CULTURA 2012_262905_VOL_9_No2_GR_A5Br.indd 1 CULTURA mote theexplorationofdifferentvalues andculturalphenomenain ted tophilosophyofcultureandthestudyvalue. Itaimstopro- www.peterlang.de are ding thevalues andculturalphenomenainthecontempo­ that research original on based judged tomake anovelandimportantcontributiontounderstan- manuscripts of submission the contexts. international and regional and ulture C F ounded in2004, SN 978-3-631-62905-5 ISBN xiology A hilosophy of hilosophy P of ournal J International ultura. C isasemiannualpeer-reviewed journaldevo- T he editorial board encourages encourages board editorial he rary world. 2012

International journal of philosophy of 2 culture and axiology CULTURA CULTURA 2012 and axiology of philosophyculture Internat i onal journal journal onal Vol IX Peter Lang 16.11.12 12:39:44 Uhr No 2 No CULTURA 2014_265846_VOL_11_No1_GR_A5Br.indd.indd 1 CULTURA Founded in2004, judged tomake anovelandimportantcontributiontounderstan- the submissionofmanuscriptsbasedonoriginalresearchthatare regional andinternationalcontexts. The editorialboardencourages mote theexplorationofdifferentvalues andculturalphenomenain ted tophilosophyofcultureandthestudyvalue. Itaimstopro Culture and Axiology and Culture www.peterlang.com ding thevalues andculturalphenomenainthecontempo Cultura. International Journal of Philosophy of Philosophy of Journal International Cultura. isasemiannualpeer-reviewed journaldevo- rary world. ­ - 2014

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY OF 1 CULTURE AND AXIOLOGY CULTURA CULTURA 2014 AND AXIOLOGY OF PHILOSOPHYCULTURE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL Vol XI Vol No 1 No 14.05.14 17:43 Cultura. International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology E-ISSN (Online): 2065-5002 ISSN (Print): 1584-1057

Advisory Board Prof. dr. Mario Perniola, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Italy Prof. dr. Paul Cruysberghs, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium Prof. dr. Michael Jennings, Princeton University, USA Prof. Emeritus dr. Horst Baier, University of Konstanz, Germany Prof. dr. José María Paz Gago, University of Coruña, Spain Prof. dr. Maximiliano E. Korstanje, John F. Kennedy University, Buenos Aires, Argentina Prof. dr. Nic Gianan, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Philippines Prof. dr. Alexandru Boboc, Correspondent member of the Romanian Academy, Romania Prof. dr. Teresa Castelao-Lawless, Grand Valley State University, USA Prof. dr. Richard L. Lanigan, Southern Illinois University, USA Prof. dr. Fernando Cipriani, G.d’Annunzio University Chieti-Pescara, Italy Prof. dr. Elif Cirakman, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey Prof. dr. David Cornberg, University Ming Chuan, Taiwan Prof. dr. Carmen Cozma, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Iassy, Romania Prof. dr. Nancy Billias, Department of Philosophy, Saint Joseph College, Hartford, USA Prof. dr. Christian Möckel, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany Prof. dr. Leszek S. Pyra, Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland Prof. dr. A. L. Samian, National University of Malaysia Prof. dr. Dimitar Sashev, University of Sofia, Bulgaria Prof. dr. Kiymet Selvi, Anadolu University, Istanbul, Turkey Prof. dr. Traian D. Stănciulescu, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Iassy, Romania Prof. dr. Gloria Vergara, University of Colima, Mexico Prof. dr. Devendra Nath Tiwari, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India Prof. dr. Massimo Leone, University of Torino, Italy Prof. dr. Christian Lazzeri, Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, France Prof. dr. Asunción López-Varela Azcárate, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain

Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief: Co-Editors: Prof. dr. Nicolae Râmbu Prof. dr. Aldo Marroni Faculty of Philosophy and Social- Facoltà di Scienze Sociali Political Sciences Università degli Studi G. d’Annunzio Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Via dei Vestini, 31, 66100 Chieti B-dul Carol I, nr. 11, 700506 Iasi, Romania Scalo, Italy [email protected] [email protected] Executive Editor: PD Dr. Till Kinzel Dr. Simona Mitroiu Englisches Seminar Human Sciences Research Department Technische Universität Braunschweig, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Bienroder Weg 80, Lascar Catargi, nr. 54, 700107 Iasi, Romania 38106 Braunschweig, Germany [email protected] [email protected]

