In this essay man's role in marriage will be examined in relation to Richard II and Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. Marriage in Jacobean society was a highly codified and intricate subject that would govern the lives of nearly all audiences (Ranald 68). Within Richard II and Antony and Cleopatra men face a multitude of marital pressures and expectations. Within this complex marriage network, participants' roles would have been strictly established, and departing from the norm would have been considered exciting, risky, and dangerous. Consequently, deviations from conventional marriage would challenge the public's standard beliefs. In this essay I will show how in Richard II, Antony and Cleopatra the male characters deviate dangerously from their roles, resulting in the demise of marriages. Shakespeare demonstrates this by drawing a clear parallel between the failure of the marriage and the failure of the character; as demonstrated by Richard's poor reign and Antony's rejection of Rome. Both of these failures to succeed in their roles lead to the destruction of their marriages. While failure in one's role directly poses a problem to the marriage, failure in one's role also indirectly poses a problem to the marriage due to the conventionality of the marriage which causes a tension between the nonconformity of the male characters. Both Anthony and Richard are presented as rulers and statesmen. Accompanying the positions are various duties and expectations that contain both the need for success and achievement and the religious and moral dimensions of control. The expectations and duties to which the characters are held establish the character's role within society and are linked to their marital success. A key…half of the card…is presented through the consequences of Richard and Anthony not fulfilling their roles. Due to Anthony and Richard's failure in their roles, their marriages collapse. Role failure destroys marriage through the close association between marriage and roles and through the tension caused between unconventional characters and conventional marriage. Although Anthony and Richard go through a seemingly similar process (they face similar roles and fail in similar ways), a key difference explains the different circumstance of the collapse of their marriages. Through Anthony's choice to fail in his role, he is given the choice to end his marriage. Conversely, because Richard does not choose to fail in his role, Richard's marriage is destroyed without his consent. Therefore, how a character fails in their role influences how their marriage is destroyed.