I was fairly disturbed by Lavinia's story in Titus Andronicus, but the play was fairly absurd so I could get past that. What bothers me more (and this returns to earlier concerns with Rape of Lucrece) is the stylized, artistic representation of something so incredibly brutal. This seems to have improved over time. I guess what bothers me most is that I can still be captivated by the artistic beauty of these scenes and the skill it took to achieve it, even though the subject is disgusting. A victim of a crime like this, if encountered in real life immediately after the event, would be (I imagine) an image that you'd want to erase from your mind forever. I found three different images of Lavinia post-rape:
1) This is the oldest one I found. Here there's no clear detail of the fact that she is missing her hands and tongue, but the artist did take the time to fully detail her breasts and the beautiful billowing cloth around her.
2) Japanese stage production. The emotion of the actress is stark and haunting. Perhaps these are the ribbons we discussed in class.
3) From the movie Titus. I was horrified watching this, and felt nauseated, but afterwards all I could dwell on was the incredible statement of the branches/stump. Which just made me feel sick again.
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