Editorial Assistant: Dr. Marius Sidoriuc Designer: Aritia Poenaru Cultura International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology Vol. 9, No. 2 (2012)

Editor-in-Chief Nicolae Râmbu Guest Editor: Asunción López-Varela Azcárate

PETER LANG Frankfurt am Main · Berlin · Bern · Bruxelles · New York · Oxford · Wien Bibliographic Information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.

Umschlagabbildung: © Aritia Poenaru

ISSN 2065-5002 ISBN 978-3-631-62905-5 © Peter Lang GmbH Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften Frankfurt am Main 2012 All rights reserved. All parts of this publication are protected by copyright. Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution. This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming, and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems. www.peterlang.de

CONTENTS

SEMIOTICS OF WORLD CULTURES

Asunción LÓPEZ-VARELA 7 Introduction to Semiotics of World Cultures

Wenceslao CASTAÑARES 13 Lines of Development in Greek Semiotics

Oana COGEANU 33 In the Beginning Was the Triangle: A Semiological Essay

Qingben LI & Jinghua GUO 45 Rethinking the Relationship between China and the West: A Multi- Dimensional Model of Cross-Cultural Research focusing on Literary Adaptations

Ömer Naci SOYKAN 61 On the Relationships between Syntax and Semantics with regard to the Turkish Language

Dan LUNGU 77 Translation and Dissemination in PostCommunist Romanian Literature

Yi CHEN 87 Semiosis of Translation in Wang Wei’s and Paul Celan’s Hermetic Poetry

Lars ELLESTRÖM 103 The Paradoxes of Mail Art: How to Build an Artistic Media Type

Benson O. IGBOIN 123 The Semiotic of Greetings in Yoruba Culture

Ulani YUNUS & Dominiq TULASI 143 Batik Semiotics as a Media of Communication in Java

Nadezhda NIKOLENKO 151 Semiosis and Nomadic Art in Eurasia

Susi FERRARELLO 163 Husserl’s Theory of Intersubjectivity

Dennis IOFFE 175 The Cultural ‘Text of Behaviour’: The Moscow-Tartu School and the Religious Philosophy of Language

Nicolito A. GIANAN 195 Philosophy and Dealienation of Culture: Instantiating the Filipino Experience

Diego BUSIOL 207 The Many Names of Hong Kong: Mapping Language, Silence and Culture in China

I-Chun WANG 227 The Semiosis of Imperialism: Boadicea or the 17th-Century Iconography of a Barbarous Queen

Massimo LEONE 237 The Semiotics of Waste World Cultures: On Traveling, Toilets, and Belonging

10.5840/cultura20129216

Cultura. International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology 9(2)/2012: 227−236

The Semiosis of Imperialism: Boadicea or the 17th-Century Iconography of a Barbarous Queen

I-Chun WANG Center for Arts and Humanities National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan 王 儀君 [email protected]

Abstract. By discussing Bonduca (1611) a a Jacobean tragi-comedy in the Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher canon, generally judged by scholars to be the work of the second one alone, this paper looks into the tragic story of Queen Boadicea, as rewritten in fiction. The cultural and semiotic codes that Bonduca represents are examined in the context of imperialism. The paper explores the conflict between the Romans and the colonized Iceni tribe and discusses the legitimization of coloniza- tion in the light of historical records alongside fictional accounts. The paper shows how the Boudican Revolt can be seen as part of the disempowerment of Brittany. The study serves as an example of the need for a complex multi-dimensional framework for the comparative study of literatures and cultures. Keywords: Bonduca, Icenic culture; John Fletcher, Roman History, Postcolonial Studies

