Antony and Cleopatra | Does Cleopatra really love Antony?

Until Act V, Cleopatra consistently appears as a scheming courtesan who uses Antony to obtain her own ends. She tries (successfully) to dominate the Roman general in a manner that is incompatible with genuine love. Apprised that Antony has married Octavia, Cleopatra is less concerned with the loss of Antony than she is with what this says about her own wiles when compared to that of her lover's Roman wife. She pretends to commit suicide rather than face an enraged Antony, and her deception creates the precondition for Antony's own suicide. In Act V, however, Cleopatra appears to undergo...

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