Although her reckless decision nearly destroys the peace between the Roman and Egyptian people that Caesar has established, he manages to defeat the Egyptian army once more. While Cleopatra attempts to construe her order for Pothinus’s assassination as politically motivated, she ultimately acts out of spite. In Act IV, Cleopatra orders Ftatateeta to kill Pothinus in retaliation for Pothinus insulting her in front of Caesar. Although Cleopatra develops a childish infatuation with Caesar and is eager to please him, her youthful sense of entitlement provides her with little of Caesar’s disdain for unnecessary bloodshed, and she frequently fantasizes about exacting revenge on her enemies and subordinates. Caesar becomes Cleopatra’s mentor rather than her lover, teaching the inexperienced young queen how to command the respect of her subjects and instilling in her a reverence for his political ideals. Like the Sphinx, which has the head of a human and the body of a lion, Cleopatra exists between two worlds: she is simultaneously a child and a young woman on her way to becoming a competent leader. As such, the Sphinx–and cats in general–become an important symbol for her, evoking both her connection to Egyptian culture and the transitional element of her identity. Likewise, the play portrays Cleopatra’s ongoing feud with Ptolemy as less a conflict of political import than a stereotypical squabble between siblings. Whereas Cleopatra the historical figure was likely in her early 20s when she met Caesar, Shaw reimagines Cleopatra as a naive, immature teenager who still believes in nonsensical stories about cannibalistic Romans.
At the beginning of the play, she is holding court in Syria after her younger brother Ptolemy, with whom she is vying for sole control of the Egyptian throne, banishes her from the royal palace in Alexandria.
Cleopatra is one of the play’s central protagonists.
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