Charmian: The Woman Who Dies the Same Way Her Queen Does

Charmian is Cleopatra's most intimate companion, present in nearly every scene at the Egyptian court. She is funny in Act 1. She interrogates the Soothsayer about her future husband and wants specifics, the more outrageous the better, and the play uses her warmth to establish the texture of Cleopatra's Egypt before the Roman world intrudes.

She is loyal in the way that Enobarbus is loyal to Antony, but without the crisis of conscience. She does not calculate the odds or consider defection. When Cleopatra decides to die, Charmian is there. When Iras dies first from kissing the queen, Charmian's comment ('Have I the aspic in my lips?') has a dry bravery that is entirely her own.

Her last act is to close Cleopatra's eyes and straighten the crown on her head. She dies applying the asp to herself as the Roman guard bursts in, answering their demand for an explanation with a single line: 'It is well done, and fitting for a princess descended of so many royal kings.' She has the final word on her queen.