Charmion is one of Cleopatra’s maids. She is fiercely loyal to her mistress, as demonstrated at the end of the play, when she kills herself in solidarity with Cleopatra’s suicide. Charmion is the only person left alive when Serapion bursts into the throne room to find their mistress dead. When he asks her “is this well done?”, Charmion proclaims proudly that Cleopatra died honorably, as the last of a great line of monarchs, before sinking down and dying. Charmion is thus also, in a sense, the keeper of Cleopatra’s legacy—as the last person to see her before she died.
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Charmion Character Timeline in All For Love
The timeline below shows where the character Charmion appears in All For Love. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 2
...to stop loving Antony, but Cleopatra says she can never forget him. Cleopatra’s other maid, Charmion, comes in and reports her encounter with Antony. He had tears in his eyes when...
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Act 3
...After Octavia leaves, Cleopatra collapses from the strain and is led away by Iras and Charmion.
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Act 4
...make Antony love her again by flirting with Dollabella, who is talking to Iras and Charmion.
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Cleopatra asks Dollabella, Iras, and Charmion what they have been talking about. Dollabella claims that they have been discussing her beauty,...
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Act 5
...despair at Antony’s abandonment. She tries to kill herself with a dagger, but Iras and Charmion prevent her. They call out against heaven for punishing such a virtuous woman, suggesting that...
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...sound of someone entering and tries to kill himself again—but it is Cleopatra, Iras, and Charmion. He asks Cleopatra if she is real or is the first ghost to meet him...
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...wife, in a bond that no “Roman laws” will be able to break. Iras and Charmion remind her that Octavius is merciful and may spare her life, but Cleopatra balks at...
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...Cleopatra kisses his lips, observing that they are now alone again, like lovers. Iras and Charmion reenter, and Cleopatra dresses herself in her finest clothes. She places a laurel on Antony’s...
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...a snake that carries venomous poison, carried in a basket brought in by Iras and Charmion. However, when the snake bites, it brings no pain and makes the victim seem to...
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...of Cleopatra and Iras’s bodies (as Iras has also killed herself with Cleopatra), Serapion asks Charmion “is this well done?” Charmion proclaims proudly that Cleopatra died honorably, as the last of...
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