Titus Andronicus

...

her in her conquest. Throughout the play, Tamora consistently has power over the other characters -- whether as a mother, a wife, a lover, or an empress -- and she uses it to her advantage.

With her newfound power, Tamora is able to convince others to seek her own revenge for her. When Bassianus and Lavinia catch Tamora and Aaron fraternizing in the woods, they corner her with vicious, racist comments. Fortunately for Tamora, Chiron and Demetrius show up in time to defend her. She convinces the two to stab Bassianus: “Revenge it as you love your mother’s life, / Or be you not henceforth called my children” (II.3.114.115). Tamora finds no fault in using her own sons to do kill Bassianus and Aaron to dig a ditch for the body, all to frame Martius and Quintus for the death of the emperor’s brother. She does this knowing that Saturninus will want to execute the accused immediately, thus successfully murdering Titus’s two of three remaining sons. Continuing on her path of revenge, Tamora also urges Chiron and Demetrius to take out their lust on Titus’s only daughter, Lavinia, telling them, “Remember, boys, I poured forth tears in vain / To save your brother from the sacrifice, / But fierce Andronicus would not relent. / Therefore away with her, and use her as you will; / The worse to her, the better loved of me.” (II.3.162-166). Near the end of the play and when Titus is at his lowest point, it is revealed that Titus kills his own daughter to end the sufferings from the rape, and Tamora is responsible for yet another Andronicus death. Despite never bloodying her hands, she was able to destroy what was left of the Andronici family by using those around her to her benefit.

Titus Andronicus unfolds as the characters fall into a cycle of an eye-for-eye violence. The play only ends not because revenge was the answer but because there was essentially no one left to seek further vengeance. Although Tamora’s plan against Titus and his family succeeded, it proved to be futile as it did not bring about her satisfaction but the death of her and her family. As a result of her pursuit for revenge, Tamora essentially dug two graves, one for Titus and one for herself.