INTRODUCTION

In her desperate actions against Roman imperial rule, Queen Boadicea was presented as a historical figure first by Publius Cornelius Tacitus in his Annals of Imperial Rome, and later by Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1577) and Milton’s A History of Britain (1670). Queen Bonduca’s story, as recorded by Tactitus and retold by John Fletcher, Colman, and Cowper, among others, exemplifies the tragedy of re- sistance in Roman Britain. Critics tend to see John Fletcher’s (1611) drama as propaganda for Britain’s own expansion during the 17th century. Fletcher presents the queen as a woman warrior, symbol of fortitude in pre-modern cultural history, but also as a frustrated cultural spirit. The story was also record- ed by Tennyson in a poem that presents the heroic and warrior queen defending the Icenian tribe (roughly the present territory of Norfolk; see Allen, 1970: 1) against the Romans. Employing the voice of the woman warrior, Tennyson equates the invading Romans as eagles preying upon the Britons’ flesh.

227 I-Chun Wang / The Semiosis of Imperialism

By presenting several semiotic layers of cultural codes in the portraits of characters and their actions, this paper looks at Fletcher’s play and illustrates the process of domestication of the other, as well as the in- strumental use of female figures for territorial expansion.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO THE ROMAN INVASION OF BRITAIN

During the last century BC, the rapid expansion of Celtic tribes was re- garded as the “Celtic horror.” Germanic tribes that inhabited lands in northern Europe migrated south and caused panic within the Roman Empire (see, for example, Mattingly, 2006: 12−25). Sulpicius Halba, a Roman commander, Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Flavius Julius Valens all participated in the wars against the Germans. Caesar and Claudius de- clared wars against the Celts during the time of territorial expansion. Cae- sar fought Cassivelaun, a Celtic leader, while Romulus Augustus fought against the Germanic chieftain Odoacer the Scirian (Lambert, 1809: 272). At the time, territory expansion was a mission of most empires and military invasions were recorded in chronicles, historical writings, and narrated also in literary works. Among these narratives we can cite Cym- beline by William Shakespeare and Bonduca by John Fletcher, both of which deal with Roman invasions. The first is set in Roman Britain, the latter reinterprets the encounters between Queen Bonduca and the Ro- man armies that occupy her land (Schwebel, 1970: 344). Fletcher’s (1611) Bonduca, Queene of Britaine narrates not only the tragic story of the warrior queen. It also deals with the complicated issue of ethnic identity in a period of cultural formation. By discussing Fletcher’s text alongside historical sources, this paper examines the legitimization of colonization in the context of the changing historical perspectives re- flected within it. The paper also examines how even before the Roman invasion, a cul- tural process of assimilation was implemented. Robin Collingwood and John Myers describe how people in the British lowlands describe this process:

The lowland zone, extending as far west as the base of Devonshire – Cornwall pen- insula and the beginning of the Welsh hills, and as far north as the Pennines and the uplands of county Durham and Northumberland, is a single, undivided whole. Its landward limits, clearly marked by the outcrop of the Paleozoic rocks, may be repre-

228 Cultura. International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology 9(2)/2012: 227−236

sented by a line beginning at Seaton, on the Devonshire coast, and running north to the Bristol Channel…. While the highland zone is discontinuous; it is broken into three parts by two deep inlets, where the western sea has penetrated through it to meet the lowland zone. (6)

While the three parts of the highland zone were a region almost im- penetrable, the lowlands were included gradually into the Roman culture. Peter Wells refers to Roman culture as one that celebrated military victo- ries and the conquest of new territories resulting in civilized ways of life thus implementing the greatness of their empire (Wells, 2001: 18). The Romans found construction of governmental and social infrastructure hard to achieve beyond the two great rivers of Europe, the Danube and the Rhine (Wells, 2001: 7). To them, the tribes beyond these rivers were barbarous, and while Caesar used Rhine as the easternmost extent of his military conquest, Augustus’s legions took the two rivers as border. In his Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, the Venerable Bede in- cludes descriptions of Caesar’s conquests in the territory of the Gauls, describing how Caesar sailed to the British Isles with “eighty ships of burden and vessels with oars” (Bede, 1963: 9). This author presents Brit- ain as a beautiful island with a geographical domain of 800 miles to the north and 200 miles wide, containing “five nations, the English, Britons, Scots, Picts and Latins” (Bede, 1963: 5). Furthermore, Bede narrates how Caesar and Claudius encountered these barbarians tribes and how they captured cities such as Trinovantum and Cassibellaun, describing how Lucius, king of Britain, requested to be made a Christian (Bede, 1963: 8). Other elements in his work include how the Romans enclosed the islands from sea to sea to restrain the fury of the barbarous nations (Bede, 1963: 105) and how some leaders of the British tribes requested help from Rome, being afraid they would be “overthrown by the barbarians” (Bede, 1963: 18). The Romans did not respond actively to the request. The dom- ination of Britain was a mixture of Roman imperial military occupation and self-rule, and lasted about fifteen generations (Mattingly, 2006: 12). Born in Northumbria, Bede was taken to the monastery of Wear- mouth and he might have even been sent to Rome to “assist with his knowledge of Northumbrian history the settlement of the church” in England (Knowles, 1963: v). Although Caesar prepared a way to conquer Britain, it is generally agreed that Emperor Claudius led an invasion and established Londinium, that is, “the settlement on the Wide River” (Coates, 1998: 220). Gregory the Great eventually sent his missionaries,

