"Fie, wrangling Queen! Whom every thing becomes—to chide, to laugh, To weep, whose every passion fully strives To make itself, in thee, fair and admired!" -Antony and Cleopatra, Act I, Scene 1. "I saw her once Hop forty paces through the public street; And having lost her breath, she spoke, and panted, That she did make defect perfection." -Act II, Scene 2. Some people are stunning in their beauty. And some are ordinary. But some have an allure all its own. Shakespeare talks about this in "Antony and Cleopatra". In it he tells how Cleopatra has a mystique. Mark Anthony must leave her for his own good and the good of the empire. But as the Roman general Enobarus points out in Act II, Scene 2, "Never. He will not." Because Cleopatra is not like other women. "Other women cloy The appetites they feed" he says. "Other" women. In other words she's unique. Whether it is because she was Egyptian and Mark Anthony was Roman, whether it was because she was a woman at the time with power, or maybe something else, Shakespeare never goes into. The play ends tragically, with both of them dying because of their romance, and Mark Anthony finally saying on the battlefield "This foul Egyptian hath betrayed me." But in it, as many of his plays, Shakespeare is talking again about the human condition. And in this case romance, and how it can take on a life of its own.
"Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety. Other women cloy The appetites they feed, but she makes hungry Where most she satisfies. For vilest things Become themselves in her, that the holy priests Bless her when she is riggish." That quote from "Antony and Cleopatra" is ironic, speaking in general about what attracts us to other people. That vilest things become themselves in her that holy priests bless her when she is riggish, or wanton. Being sexually promiscuous would never get a man in trouble in ancient Rome. But a different standard was applied to women. But Cleopatra could get away with it, because she was so alluring. I think SparkNotes or someone said this, I read online. Kind of reminds me of my theory of how morality can sometimes be relative, to place and person. I often share Star Trek quotes with people that talk about this.
Also, I read in one study guide, vilest things became themselves in her and the priests blessed her even when she was riggish, was important. Being wanton, or "riggish", was a scandal back then if you were a man or woman. But men always seemed to be able to get away with it, it seemed. So in the many ways we judge people, including beauty, if differs from class to class and person to person.
