I can't be the only one who hears Please say you feel the same underlying these words.
No, I definitely hear it. You would have loved the production my friend and I saw. Here's part of an email I wrote to her, shortly after I saw it:
But really, it was all about Brutus and Cassius. [...] Cassius is so painfully in love with Brutus, and it bubbles out in this rage and manipulation-- "I cannot drink too much of Brutus' love" comes over with a second meaning, that he can't because it's filling him to bursting, ripping him to pieces. And after that line they're looking at each other, and Cassius just starts to reach out his hand-- and Brutus turns away. That had me _wrecked_.
And in that, they were overtly staging exactly the observation you just made: Cassius is indeed asking Brutus to say he feels the same thing -- and, as always, Brutus isn't quite able to make the connection.
I thought it was brilliantly done, overall. Brutus didn't seem *completely* blind to Cassius' feelings, which just wouldn't have worked. He was played as loving Cassius too, just not as intensely as Cassius loved him, and probably not in the same way. From my email again:
And Brutus has a few moments of being very tender with Cassius -- beginning with "or if you will, come home to me", and culminating, of course, with "I will find time", and a kiss -- that were just agonizing.
Brutus' very tentative expressions of affection made it painfully obvious how Cassius was feeling -- that he was holding out hope that his love just *might* be requited. And so similar to Brutus' dynamic with Portia -- it was the same expression of sad, puzzled affection in "As dear to me as are the ruddy drops that visit my sad heart". And oh man, when Brutus gave Cassius that brief kiss after his suicide -- far too late of course, but so, so moving.
The whole play is Slash Paradise and I'm planning a short story on the JC theme myself, but would love to read your Cassius slash - write it, dammit, and please give me a shout once it's up and posted! :-)
And here I thought I was the only one! I'll be sure to keep you updated, if you promise to do the same. Maybe we can use each other as beta-readers. :)
Re: Yay! In-depth Cassius slash discussion!
I can't be the only one who hears Please say you feel the same underlying these words.
No, I definitely hear it. You would have loved the production my friend and I saw. Here's part of an email I wrote to her, shortly after I saw it:
But really, it was all about Brutus and Cassius. [...] Cassius is so
painfully in love with Brutus, and it bubbles out in this rage
and manipulation-- "I cannot drink too much of Brutus' love"
comes over with a second meaning, that he can't because it's
filling him to bursting, ripping him to pieces. And after that
line they're looking at each other, and Cassius just starts to
reach out his hand-- and Brutus turns away. That had me _wrecked_.
And in that, they were overtly staging exactly the observation you just made: Cassius is indeed asking Brutus to say he feels the same thing -- and, as always, Brutus isn't quite able to make the connection.
I thought it was brilliantly done, overall. Brutus didn't seem *completely* blind to Cassius' feelings, which just wouldn't have worked. He was played as loving Cassius too, just not as intensely as Cassius loved him, and probably not in the same way. From my email again:
And Brutus has a few moments of being very tender with Cassius --
beginning with "or if you will, come home to me", and culminating,
of course, with "I will find time", and a kiss -- that were just
agonizing.
Brutus' very tentative expressions of affection made it painfully obvious how Cassius was feeling -- that he was holding out hope that his love just *might* be requited. And so similar to Brutus' dynamic with Portia -- it was the same expression of sad, puzzled affection in "As dear to me as are the ruddy drops that visit my sad heart". And oh man, when Brutus gave Cassius that brief kiss after his suicide -- far too late of course, but so, so moving.
The whole play is Slash Paradise and I'm planning a short story on the JC theme myself, but would love to read your Cassius slash - write it, dammit, and please give me a shout once it's up and posted! :-)
And here I thought I was the only one! I'll be sure to keep you updated, if you promise to do the same. Maybe we can use each other as beta-readers. :)