Question

read the excerpt from act 2, scene 1, of julius caesar. brutus. kneel not, gentle portia. portia. i should not need if you were gentle brutus. within the bond of marriage, tell me, brutus, is it excepted i should know no secrets that appertain to you? am i your self but as it were in sort or limitation? to keep with you at meals, comfort your bed, and talk to you sometimes? dwell i but in the suburbs of your good pleasure? if it be no more, portia is brutus harlot, not his wife. brutus. you are my true and honourable wife, as dear to me as are the ruddy drops that visit my sad heart. portia. if this were true, then should i know this what effect does brutuss secrecy have on his wife, portia? select three options. □ she feels like she is not really brutuss wife if he cannot be honest with her. □ she thinks that brutus is unfairly keeping her in the dark because she is a woman. □ she forces brutus to tell her about the conspiracy to kill caesar. □ she harms herself to prove to brutus that she is strong enough to keep his secret. □ she joins the conspiracy to go after caesar and says she will wound him.

Explanation:

1. Portia argues that marriage means shared trust, so Brutus's secrecy makes her feel like she is not a real wife to him, just a companion without true intimacy.
2. Portia frames her exclusion as a gendered slight, questioning if she is kept in the dark only because she is a woman, not a trusted partner.
3. In the full scene of Julius Caesar, Portia stabs her thigh to prove her strength and loyalty, showing she can be trusted with Brutus's secret, which is a direct reaction to his secrecy.
4. Portia does not force Brutus to tell her immediately, nor does she join the conspiracy to harm Caesar.

Answer:

• She feels like she is not really Brutus's wife if he cannot be honest with her.
• She thinks that Brutus is unfairly keeping her in the dark because she is a woman.
• She harms herself to prove to Brutus that she is strong enough to keep his secret.