Question

Read the excerpt from Julius Caesar, act 2, scene 4.

PORTIA. I prithee, boy, run to the Senate House;
Stay not to answer me, but get thee gone.—
Why dost thou stay?

LUCIUS. To know my errand, madam.

PORTIA. I would have had thee there and here again5
Ere I can tell thee what thou shouldst do there.
[Aside] O constancy, be strong upon my side;
Set a huge mountain 'tween my heart and tongue.
I have a man’s mind, but a woman’s might.
How hard it is for women to keep counsel!10
[To LUCIUS] Art thou here yet?

LUCIUS. Madam, what should I do?
Run to the Capitol, and nothing else?
And so return to you, and nothing else?

PORTIA. Yes, bring me word, boy, if thy lord look well,
For he went sickly forth; and take good note15
What Caesar doth, what suitors press to him.
Hark, boy, what noise is that?

LUCIUS. I hear none, madam.

Which conclusion does this excerpt best support?

Portia wants to take action, but she cannot.
Portia is still ignorant about Brutus’s plans.
Portia is a spy for Caesar and his followers.
Portia wishes that she werea young girl again

Answer 1

Portia wants to take action, but she cannot.

She urges Lucius to run to the Capitol and report back, complains “I have a man’s mind, but a woman’s might,” and laments how hard it is for women to keep counsel—showing she has the will to act but lacks the power or freedom to do so herself.