Octavia Character Analysis

Octavia is Antony’s wife and Octavius’s sister. She is regarded as very beautiful and a model of virtuous Roman womanhood, but Antony nonetheless abandons her and their young children for his lover Cleopatra—a decision that sets off a power struggle between Antony and Octavius. However, Octavia is not merely a pawn in the conflict between her husband and brother. She is depicted as highly principled, honorable, and independent. For instance, she leaves the Roman camp without her brother’s permission and travels to the Egyptian court with her daughters Agrippina and Antonia, in order to try to persuade Antony to return to her and make peace with Octavius. She tells Antony to take Octavius’s terms, even if he later drops her again. Ventidius and Dollabella urge Antony to abandon Cleopatra and take back Octavia, pointing out her noble self-sacrifice: “you have ruined [her], / And yet she would preserve you.” Octavia’s position demonstrates her concern for her honor as a wife above all else. Although she knows that Antony doesn’t love her, she is willing to live in a sham marriage for appearance’s sake. Ultimately, however, this same concern with honor is what prevents her from tolerating Antony’s continued passion for Cleopatra. Seeing that he is still obsessed with his former lover, Octavia tells Antony that she will leave him and go back to Octavius’s camp, since her honor cannot bear to have only “half” of Antony. In contrast to Cleopatra, then, Octavia is consistently motivated, not by love, but by concern with her honor.