Husband and Wife Comparison of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Martin Luther once said, “Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave.” This quote applies directly to one couple In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. William Shakespeare puts the husband and wife couples conversations back to back to show the contrast of the two sets of lovers. Both couples love each other but they both treat each other very differently. These two couples are similar in that both of the wives beg very much so of their husbands. When Portia is asking Brutus about his secret she says, “I ought to know of; and upon my knees I charm you…” To go down to your knees typically means someone is begging in hopes of a positive result, just like when a man asks a woman to be his wife. On the same note, Calpurnia says to Caesar, “Let me upon my knee, prevail in this.” hoping to convince Caesar not to go to town in fear of him getting murdered. Also, both wives are…show more content… Caesar says, “How foolish do your fears now seem, Calpurnia! I am ashamed I did yield to them. Give me my robe, for I will go.” He tells her she is dumb and that he should have never listened to her in the first place. What he said to her is a sign of disrespect and should never be said upon a lady, and most definitely would have been frowned upon in today’s society. Although there are many similarities in the two relationships, the differences highly outweigh them. Portia and Brutus compare more to the modern day relationship than Calpurnia and Caesar. Brutus treats his wife respect and care, while Caesar treats Calpurnia with little to no respect at all. In today’s society woman have more of a role in everyday life than they ever did in Shakespeare’s time. Caesar treats Calpurnia as if she had no says or importance and Brutus treats Portia with the utmost respect more like men do today with their
