Research Paper On Cleopatra's Daughter

Egypt, Queen Cleopatra, many know the tale of her demise, but what of the children she left behind? Cleopatra’s Daughter is a novel that follows Cleopatra Selene, from her point of view, after the end of the Ptolemy rule in Egypt. Mark Anthony and Cleopatra have both chosen death rather than disgrace at Octavian’s hands, while Selene and her twin brother Alexander are taken to live with Octavian’s sister, Octavia, in Rome. Though the twins do try to live in Rome, Selene dreams of returning to Egypt, a dream that never comes true. In the end, Alexander dies, no doubt the handiwork of Octavian, while Selene is married to Juba and made Queen of Mauritania, never to return to her Egypt, but still a Queen as she was born to be. In this journal

Throughout most of the book, starting when Egypt falls to Alexander’s death, Selene searches for a way back to her homeland, Egypt. It is one of her main desires as a character to return her and Alexander to Egypt, to rule it’s lands, and have revenge on Octavian for having caused the deaths of her family and loved ones. Selene is constantly thinking of this, much to her brother’s frustration, for Selene, returning to Egypt is like honey, and she is the bee. She visits the Temple of Isis in Rome immediately when the priest delivers a message to her. However; it is a failure as priest is only interested into money and Juba intervenes. There are many moments in the book where Selene defers to Octavian in hopes that one day he may restore her and Alexander to the throne of Egypt. I find Selene’s desire to return to Egypt not truly one of her own, but it is one that has been

Selene longs for Marcellus, Julia longs for Marcellus, Marcellus shows interest in both of them, Juba loves Selene, and Alexander dies while meeting his lover Lucius, not to mention the great many affairs, marriages, and pregnancies that occur in this book. The search for love is a very basic desire of humanity, and Selene is only human. She longs for love just as any do, and she loves Marcellus for his charisma, kindness, and Herculean looks. However; she never lets these affections of hers do much of anything, in fact, all the romantic interactions between her and Marcellus are that of two school children barely flirting, and nothing happens. Juba has a much more mature passion for her, loving her bravery and will. Selene comes to love him in the later half of the book as well. Her love for Marcellus is common base, and lacking in any true depth, however; the same may be said for her love for Juba, as it develops very, very slowly, constantly derailed by her misconstrued hatred of him, and then suddenly, all at once, she discovers he is the Red Eagle, a rebel who has been speaking out through actas, much like a newspaper article. This incites her passion for him, which really, if one looks closely, does seem to have been there along. It was only kept dormant by the belief that Juba is a terrible and loyal lackey of Octavian who helped orchestrate the destruction of