The Iron Lady
Duty to the position of power (example: Antony acts on duty to the state when he marries Octavia, but if he honors his heart, he has to be with Cleopatra.)
BUT Cleopatra’s duty is not so well defined
Duty to the position of power
Change is Margaret has a strong sense of duty – her sense of duty is a superior one to the one displayed by Cleopatra
Friendship is also central because so much of the play is about how leaders are nothing without the people that follow them. Cleopatra constantly leans on her servants for support and advice, and Antony is undone as his own men betray him. How we view ourselves is often gauged by how others view us, and their duty to us is a reflection of our own honor.
Friend – her husband
Margaret did not lean on support just leaned on herself – lonely leader (because of this she does not listen to her party and is betrayed by the party)
Love – above all (Cleopatra)
Love – more a duty to her husband - not as strong a value as in Shakespear
Integrity – Cleopatra does not necessarily stand by Antony
Margaret – there is no question of her integrity – superior value
Poetical ending of a love story – empathy of Octavian for their love (they are buried together)
Grim reality of dementia and getting old – empathy for her dementia and regress
Royal blood – born like that (origin)
Persistence & determination - Middle class struggler – who shows that with great effort comes great power
Context = social (2 societies vs 1), political (Phantasy/Illusion vs reality), historical (written much later than the events happened vs written immediately after the events)
The central values were creatively reshaped to fit a more modern society than the Roman one. (time)
The values were reshaped to clearer values typical and well define for the English society of the 20th century. The values in the Shakespearian text were not necessarily true from a historical point of view plus difference in