Julius Caesar: Caesar's Gender Transformation Shakespeare's Julius Caesar opens with Caesar's simultaneous celebrations of Pompey's defeat and the annual fertility festival of Lupercal. The pairing of the two historically separate events, each celebrating distinct gender roles, dramatically highlights the importance of gender characterization. The patriarchal society of Rome requires a leader who embodies the virile spirit of the State with leadership characterized by strength, courage and constancy. Caesar quite appropriately assumes this role as he returns valiantly and victorious from the battlefields; therefore, to remove him from the strong ruler of Rome, Caesar's enemies must reduce his masculinity. Roman society views women as the embodiment of weaknesses, thinking that their physical, mental and political inferiority makes them of little use beyond reproductive purposes, explaining why throne aspirants feminize the identity of the male warrior figure to position him as unfit for the throne. crown.The portrayal of the novel's two female characters, Portia and Calphurnia, captures the prevailing stereotypical perception of women. Caesar's wife, Calphurnia, demonstrates women's predisposition towards fear and superstition when she begs Caesar to stay at home after dreaming that a statue made in her likeness was Caesar shedding blood. Calphurnia establishes the sentiment that fear is a feminine trait with her plea to Caesar asking him to use her anxiety as an alibi, saying, "Don't go out today. Call it my fear." (2.2.50). Caesar temporarily agrees to this agreement with a veiled acknowledgment of reality, a rhetorical question relating to the fact that he is "afraid to tell... half the paper... and Brutus." Cassius proclaims in his death "Guide the sword: Caesar, you are avenged, / Eve with the sword that killed you" (5.3.45-46). This conclusion of the final victory of the male spirit seems the only appropriate outcome for Shakespeare his work to be a true reflection of Roman culture. Women have value only in terms of services provided that advance the interests of the male community, and in this case the conspirators needed reasons to make Caesar unfit for his position and. feminizing it provides a useful mechanism for doing so. Caesar's retransformation results in Octavius' declaration to the world that "This was a man!" (5.5.75), reinforcing the idea that the male spirit will prevail in Roman society. Works Cited: Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. New York: Simone, 1975.