Whose role in the play "Julius Caesar" is more important-Calpurnia or Portia?

This is an excellent question...since these two characters are the only women in the play, and they are married to key male characters--Calpurnia to Caesar and Portia to Brutus--it is worth examining.

First, Calpurnia's role is mostly to warn Caesar about going to the the Senate on March 15.  She has had terrible dreams and fears for her husband's life...rightly so.  However, she fails in her endeavor since Caesar is bullied into going by alternate interpretations of Calpurnia's dream.

Portia, on the other hand, has the role of friend and partner.  She gets Brutus to agree to open up to her by slashing her thigh open and challenging him to trust her with the problems he is facing as she can withstand the pain of her wound.  He agrees, but the assassination takes place before they have a chance to talk.  Brutus is forced to flee after Antony's moving speech, and Portia never has the opportunity to talk with her husband and guide him through his problems.

Ultimately, both wives fail in their goals, but I would vote for Portia as more important since she seems to have a more equal foothold in her marital relationship and would have had a positive effect on Brutus' actions had the timing been right and they had the chance to sit down and discuss matters.