Titus Andronicus Gender Quotes Page 1
Citations follow this format: (Act.Scene.Line). Line numbers correspond to the Riverside edition.
| Quote #1 Marcus Andronicus, so I do ally |
When Bassianus refers to Lavinia as Rome's "rich ornament," it's pretty clear that Lavinia is valued for her grace and beauty rather than her brains or character. Her father and brothers, on the other hand, are valued for their "noble" military contributions to Rome.
| Quote #2 Now, madam, are you prisoner to |
When Titus hands over his war prisoner Tamora to the new emperor, we can't help but notice that he has also just handed over his own daughter (Lavinia) to Saturninus in much the same way. Even though Lavinia is to be Saturninus's wife and Tamora is to be Saturninus's war prisoner (for now anyway), both women are treated like property to be traded and exchanged between powerful men. This becomes even more clear when Bassianus stakes his claim on Lavinia. Keep reading...
| Quote #3 BASSIANUS Seizing LAVINIA TITUS ANDRONICUS |
Here we learn that Lavinia is already engaged to Bassianus, who declares that she's his as he grabs her and runs off. Notice that Lavinia is completely silent during all of this. What's worse, everyone seems more concerned about Bassianus's rights than whether Lavinia even wants to marry him.