229 I-Chun Wang / The Semiosis of Imperialism

Augustine and his companions, to the king of Kent, Ethelbert, who took a Christian as his wife (Bede, 1963: 9). These examples show that Roman- ization was executed in the name of religion and by means of the elite cul- ture as maintained by Collingwood and Myers (see, also Watts, 1998).

THE ICENI TRIBE IN HISTORY AND LITERARY FICTION

Roman veteran soldiers founded a ‘colonia’ (settlement) at what is now called Colchester (Camulodunum), and a legionary fortress was also es- tablished at Gloucester (Glevum) (Blair, 1963: 44). The local indigenous tribes, worried about their safety, signed treaties with the Romans. Among them were Boudica’s husband Prasutagus of the Iceni tribe and Cogidubnus of the Regni tribe (Tacitus XIV. 34−5). The Iceni, in partic- ular, signed to get Roman protection against the Belgae tribe from Gaul who kept threatening them. But when Prasutagus became a client king to Rome, his tribe started to suffer a change in cultural values. For example, their graves were destroyed and a temple dedicated to Emperor Claudius was built in their place. The worst event was that their people were sold into Roman slavery and they were required to provide taxes to support the Roman veterans and common soldiers. Tacitus’s indictment of Ro- man imperialism was voiced by Galgacus, chieftain to the Caledonian Confederacy who criticized the licentiousness of the Roman soldiers (Skene, 1836: 37). His bravery before the Battle of Mons Graupius against the Romans parallels that of Boudica:

Whenever I consider the origin of this war and the necessities of our position, I have a sure confidence that this day, and this union of yours, will be the beginning of freedom to the whole of Britain. To all of us slavery is a thing unknown; there are no lands beyond us, and even the sea is not safe, menaced as we are by a Roman fleet. And thus in war and battle, in which the brave find glory, even the coward will find safety. Former contests, in which, with varying fortune, the Romans were re- sisted, still left in us a last hope of succour, inasmuch as being the most renowned nation of Britain, dwelling in the very heart of the country, and out of sight of the shores of the conquered, we could keep even our eyes unpolluted by the contagion of slavery. (Tacitus, The Agricola, 29)

The 17th-century poet Willaim Cowper uses an aged Druid prophet foretelling the destiny of Queen Boudicea and her people in his “Boadi- cea, an Ode”: “in Britain there were regions that Ceasar never knew … /

