Critique Of Patriarchal And Militarized Society In Titus Andronicus

Titus and his family are a very good representation of the patriarchal and militarized culture. Shakespeare uses the play “Titus Andronicus” to criticize this societal view. In the play, General Titus has just returned from ten years of protecting Rome from the goths, during the war, he lost twenty-one sons during the war. His five remaining children were three sons; Lucius Quintus, Martius, and Mutius, as well as his daughter, Lavinia.

Sometimes, ideas and ideals are much better spoken about than to be put in motion. There may be aspects to an idea that make it sound great but in many instances details are missed. Titus clings to the need to be valued by society. Titus' Achilles Heel is his devotion to the Roman army. While many people believe this is an admirable trait, Titus was willing to cross moral lines because of his devotion. He strikes down one of his four remaining sons in cold blood to prove his loyalty to Romans. The Romans valued loyalty, Titus felt his son Mutius betrayed him by allowing and helping Lavinia to escape with the man she was initially supposed to marry. Titus justifies his actions in Shakespeare 1.1. 301 by saying his sons would never dishonor him, however the audience can tell Titus is interested solely in the ideas of being deemed “worthy” by the Roman citizens. Titus didn't believe he had done anything wrong because he murdered his son to maintain his and his family’s honor in Rome, in his eyes, honor was the most important virtue and he would not lose it for anyone.

Titus’ biggest flaw was that he was never able to see his family through the eyes of a father, but only as a General. He had a strong void of love or compassion, Titus strongly believed that he was doing what was right for his family by doing what was right for all of the Roman citizens. Titus killed his son for being dishonorable, which pushed a wedge between Titus and his other three sons. Titus’ other sons plead to have Mutius buried in the Andronicus family tomb, which Titus refuses because he believes Mutuis was dishonored and should not be buried in a honorable place. Shakespeare uses this to show that the militarized mindset is not one that would help hold a family together and could actually be harmful to a society as a whole. The Titus Andronicus play as a whole contains a lot of death by murder that for the most part is unprompted. Shakespeare also uses the play to draw attention to the patriarchal society. Patriarchal societies hold the ideas of basic gender roles, stereotypes, objectification, and rape culture in many cases.

In act II, Tamora’s sons stab Bassianus, then force themselves on Lavinia, who begs Tamora to kill her instead. A letter is written to make it seem as though Quintus and Martius paid a woodsman to murder Bassianus in order to frame and eliminate them which causes Titus to beg for his sons' freedom. “For all my blood in Rome's great quarrel shed … For two and twenty sons I never wept, Because they died in honour's lofty bed”. This passage further demonstrates Titus's devotion to Rome because it shows that Titus is not worried for his sons lives or well-being but instead the suggestion that their arrests would cause dishonor for Titus and his family's legacy. Titus worried that they would be dying captives and not in the line of duty unlike the other twenty-one of his children who died nobly. Titus continues his attempts to save his children by insisting that the Romans are merely preying on Titus and his family. At this point in the play, it becomes apparent to the audience that all of Titus’ pleads are only to secure the honor of his family. Titus later kills Lavinia because she has brought dishonor to her family by being raped. Titus killing Lavinia is unsettling and pushes the envelope by going against the idea of parents being protectors and acting in the best interest of their children and instead demonstrates that parents may act in a way that best suits their own needs.

The downfall of Lavinia is a representation of female virtue for the Shakespearian time period. She was an example of silent female suffering. Though Lavinia was forced into silence because her tongue was removed, she is used to be a symbol to represent the women who were forced to suffer in silence while the men prospered. Alongside this, Tamora is a character that showed a woman in power. She is the only other female character in the play. Tamora did not hold a title of power that allowed her to make any drastic decisions; however, she used her husband, who was the leader in Rome, to help her accomplish the things she wanted. Tamora also uses characters such as her children and Aaron to further produce the outcome she wanted. Shakespeare uses Tamora to show a difference from only the men being in power and to show the power behind a woman’s sexuality/ sex appeal. Tamora also draws a contrast against Titus because in the beginning of the play, Tamora is angry and begs for Titus not to kill her son. Of course, Titus does not comply and kills Tamora’s child. This contrasts against Titus because it leads the audience to believe that unlike Titus, Tamora cares deeply about her children, not just about their family name.

In all, Shakespeare uses the play to mock society and their views of being patriarchal and militarized. The play is also said to be used to represent the falling of the Roman Empire. The entire play stresses the idea that many people believed that their families honor over their heads and went to great lengths to keep from bringing dishonor to their family. Titus Andronicus is one of Shakespeare’s most gruesome and revenge fueled plays. The idea of the patriarchal and militarized helps pushed the strong themes of family and revenge.

Works Cited

• Anon, (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3844038?read-now=1&seq=1 [Accessed 3 Dec. 2019].
• Currituck.k12.nc.us. (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.currituck.k12.nc.us/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=6236&dataid=11460&FileName=TitusAndronicusInPlainandSimpleEnglish.pdf [Accessed 3 Dec. 2019].
• Scholarcommons.sc.edu. (2019). [online] Available at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1101&context=tor [Accessed 3 Dec. 2019].
• “Titus Andronicus :: : Open Source Shakespeare .” Titus Andronicus :|: Open Source Shakespeare , https://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/playmenu.php?WorkID=titus.