There is not much that is subtle about this play,
including the women characters. Many scholars consider it to be a very early play of
Shakespeare's, and as such, doesn't reveal much of the deep and complex
characterizations that would people his later plays. If you consider Lavinia and Tamora
separately, they are two cliched representations of women, but also complete
opposites.
Tamora is a masculine woman in her behavior who
has put aside her more tender, feminine aspects to "run with the boys," which is
probably necessary. She is, after all, her people's ruler. She matches wits with the
powerful male figures in the play and is as invested in her own revenge plot as Titus is
in his. She does have her moments of speaking out as a loving and caring mother, but
given her actions in the play, it is hard not to read some attempt at manipulation in
these pleas. At the end of the play, she is completely demoralized, being made to eat a
pie that contains the chopped up remains of her dead sons, and is finally overtaken by
the more powerful Titus in his thirst for revenge.
Lavinia,
on the other hand, is, at first, the model of the good, obedient daughter. She seems
content to marry her father's choice for her, even though she is betrothed to someone
else. Yet, there is an interesting confrontation between Lavinia and Tamora, once
Lavinia is married, that shows some spunk and life. At the end, however, Lavinia is a
victim of the power-hungry characters around her (including Tamora). She has her tongue
cut out, and this forced muting is a nice symbol of how little "voice" she has in what
befalls her in this society.
This is not one of
Shakespeare's more delicate or subtle plays, and in it, the female characters are nearly
cartoon-ish in their extreme rendering as either completely power-hungry and driven to
revenge (Tamora) or as a victim of circumstance, one who is prepared to assume her
required role as second class citizen to the men around her
(Lavinia).
No comments:
Post a Comment