ABSTRACT
Fielding obviously admired Grandison—she will later praise it warmly in the introduction to The Lives of Cleopatra and Octavia—but she is not obsequious in her admiration. The stories of Cleopatra and Octavia were available to Fielding principally in three forms: classical histories and biographies, modern histories and works of imaginative literature. Hoping to offer a more perfect contrast to Octavia and highlight the corrosive effects of pride, Fielding darkens Cleopatra's character. In a portion of the text that is entirely of Fielding's creation, Cleopatra writes to Anthony after he has left her to marry Octavia in an unsuccessful effort to reconcile with Octavius Caesar. In the dedication, Fielding offers lavish praise for the "amiable and gentle" Octavia, who represents "all of those Graces and Embellishments, worthy the most refined Female Character". Contrasting Fielding's negative characters, Octavia suppresses egotistical desires and encourages her altruistic tendencies, and she does so through active, intellectual exercise.
