“Lucrece this night I must enjoy thee”: A narcissistic reading of The Rape of Lucrece

Abstract

The circumstances under which acts of rape are committed, and the relationship between power and sexual aggression, may seem to be distinctly modern concerns, yet Shakespeare explores them in The Rape of Lucrece (1594). This study seeks to analyse sexual aggression in The Rape of Lucrece using the narcissistic reactance theory of rape, challenging standard readings of the poem. The theory suggests that deprivation of sex will cause some men, especially those who wield power, to desire it all the more and to reclaim it by force. The article uses this theory to examine Tarquin the aggressor’s moral choices, his use of both physical violence and violent language, and his sense of sexual entitlement.