Staging Disgust: Rape, Shame, and Performance in Shakespeare and Middleton

The Element examines the causes of the shame felt by early modern rape victims, focusing on the role of affect, disgust, and challenging the assumption that a raped woman should feel intolerable shame. Shakespeare's poem The Rape of Lucrece is used as a classic paradigm of sexual pollution and shame.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 106 pages
Publication date: 29 February 2024
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

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The Element takes center stage to delve into a fundamental question about gender and affect: what instigates the shame experienced by early modern rape victims? Beneath the veneer of honor codes and problematic assumptions about consent, the answer lies in the realm of affect, specifically disgust. This exploration delves into two interconnected aspects: the textual performance of affect, examining how literary language evokes emotions, and the ways in which disgust can be effectively employed in theatrical performances. Shakespeare's renowned poem, "The Rape of Lucrece," serves as a classic paradigm of sexual pollution and shame. In this poem, disgust's irrational logic of contamination leaves the raped wife in a perpetual state of uncleanness that permeates both her physical body and her soul.

Staging Disgust presents alternative perspectives to this bleak trajectory. Middleton's play "Women Beware Women" and Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus" showcase distinct approaches to disgust, utilizing the audience's revulsion to challenge the prevailing notion that a raped woman should inherently feel unbearable shame. By exploring these plays, we gain insights into the complex interplay between gender, affect, and the theatrical representation of disgust, shedding light on the potential for resistance and transformation in the face of sexual violence.

ISBN-13: 9781009379823