Readings: Plutarch's Antony
As you are reading, make a chart that tracks gender presentation and its consequences for Antony, Fulvia, Cleopatra, and Octavia. For each character, you should produce a chart that looks something like this:
| Masculine Trait/Action 1. 2. 3. | Consequences 1. 2. 3. | Plutarch’s Evaluation 1. 2. 3. |
| Feminine Trait/Action 1. 2. 3. | Consequences 1. 2. 3. | Plutarch’s Evaluation 1. 2. 3. |
Once you've done that, develop answers to the following questions:
Antony and Gender
- In what ways in Antony a "man's man"? In what ways is he depicted as effeminate? When Plutarch describes him in one way or the other, how do the actions he takes in the immediate context turn out?
- How does Plutarch map Antony's gender onto the following dichotomies: East-West, Greek-Roman, Reason-Passion?
- How do Antony's mythological role models, Heracles and Dionysus, factor into Plutarch's construction of Antony's gender presentation and his abilities as a leader?
- What goals and/or motivations does Plutarch attribute to the women in Antony's life?
- By what means do these women obtain, maintain, and use their power? Are some means coded as more masculine or more feminine than others?
- In what ways do these women appear masculine? How do their masculine traits/actions affect Antony? How are they evaluated by Plutarch?
- Map out the qualities, motivations, and actions Plutarch attributes to Octavia and Cleopatra. How different are they, really? Why do they receive such different treatment?
- By what standards does Plutarch judge these women as successful or praiseworthy? Does he evaluate them on their own terms, or only in terms of how they affect Antony's ability to lead?