230 Cultura. International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology 9(2)/2012: 227−236

Empire is on us bestowed, Shame and ruin wait for you” (Cowper 29, 43−44, 300). This poem shows that the plundered land was not appreci- ated by the conquerors. Cowper does not interpret Boudicea as a heroine in order to construct “Englishness.” For Fletcher, however, the warrior queen exhibits her courage in the face of romanization, while Catarach is presented as a valiant Iceni general who admires Roman civilization. A few sculptures and paintings represent Boudica (Frenee-Hutchins, 2009: 25) as a revel against Roman rule in contrast to Catarach, who em- bodies the civilizing power of Roman culture against the savage cult rep- resented by Boudicea. In Tennyson she is also depicted as a bloodthirsty barbarian. In this paper I shall show how the Boudican Revolt can be seen both as part of the disempowerment of Brittany. In The Wretched of the Earth, Frantz Fanon notices this unbalanced so- cial structure found in all colonial cities. He theorizes that the opposing forces between the settler and the native. Fletcher’s Bonduca is set against this background. Fletcher’s Bonduca does not exhibit her de- meanor as a respected ruler. She is sneered at as an incompetent druid leader (II. iii). Her resistance against Roman conquest is seen, from the the beginning of the play, as based on emotional reasons: the “liberty they hold as dear as their lives” in Bonduca’s words. Fletcher presents Bonduca as coarse, hysterical, and on the verge of losing control. Com- pared to Tennyson’s, Fletcher’s Bonduca is emotional and lacks knowledge of war tactics. Her daughters see her as a harsh, unnatural mother, but she not respected by her fellow warriors either. Fletcher’s story not only exemplifies women’s subservient status. It also shows how this negative perception of a ruling female figure was used to weaken the unity of the Icenic society from inside. Fletcher’s Catarach, however, is an ambiguous figure who considers her tribe inferior to Roman civilization (II. iv). A supposedly anonymous letter from a native woman to a Roman soldier Julius, informs the Ro- mans that the Iceni tribe “will be weakly guarded” (II. iv), hinting that an attack on the Icenic would be fruitful. Roman captain Petillius is quick to notice Bonduca’s and Catarach’s united forces, and seeks to ‘divide’ in order to ‘conquer.’ Catarach’s lack of faith in his own cultural codes be- gins to weaken them:

Catarach: Where is your conquest then?/ Why your Alters crown’d with wreaths of flowers,/ The beasts with gilt horns waiting fore the fire?/ The holy Druides com- posing songs/ Of everlasting Life to Victory?/ Why are these Triumphs, Lady? For

231 I-Chun Wang / The Semiosis of Imperialism

a May-game?/ For hunting the herd of wretched Romans?/ Is it no more? Shut up your temples…. (I. i)

When Bonduca denounces her cousin’s siding with the Romans, Cata- rach retorts with a discourse built upon sexual signifiers. His fight with a Roman soldier is described in terms that put emphasis on his “sword” and on becoming “a mistress” to a master (I. i.). A feminized Catarach whose social codes are subjugated to male Roman power, he praises the Romans for being more honorable and masculine than the Britons. When he surrenders, he insists that he yields not because of the blow, but because of the “courtesies” of the Romans (IV. Ii). However, in the historical records things were a little different. Cultural history is frequently set in a sign system embedded with codes of power and domestication of the other. In the historical situation at hand, many of these British territories became client to Rome as free al- lies, rebelling only when their tribute and levies were raised. (Colling- wood and Myers, 1936; 88−92) At the start of the revolt Roman gover- nor Plautius was not in the province, and two of his generals, Quintus Petillius Cerialis and Suetonius, led two thousand and ten thousand men respectively to confront Bonduca (Collingwood and Myers, 1936: 98−102). In Tacitus’s Annals Suetonius was regarded as a hero for sup- pressing the rebellion of the Iceni (Blair, 1963: 44). The image of Sueto- nius’s counterpart, Bonduca, was described as a leader whose army in- cluded “women dressed like Furies with unbound hair and carrying torches, and Druids raising their hands in blood-curdling prayers to heaven” (Roberts, 1988: 120). Nevertheless, it was Bonduca, with her united troops from different tribes, who had surprised the Romans and destroyed their settlement in Camulodunum (Lappenberg, 1845: 28). The historical Catarach (Caratacus) became a fugitive after the revolt. Unlike Tacitus, Fletcher places emphasis on the cultural differences between the Romans and the Iceni. Both, however, undermine the role of Queen Bonduca in different ways. Tacitus describes the Roman tac- tics and their professional training, better equipped for battle. He pre- sents the troops led by Bonduca as feminine and with a lack of military strategy (Tacitus, 2006: 29.2), concluding that Roman victory resulted from the fact that “civilization over the dark forces of unreason and su- perstition, of ethnic and religious fanaticism” (Tacitus cited in Roberts 1988: 122), associated to female roles.

