Was Cassius the True Villain of Julius Caesar?
By Alicia Nesbitt

Villains come in all shapes and sizes.  They can be purely evil, like Don Jon from Much Ado about Nothing, or some good may be seen in 
them.  Such may be the case in Julius Caesar.  In the beginning, one cannot help but hate the character Caius Cassius, but at the end, 
the same person who hated him may end up liking him.  The question, therefore, remains--Was Cassius the true villain of Julius Caesar?  
No.  Yes, he was the one to turn Brutus and the others against Caesar in the beginning.  However, as the play went on, we saw that Cassius 
had steadfastness, compassion, and an honor that seemed to elude Marc Antony at the end.  Therefore, he was not the villain, but, in some 
strange way, the hero.

Steadfastness is a very useful virtue, and one that Cassius possessed.  He would not be swayed by other's opinions if he had one of his own, and 
didn't allow Brutus' thoughts to interfere with his plans.  After he decided that Rome would be better off if Caesar was dead, others joined in 
the conspiracy, for whatever reason.  Unlike Casca, Cassius doesn't change his opinion the minute someone else does, as is seen here:

Cassius: But what of Cicero?  Shall we sound him?  I think he will stand very
     strong with us.
Casca: Let us not leave him out.
Cinna:                                         No, by no means.
Metellus: O, let us have him, for his silver hairs
     Will purchase us a good opinion,
     And buy men's voices to commend our deeds:
     It shall be said, his judgement ruled our hands;
     Our youths and wildness shall no whit appear
     But all be buried in his gravity.
Brutus:  O, name him not: let us not break with him:
     For he will never follow anything
     That other men begin.
Cassius:                           Then leave him out.
Casca: Indeed he is not fit.
[2.1.141-153]


It may seem that Casca and Cassius are saying the same thing, but Cassius was taking into account the logic of his brother's opinion, while Casca 
seems to simply be agreeing with the one who's in charge.  That could be assumed of Cassius, but then, after Brutus says that it wouldn't be a 
good idea to kill Marc Antony with Caesar, Cassius counters that opinion with "Yet I fear him; / For in the ingrafted love he bears to 
Caesar----." [2.1.183-4].  In the end, he doesn't say anything about it, but seems uneasy about doing so, and he also tries to prevent Brutus 
from allowing Antony to speak at Caesar's funeral, saying, "You know not what you do: do not consent / That Antony speak in his 
funeral:" [3.1.233-5].  Again, Brutus fails to listen to him; being the honourable person he is, he assumes that everyone is the same.  Cassius 
gives Brutus the benefit of the doubt and stays quiet after he's expressed his concerns, but he expresses those concerns a few times before he 
steps aside.

Cassius' compassion is hard to see in the first three acts, but becomes quite apparent after he becomes aware that Brutus' wife, Portia, is dead.  
Indeed, he can't quite grasp the fact, saying, "Portia, art thou gone?" [4.3.166] after Brutus asks him to "Speak no more of her." [4.3.157].  
This compassion ultimately brings about his death. He sends Titinius to their camp in order for him to bring back word on whether the troops 
there are friend or foe.  When it looks as though Titinius was killed by the army below, Cassius exclaims, "O, coward that I am, to live so 
long, / To see my best friend ta'en before my face!" [5.3.34-5].  When he assumes that all is lost, he kills himself with the help of Pindarus, 
his bondsman.  This is extremely disappointing after we find out what really happened in the camp from Titinius when he says, "Did I not meet thy 
friends?  And did not they / Put on my brows this wreath of victory, / And bit me give it thee?" [5.3.81-3].  Compassion is a good thing, yes, but 
it seems almost as if, in Cassius' case, it was a bad thing to have, as it ultimately spelled his demise.

In the first scene of Act IV, Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus are seen making a list of people to kill, among which Antony agrees that his nephew 
should be one, saying, "He shall not live; look, with a spot I damn him." [4.1.6].  Cassius, however, is seen as honourable.  He may have plotted 
the death of Julius Caesar, but he didn't go around saying, "These people deserve to die."  Nor did he run away when Pindarus urged him to do so, 
("Fly further off, my lord, fly further off;" [5.3.9]).  He also committed suicide when he thought they had lost the battle, which was thought to 
be a noble way to die at that time in history.

Caius Cassius possessed steadfastness, compassion, and honour, which is more than can be said for some of the other characters in Julius Caesar.  
Therefore, it may be said that, while one may see him as "evil" in one part of the play, he may also be seen as possessing these qualities in 
another.  In stories, movies, plays, etc., villains are usually purely evil, but I think that the play Julius Caesar has a more realistic view 
on things.  After all, no one in the world is entirely iniquitous, so why do we think that possible in fiction, historical or otherwise?

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