Thesis Abstract and Dissertation Abstracts
Cannibals, Kings and Travelers: Anthropophagy in Shakespeare, Melville and Conrad
Abstract Category: Arts
Course / Degree: English Master Literature and Culture
Institution / University: University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Published in: 2008
Cannibalism has both a social function and meaning. It serves as taboo, opposite of civilization, but at the same time has a social meaning. In essence, cannibalism is an act performed to in either way serve a social goal, whether it is to revenge on enemies, to survive as a species or as individual. It is the worst taboo in civilized societies, but also the most fascinating and intriguing taboo in our imaginations. In the case of Titus, it is used as a reaction against civilization, as a sort of reverse normative lesson to Roman rule. In Typee, it functions as a contrast to society and projection of fear. In Falk, cannibalism is linked to power, which in turn is social. Cannibalism is not only about positioning the Other; the reason why cannibalism is such a fascinating taboo could be because it is very contradictory; it is directed against all social rules and norms, but has, in essence, a social function.
Cannibalism is more complex than simply the idea of eating other humans. It can be used on a cultural level for the transmission of spiritual energy or as a means for dealing with emotions, like mourning or revenge. Hunger based cannibalism would seem to arise from conditions of famine and simply represent a need for protein, under which category we could place the survival cannibalism in the novella of Joseph Conrad, whereby the main character eats other humans as will later be explored. The first category, in which cannibalism fulfills some sort of psychological need, could also be linked to the idea of revenge. Perhaps it is possible that because Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus had lived through such traumatic experiences imposed unto him by the Roman society he had so truly assimilated, that the revenge of feeding the sons of Tamora to her, satisfies his own psychological need in order to deal with his trauma. The people of Typee, who live in such an edenical valley, are so bored and unchallenged in life, that cannibalism satisfies, on some level or another, certain psychosexual needs (Sanday).
Cannibalism is the very opposite of social behavior, but contradicted by its social nature. The symbolic function of cannibalism as the devourer of society and its rules stands for man’s worst fear, which is to be absorbed by his own kind. The action is not so much horrible, but it is perverse. By using or referring to cannibalism in stories and novels, a certain notion of perversion is projected upon the person or society the act of anthropophagy refers to. In the case of Titus Andronicus, his sacrificial act of cannibalism is necessary to show the extremeness and perversion of his process of destruction induced by the very Roman society he, as a warrior, had so very much incorporated. Titus was a Roman warrior into the extreme; his whole identity was fully and only dedicated to Rome and that society. His personal sacrifices and life was in service of this society, which treated him in the most horrifying manner possible in his mind by dishonoring and accusing him of crimes against Rome. Titus’ madness reflects the same horror and perverse nature of the acts committed to him and his family, the only possible revenge for him would not have been to exclude himself from that society, but to commit the most perverse act onto it. The fact that sacrifice and mutilation itself were also seen as necessary and relatively normal acts in Rome, as seen in the first act where Alarbus is sacrificed, only proves the perversity of the final act of Titus. To be able to revenge himself on this society, he had to commit the most perverse and mad act of them all, namely to feed Tamora’s sons to her and Saturnine.
Thesis Keywords/Search Tags:
Cannibalism, Shakespeare, Conrad, Melville, Perversity
This Thesis Abstract may be cited as follows:
Cannibals, Kings and Travelers:
Anthropophagy in Shakespeare, Melville and Conrad
An Analysis of the Function and Perversity of Cannibalism in Literature
Submission Details: Thesis Abstract submitted by Suzanne Dejevij from Netherlands on 21-Sep-2008 18:07.
Abstract has been viewed 8697 times (since 7 Mar 2010).
Suzanne Dejevij Contact Details: Email: hdejevij@hotmail.com
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