One of Cleopatra’s Nights (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Théophile Gautier
- First Published: 1838
- Type of Plot: Fantasy
- Time of Work: About 35
- Setting: Egypt
- Principal Characters: Cleopatra, Charmion, Mark Antony, Meïamoun
- Genres: Short fiction, Fantasy
- Subjects: Love or romance, Suicide, Slavery or slaves, Kings, queens, or royalty, Egypt or Egyptians, Greek or Roman times, Middle East
- Locales: Egypt, ancient
The Story
A barge carries Cleopatra down the Nile River, impelled by fifty oarsmen. She is returning from the celebration of a religious rite at a shrine at Hermonthis, a city above Thebes, and she is suffering from desperately acute boredom. She describes her state of mind in great detail to her slave Charmion, explaining how the deserts, temples, and religion of Egypt combine to produce it. She laments, too, that a queen can never know if she is loved for herself, rather than for her crown.
Meïamoun, an extraordinarily handsome youth, has been following the queen's...
[The entire page is 1443 words long]
