The Great Shakespearean Challenge Day 162

     165 out of 1194 pages read.

     Two days ago I finished Titus Andronicus and I still don't know what to make of this play. Titus Andronicus is considered Shakespeare's bloodiest play--an epithet which I see no reason to argue with. The play is violent, gruesome, and at times disturbing. Yet, for whatever reason, I was completely sucked into the plot. I read nearly the entire play in one sitting. Partly because I was tired and had nothing better to do with my time, but mainly because I just couldn't put the book down.

     Despite the play's addictive quality, I'm torn as to whether I like this play or not. The reason for my uncertainty is not so much the dismembered limbs, cannibalism, etc., but the characters. I mean, sure, Titus is great. He's your archetypal tragic hero; a great guy whose hubris (aka pride) causes him to make a really crappy decision (or a few, like killing Tamora's son, making Saturninus emperor, offering Saturninus Lavinia's hand in marriage, and killing his own son), and the rest of the play he struggles to right his wrongs (in the form of seeking revenge) as his life falls pieces.

     But what's up with this Aaron guy?

    He's a fairly heartless fellow. Tamora is evil too, but at least she sort of has reason to be evil; Titus defeated her people and killed her oldest son. So yeah, I can see where she might be a bit angry. But what about Aaron? He seems to be evil just because he thinks its fun. Aaron is the one who suggests that Chiron and Demetrius should violently rape Lavinia in the woods, when originally they were just going to woo her away from her husband. And then, later, he tricks Titus into cutting off his hand.

     "Hey, Titus," Aaron says, "Saturninus said that if you chop off your hand and give it to him, he won't kill your sons. Isn't that nice of him?" Little does Titus know, Saturninus made no such proposition. Oh, but Aaron does return Titus's sons to him...well, he gives Titus their heads, which happen to be unattached from their bodies. (Did I mention this play was super violent? No wonder we never read it in school...)

     But WHY? What are Aaron's motives? Is he mad because Tamora, his lover, marries Saturninus? Is he angry at Titus because he killed Tamora's son? Aaron is just a character I couldn't understand...couldn't quite believe. If there is anything I can't stand, it is a character that is 100% good or 100% evil which is why tragic heroes and Byronic heroes are my favorite character archetypes and why I don't like superhero movies (seriously, don't get me started on Superman...I can't stand that guy).

     Though, to be fair, Aaron proves not to be totally heartless. When Tamora gives birth to a son who is obviously Aaron's and not Saturninus's, Tamora orders the child to be killed, but Aaron refuses to do it. He runs off with his son, and willingly lets Lucius capture him on the condition that Lucius makes sure the baby is cared for. However, we can't forget that Aaron kills the nurse so no one finds out that the kid is his, tries to switch out his baby for another baby, and oh yeah, there's this conversation:

 

     "Yeah, of course I'm sorry--sorry I didn't do more evil things! Mwahaha!"

     Um, what?

     Okay, so the hopeless optimist within me hopes that maybe, just maybe, this is all talk. That Aaron is just trying to sound tough and intimidating. But he did murder and wreak havoc upon the other characters for seemingly no reason at all. So I just don't even know. Aaron baffles me.

     I've done it again; I've rambled on for much longer than I planned. Aaron wasn't the only character in this tragedy that irritated me; Shakespeare's treatment of the female characters in this play also irked me, but alas, I'm afraid we'll have to discuss Tamora and Lavinia at a latter date.

     So stay tuned, coming up on Diary of a Lit Nerd I will have more thoughts on Titus Andronicus as well as more rambling about Charlotte Bronte. The next Shakespeare play I'll be diving into is The Comedy of Errors (finally! a comedy!) and I'm also reading Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (get ready for an Austen/Bronte showdown).

     Thanks for reading! :)