One of the central themes in All For Love concerns the conflict characters experience between their internal desires (in particular, love) and their external duties to their families, countries, and society at large (in other words, honor). No two characters are as explicitly and diametrically opposed in their positions regarding the choice between love and honor as Cleopatra and Octavia. Thus, the two women are directly set up as foils of one another, and through their conflict Dryden is able to examine the pitfalls of each woman’s position. For Cleopatra, this means love at the expense of honor; for Octavia, honor at the expense of love.
The confrontation between the pair comes to a head in Act 3. Their argument directly allows the two women to voice their perspectives—both on each other and on their personal and intertwined relationships with Antony—which in turn reveals how differently they view their roles as women, romantic partners, and political figures. Octavia’s critique of Cleopatra in the passage below is particularly telling:
Cleopatra: I love him better, and deserve him more.
Octavia: You do not, cannot: you have been his ruin.
Who made him cheap at Rome, but Cleopatra?
Who made him scorned abroad, but Cleopatra?
At Actium who betrayed him? Cleopatra.
Who made his children orphans, and poor me
A wretched widow? Only Cleopatra.
Each statement Octavia makes centers on the importance of honor and appearances. She speaks of ruined public opinion, of military failures, of rights and legitimacy, of drops in status and the swirls of rumors. Notably, she does not mention love. Octavia’s concern is solely for her honor as the wife of Marc Antony the political figure, not for the love of Marc Antony the man. Although she holds the legitimate position of wife, she lacks the heart of her marriage partner and feels she has not been afforded the respect she is due.
On the other hand, Cleopatra’s response highlights how much she values love, to the point of excess and even beyond reason:
Yet she who loves him best is Cleopatra.
If you have suffered, I have suffered more.
You bear the specious title of a wife
To gild your cause, and draw the pitying world
To favour it; the world contemns poor me;
For I have lost my honour, lost my fame,
And stained the glory of my royal house,
And all to bear the branded name of mistress.
Although she defiantly affirms the validity of the shared love between herself and Antony, Cleopatra’s language reveals that the illegitimate nature of their relationship has caused her deep pain. Despite the fact that she is a queen, she has sacrificed her royal honor and her personal reputation in the name of love—a decision Octavia does not understand and cannot respect. The differences between these women exemplify two opposite extremes along a spectrum of possible versions of femininity. Cleopatra and Octavia are both portrayed in a sympathetic light, but neither woman receives a happy ending. Through their respective ends, Dryden suggests that balance, above all, is the key to happiness.
