If an inquiry is made into the history and thus the ideology of rape, it becomes obvious that the Renaissance is an ideal period to both re-present medieval and classical assumptions of rape and also to lay the foundation for what we recognize as rape. At that time, as it is unfortunately the case today in most parts of the world, the heart of the matter was the concept of consent. Reluctance to acknowledge the actuality and truth of rape has always been noticeable in our law, culture, and language which in return become ways of the comic representation of the woman who says no and in reality means yes. We discover that rape is rationalized and politicized and even becomes a metaphor—i.e. it is transformed into an occasion for the conflict between men and for benefiting their honor.
The history of rape tells us that the medieval law recognized the offense primarily as a signifier in the power relations among men. The act of rape was seen as a crime against property, and the law pertaining to it was constructed around the protection of male property in the form of their movable goods, their wives and daughters, their inheritances, their future heirs. For instance, the myth of Lucrece treats the rape as both a rivalry between men and as a crime of property. What is of concern is the power struggle between men emphasizing on male honor and male relations, more than it is concerned with the personal injury afflicted on Lucrece.
To be by herself and in her private, away from much contact with the public, is what defines Lucretia as a chaste woman. Lucrece obviously is a victim of a society that defines her existence in her chastity and in her relationship to the men (father, brother, husband, son) in her life.
In the myth, she sees her body after the rape as tainted and unclean; hence, she resolves to kill herself in order to remove the whole contaminated mind and body.
Lucrece’s confusion and her internal chaos eventually lead to action. She dissolves the shame afflicted on her, puts a stop to any possibility of carrying an offspring, and takes control of her own body. By committing suicide Lucrece frees herself from the possession of her father and husband, the spell of the rapist, and the laws of the land; she becomes un-punishable. After death, she is then beyond the reach of anyone.
On the other hand, the act of rape becomes a threat to woman’s identity. Under the light of rape, it is possible to see Lucrece’s suicide as another misogynistic act. By committing suicide Lucrece prescribes to masculine violence and therefore loses her own identity and becomes another person—one who subscribes to violent behavior. Renaissance ideology definitely governs how Lucrece sees herself.
Afterword: It is also possible to suggest (as it is seen in Shakespeare’s The Rape of Lucrece) that although her action is a repetition of the rapist’s violence, the fact that she deliberately not only kills herself but does it in daylight and in front of an audience makes her act a freeing act and portrays her as a free agent of her will: bringing the private to the public.
