Despite the great expectations that Antony’s epic battles created, Antony is unable to reach the grandeur anticipated by Caesar and the distinction that characterized his rightful place in Rome. With fondness and great admiration Caesar recalls the Antony of earlier days, he who “was borne so like a soldier that thy cheek / So much as lanked not” (1.4.80-81). Antony’s strength as an officer was unable to be encumbered even in the face of defeat; his body was impervious even to the natural elements. Caesar describes a man who was Herculean in many respects but then discounts this portrayal of Antony declaring his disillusionment in saying “that he which is was wished until he were” (1.4.48). Antony had been greatly admired by Caesar before he ascended to power and now that he commands authority, he has been unable to fulfill the hope that his previous merit had inspired. His devotion to Cleopatra has caused him to falter in his conquests and made him weak for any future achievements. Caesar’s admiration has transformed into disdain and he sees Antony as “a man who is th’ abstract of all faults / That all men follow” (1.4.10-11). Since his stay in Egypt, Antony has lost the excellence that was once associated with his name and it is this regression away from the qualities that brought him to the pinnacle of his success that verify the notion that Antony belongs to Rome; it is only in Rome and through his relationship with Caesar that he is able to achieve his potential.
Antony fails to recognize the validity and truth of his life in Rome and instead, despite his efforts, becomes entrapped in the fantastic world and enchantment of Cleopatra. Cleopatra finds joy in ensnaring men with her charm and Antony, like many before him has fallen victim to her trap. Though many of her actions demonstrate her affection for him, her frivolity towards the relationship express a different sentiment. She describes how her “bended hook shall pierce / Their slimy jaws, and as I draw them up / I’ll think them every one an Antony / And say ‘Aha! You’re caught!’” (2.5.14-17). Like a fish, Antony is being taken out of his own habitat, that place where he was born to dwell in, and forced to live in a situation that will inevitably lead to his death. Cleopatra’s portrayal of Antony as merely another one of her conquests brings further validation to the belief that it is not Egypt which is his rightful place but Rome because it is only in Rome that Antony can escape the impending death that would result from either Cleopatra’s doings, piercing him with a hook, or by simply being out of his environment. Antony sees the impending danger that is associated with Cleopatra but is not strong enough to escape from her enchantment. “These strong Egyptian fetter I must break / Or lose myself in dotage” (1.2.128-129). Antony depicts Cleopatra as a sorceress forcibly binding her victims and he, a poor prisoner yearning to break free from the other worldly chains that do not allow him to follow his true course. By referring to himself as a hostage to Cleopatra’s charm, he is declaring that had he free will, he would choose to return to Rome and honor his relationship with Caesar as his foremost responsibility. His ultimate failure demonstrates that Antony did not possess sufficient strength to crush the chains preventing him from following his predestined greatness.
True to his own human frailty, Antony attempts to fulfill his every desire and falls tragically short of achieving success in both his true role as ruler of Rome and his role as Cleopatra’s lover. Though his loyalty should be to the triumvirate, he neglects his position in an effort to also attain control over Cleopatra’s affection. Unable to perform both tasks adequately, he realizes that “ten thousand harms more than the ills I know / My idleness doth hatch” (1.2.144-145). In his longing to fulfill both roles, he fails to perform either sufficiently and instead causes greater harm to the people in both the worlds he is tries to support. “The hearts / The spanieled me at heels, to whom I gave / Their wishes, do discandy, melt their sweets / On blossoming Caesar” (4.12.22-25). His struggle to earn the respect and care of Caesar and his officers ultimately failed because he abandoned his responsibilities as a leader in order to fulfill his task as a lover. In the end, Antony is unsuccessful in both roles, proven through his inability to retain the loyalty of his officers or sustain his relationship with Caesar or Cleopatra.
The ultimate demise of one of the greatest warriors of Rome, Antony, leads to a mournful acceptance of human limitations. The magnificence that had surrounded Antony throughout most of his life creates disbelief at the finality of his grandeur. Caesar knows that it was inevitable that either he or Antony would face defeat but he is still taken aback by the actual event of Antony’s death. “We could not stall together / In the whole world. But yet let me lament / With tears as sovereign as the blood of hearts…In top of all design, my mate in empire” (5.1.48-52). The greatness that had characterized Antony was not enough to save him from the fated failure of his struggle to reclaim his position in Rome. Even Caesar, his fiercest competitor, recognizes with sorrow Antony’s death and proclaims that “the breaking of so great a thing should make / a greater crack” (5.1.17-18). Antony’s influence was so far-reaching, that Caesar notes that even the earth itself should have shaken with grief because the impact of his death touched everything. The failure of Antony and Caesar’s relationship culminating in Antony’s death epitomizes the human limitations that can hinder success.
Caesar and Antony’s relationship throughout the play offers an extraordinary perspective of the turbulent events that are portrayed in Antony and Cleopatra. It is through the failure of their relationship that the futility of Antony’s struggle to salvage the world that he rightfully belongs to, Rome, is most clearly evident. Despite his stately global status, Antony’s constant uncertainty about which relationship to honor and his true role, offers a painful example of the human limitations that exists within everyone. The futility of Antony’s efforts to fulfill both the roles he has subscribed to allows only for a mournful acceptance of confines determined by our own humanity.