232 Cultura. International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology 9(2)/2012: 227−236

Similarly, Fletcher uses Bonduca’s lack of military strategy and organi- zation, tied to a perceived femininity, as the reasons for the uprising fail- ure. Fletcher portrays Bonduca as a lamenting mother fighting for the honor of her children, a bearer of tradition, and a queen standing up for the liberty of her people. The queen is frequently reminded of what should be her position: “Home, and spinne woemen spinne, go sinne you trifle” says Catarach, who accuses her of “mandelling in mans af- fairs” (I. ii). Thus, in Fletcher, Bonduca becomes a symbol of respectable womanhood, defending her people and territory (MacDonald, 1988: 57).

THE CULTURAL SEMIOSIS OF CONQUEST

Jacob Pandian (2004) finds that the study of historical cartographies help understand how political powers are negotiated in border disputes (2004: 54). David Mattingly (2006) goes further in indicating that archeological excavations in Colchester suggest that there is “abundant evidence of Roman campaigning in Britain” that placed huge emphasis on the cultur- al aspects of conquest (2006: 88−89). Jacob Pandian (2004) finds, the semiotics of these historical car- tographies help understand how political powers are negotiated in border disputes (2004: 54). David Mattingly (2006) goes further in indicating that archeological excavations in Colchester suggest that there is “abun- dant evidence of Roman campaigning in Britain” that placed huge em- phasis on cultural aspects (2006: 88−89). In studying Michael Roberts’ (1988) comparison between the speeches of Suetonius and Bonduca to their troops, as narrated by Tacitus, it is inter- esting to notice the cultural strategies at work in order to achieve domina- tion. While Bonduca’s speech is focused more on emotional and personal vengeance focusing on Roman abuse, the rape of her daughters, and the loss of their liberty. The speech by the Roman leader Suetonius focuses on the glories and virtues of battle, and offers a motivation for conquest which includes subduing the conquered to service or slavery (servos appellando, Taci- tus 31.3 in Roberts, 1988: 126). The speech of Suetonius, therefore, mani- fests the nature and the reason for the conquest which is the exploitation of the defeated in order to gain access to the land as well as the people. When compared to Tacitus’s descriptions of Roman imperialism, Fletcher’s play manifests a different emphasis in that he focuses, as men- tioned before, on the personal and cultural aspects. It seems that every

233 I-Chun Wang / The Semiosis of Imperialism character on the side of Iceni has a tragic flaw that would precipitate their failure. This is exemplified, for instance, in the figure of Hengo, Catarach’s young nephew, who naively chases after the Romans and dies of a shot through the back, while imagining his uncle to be loyal to the honor of the Iceni people. Further aggression to the role of women in the play comes from Catarach sneers at his nieces, Bondica’s daughters, who having been raped but the Romans seek revenge. Their uncle exclaims: “You should have kept your legs close then” (III. v.). Catarach obviously does not un- derstand the difference between a client kingdom and a conquered prov- ince. His nieces, however, as doubly humiliated victims, value respect and liberty more than the material benefit they might receive from the Romans. The Romans, as portrayed by Fletcher, are arrogant and restless. They make mistakes and dishonor their reputation by raping the women, who are described as walking around naked, therefore inviting their assaults. Penius, a Roman commander, perceiving the cultural differences be- tween the Romans and the Iceni, worries that his soldiers will eventually fall into the trap of the natives, who were “rude and naked” (II. i). On the battlefield the Romans show bravery. This perspective indicates Ro- man superiority. Catarach’s process of the mimicry of Roman civilization represents a prime example of the workings and impact of Rome’s cul- tural propaganda upon the regions to be colonized. The game of ‘divide and conquer’ is again visible in Penius’ words:

No; but it is lost, because it must be won:/ The Britons must be victors. Who ere saw/ A troop of bloody Vultures hovering/ About a few corrupted carcasses,/ Let him behold the silly Romane host,/ Girded with millions of fierce Britain Swains./ With death as many as they have had hopes;/ And then go thither, he that loves his shame;/ I scorn my life, yet dare not lose my name. (II. i)

