Charmian

Play

Antony and Cleopatra

Summary

Charmian is Cleopatra's closest and most vivid attendant — witty, irreverent, and deeply loyal to her mistress. She is among the first to appear in the play, consulting the soothsayer with gleeful curiosity about her future, and she remains at Cleopatra's side to the last. When Cleopatra dies, Charmian straightens her mistress's crown with a final gesture of ceremonial devotion, then applies an asp herself and dies moments later. A Roman soldier's question — "Charmian, is this well done?" — is answered with her last breath: "It is well done, and fitting for a princess / Descended of so many royal kings."

Notable Quotations

"It is well done, and fitting for a princess / Descended of so many royal kings." *(5.2)*

"O Cleopatra! thou art taken, queen." *(5.2)*

Cross-references

• Antony and Cleopatra — the play
• Tragedies
• character_cleopatra — her mistress, whom she serves unto death
• Iras — Cleopatra's other devoted attendant (58 lines; below the 100-line threshold for a character page)