The contrast between Cleopatra’s perceived gender identity and the position of power she’s in Unlike in Twelfth Night where Viola disguising herself as a man grants her a higher level of respect from others even after her identity was discovered, Cleopatra only takes on the role of a man while still maintaining the appearance of a woman. This combination of masculinity and femininity leads to her being fetishized even further by those in Rome. Antony, despite being her lover, is no exception to this: even if she was just as powerful as she is as queen of Egypt, she likely wouldn’t have been considered nearly as desirable if she was European. The idea of subduing a powerful figure from a different region is alluring and, in an ideal circumstance, would also be a show of the capabilities of the Roman Empire. However, Cleopatra’s ethnicity combined with her loyalty to her nation also causes her to be viewed as a foreign threat.
This distrust between regions was the main focal point in my project. The design of the map is based in part on maps depicting the extent of an empire or some other event or phenomenon over a specific region of the world. Rather than showing the extent of her rule, I wanted the stain on the map to function as a representation of the threat Cleopatra imposes on the Roman Empire. Caesar likely wouldn’t have been as opposed to her and Antony’s relationship if it wasn’t for her refusal to submit to him (and by extension, the empire). The level of control she has over her nation and herself proves her to be more than just a sexual object, but she still does not gain any sort of respect from the Romans. She has seemingly completely flipped their idea of a functional relationship between her and Antony, forcing him to gradually submit to her will instead of vice versa. Her mere presence is like a disease they must do everything in their power to prevent Antony from falling victim to.