# Portia — Julius Caesar character guide

> Portia in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** good Portia, gentle Portia

**First appearance:** 0006-act-ii-scene-i

## Snapshot

Brutus's wife, who wounds herself to prove she can keep his dangerous secret, then waits in agonized suspense for news from the Capitol.

## Who they are

Portia is bound to Brutus by a fierce, anxious love and a demand to be treated as an equal partner rather than a sheltered wife. She has already proven her resolve by giving herself a wound, yet in the street before her house she confesses the strain of a 'man's mind' in a 'woman's might,' unable to keep counsel or still her fear. Her frantic errand to Lucius and her near-faint as she sends a cheerful message she does not feel make her the human cost of the conspiracy, felt far from the Senate floor.

## Relationships

### [Marcus Brutus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/characters/marcus_brutus)

_family_

Portia is Brutus's devoted wife, who is deeply concerned about his distress and later dies by suicide.

### [Marcus Brutus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/characters/marcus_brutus)

_family_

Portia is Brutus's devoted wife, who is deeply concerned about his distress and later dies by suicide.

## In the story

### [Scene I: Brutus's Orchard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-i)

Brutus's wife, who notices his agitation and sleeplessness, confronts him and pleads to know the cause of his grief, asserting her right as his spouse.

### [Scene IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-iv)

Portia is fraught with anxiety, sending Lucius to spy on Brutus and Caesar. She laments her inability to keep counsel and feels the weight of her husband's secret enterprise.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/characters/portia
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/characters