A theme I noticed in Shakespeare’s poem “The Rape of Lucrece” was the objectification of women. Lucrece is an object of possession as described by her husband, Collatine. Lucrece is nothing more than a possession to boost his ego among his comrades. It is in his bragging of Lucrece as a work of art, a divine beauty, the most chaste and ideal wife of all women, that sparks the lust within Tarquin. It is this lust that drives Tarquin to believe that he must have this woman if he is to satisfy the hunger within him.
A similar theme is echoed in Cymbeline. Posthumus uses Imogen as a boastful tool to be superior to his friends. And just as Collatine was responsible for the rape of Lucrece, Posthumus drives Iachimo to take on the role of Tarquin. Though, unlike Tarquin, Iachimo never actually steals away Imogen’s chastity only takes the evidence he needs to convince Posthumus he has nothing to brag about anymore.
No comments:
Post a Comment