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

I will elaborate upon the three main searches of the book, Selene and Alexander trying to return to Egypt, living in Rome, and finding love.

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

taught to her over the years by her mother. Queen Cleopatra was a Goddess, a thing of carved of marble, cold and beautiful and perfect, although we some of her weaker, final moments, she was more of a Queen for Selene than a mother. In fact, her brother remarks when Octavia, their host in Rome, visits them before bed to wish them a good night’s sleep that their own mother never did such a thing, to which Selene fiercely reminds him that their mother was a queen. It seems that Selene pursues Egypt not because she truly wants it, but because it is what her mother taught her was ‘right’. This is further supported by how she simply loses interest once her brother Alexander dies, and that her desire to return to Egypt resurges when she experiences nostalgia and fond memories of her childhood or a bitter experience in Rome. Overall, Selene’s search for Egypt is a major plotline of the book.
A major search or drive throughout this book would be Selene finding her way in Rome. At various points across the book one of Selene’s major concerns and desires are centered around surviving in Rome and finding a place in it while she waits for her return to Egypt. Selene slowly assimilates into Roman culture, although she never completely abandoned her heritage. She works hard in the ludus, which is like a Roman private school. She even seeks out Master Vitruvius, convincing him to take her as an apprentice and complete her education in architecture. She learns how to lay tiles in mosaics, knowing Octavian desires that the people he surrounds himself with have skills. She even draws up designs for Octavian’s, a man she hates, mausoleum. This is a reoccurring happening, Selene creates many buildings for people she has little affection for, and although it could be argued she does this because it is her passion. It is more than once mentioned that she makes a point of demonstrating her skills to impress Octavian. Selene is hothead and deeply embittered towards Rome, however she keeps a tight handle on herself, knowing what she can and cannot get away with. Undoubtedly, one of Selene’s prime concerns is keeping her head connected to her neck.
One of the major searches and plotlines for nearly every character in this book, is the search for love.

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

her family, which cause her to be quite averse to Juba. The two share a very romantic scene at the end of the book, declaring their collective love, and Selene’s search is over. Clearly, the search for love is one of the most basic desires of humanity, and it frequently rears it’s mighty head throughout this book.
As demonstrated, Selene and some other characters throughout Cleopatra’s Daughter search for what has been stolen from them, survival, and the love they crave. Selene embraces all three of these searches in her attempts to return home, appease Octavian, and her romantic adventures, creating an interesting perspective on the life of Cleopatra Selene. The sole survivor of the Ptolemy line. In general, I found Cleopatra’s Daughter to be a good book until I had to examine it carefully, then it can be found to have choppy dialogue and movement, besides cursory character development.