This thesis deals with Tacitus' portrayal of women by examining in detail a number of
the female characters in the Annals in order to identify certain themes and ideas
relating to women. The most striking theme to emerge from such an examination is
that of the strong, powerful, almost masculine woman, and several of the characters
examined exemplify this recurring theme. In portraying these characters Tacitus uses
certain language patterns and techniques of characterisation, and this thesis is
concerned with identifying such patterns and techniques. These include the recurring
use of certain words with a specific connotation, and the employment of several
methods of directing the reader's perception in the manner Tacitus desires. This
manipulation of the reader's response is an example of Tacitus' direct and indirect
authorial control, which is also evident in his technique of using his own and other
authors' usage to create resonances for particular expressions. Of note is the fact that
Tacitus avoids direct description of his characters, but rather allows their actions to
reveal character.
Given that Tacitus' main preoccupation in the Annals as a whole is the nature of the
principate, he uses his portrayal of women to illuminate and comment upon his view of
this form of government. The women chosen for study, with one exception, belong to
the imperial circle since, with the inauguration of one man rule, those with ready
access to the princeps had the most opportunity to break out of the mould of the
traditional ideal of Roman womanhood. Boudicca, the British queen of the Iceni, has
been chosen for study as a foil to the Roman women in order to highlight their
manoeuvrings for personal power, while Octavia has been selected as an exemplar of
the Roman ideal of womanhood.
Although this is not a historical or sociological study, it must be noted that the
evidence we have of the period about which Tacitus is writing is in fact one-sided evidence derived from a restricted social class, recorded by men, and an attempt to
redress this balance is made by reference to contemporary studies of the legal and
social position of women in Roman society. Consequently chapters on the historical
background and the position of women respectively have been included as
background. In addition other ancient sources have been consulted where this is
appropriate in order to determine areas of bias in Tacitus. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1993.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/5583 |
| Date | January 1993 |
| Creators | Delany, Ann Moreton. |
| Contributors | Gosling, A. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
Page generated in 0.0011 seconds