requires vigilant defence, but also a positive force creating order and control. Within the scheme of The Changeling, therefore, we are presented with a situation where women are subjected to both penetration and enclosure because men seek to penetrate and also to defend women from penetration.

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