Catarach’s insistence on adopting Roman standards of warfare results in the Icenic losing their territory, as well as in many deaths. The Roman- ization of Catarach in Fletcher’s play shows “the result of a colonial in- doctrination process” through which Native “men and women, denied an autonomous cultural identity, have been coerced into seeking legiti- macy through the imitation of Western models” (Huggan, 1994: 643). For some authors, this psychological as well as sociological loss of em- powerment may have resulted in the actual military defeat (see Clare Jowitt, 2003: 485). Early records such as S. Daniel’s (1618) Collection of the Historie of England regard queen Bonduca as a noble sovereign. Peter

234 Cultura. International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology 9(2)/2012: 227−236

Wells (2001) provides an explanation for Catarach’s conduct by suggest- ing that cultural interactions between the Romans and the conquered tribes had began much earlier, thus setting the roots for later assimila- tion. (Wells, 2001: 64) In fact, trade between other native tribes was al- ready under way before the conquest in 43 AD (see Sealy, 1997). Other authors (Haverfield, 1923) demonstrate that the Romans were skillful in fostering frontier defenses and civilization by means of language, materi- al culture, lifestyle, and religion.

CONCLUSIONS

Queen Bonduca’s story, as recorded by Tactitus and retold by Fletcher, Colman, and Cowper, among others, exemplifies the tragedy of re- sistance in Roman Britain. Critics tend to see Fletcher’s drama as propa- ganda for Britain’s own expansion during the 17th century. By presenting several semiotic layers of cultural codes in the portraits of characters and their actions, the play illustrates the process of domestication of the other, as well as the instrumental use of female figures for territorial expansion.

References Aldhouse-Green, Miranda Jane. Boudica Britannia: Rebel, War-leader and Queen. Edin- burg: Pearson, 2006. Allen, D. F. “The Coins of Iceni.” Britannia. 1 (1970): 1−33. Bede, the Venerable. The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation. Ed. J. A. Giles. London: J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd, 1963. Blair, Peter Hunter. Roman Britain and Early England 55 B.C.-A.D. 871. New York: Norton, 1963. Boece, Hector. The Chronicles of Scotland. 1522. Eds. R. W. Chambers, and E. C. Batho. Edinburgh: Scottish Text Society, 1938−41. Caesar, Julius. The Conquest of Gaul. Ed. W. A. MacDevitt. New York: Digireads, 2012. Coates, Richard. “A New Explanation of the Name of London.” Transactions of the Philological Society 96.2 (1998): 203−229. Collingwood, Robin George, and J. N. L. Myers. Roman Britain and English Settlement. Oxford: Clarendon P, 1936. Cowper, William. “Boadicea, an Ode.” The Complete Works of William Cowper. Ed. S. Milford. London: Henry Frowde, 1905. Daniel, S. The Collection of the Historie of England. London: Nicholas Okes, 1618. Fanon, Frantz. The Wretched of the Earth. Trans. Constance Arrington. New York: Grove P, 1966.

235 I-Chun Wang / The Semiosis of Imperialism

Fletcher, John, and Francis Baumont. Bonduca or the British Heroine, a Tragedy. Lon- don, 1647. Frenee-Hutchins, Samantha. The Cultural and Ideological Significance of Representations of Boudica during the Reigns of Elizabeth and James I. PhD Diss. Exeter: U of Exeter and U d’Orléans, 2009. Haverfield, F. The Romanization of Roman Britain. Oxford: Clarendon P, 1923. Holinshed, Raphael. Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland. London: Richard Tay- lor, 1808. Huggan, Graham. “A Tale of Two Arrots: Walcott, Rhys, and the Uses of Colonial Mimicry.” Contemporary Literature 35.4 (Winter 1994): 643−660. Jowitt, Clare. “Colonialism, Politics and Romanization in John Fletcher’s Bonduca.” Studies in English Literature 43.2 (2003): 475−494. Knowles, Dom David. Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation. New York: Everyman’s Library, 1963. Lambert, B. History and Survey of London and Its Environs from the Earliest Period to the Present Time. London: Hughes, 1809. Lappenberg, Johann Martin. A History of England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings. Lon- don: John Murray, 1845. MacDonald, Sharon. “Boadicea: Warrior, Mother and Myth.” Image of Women in Peace and War: Cross-Cultural and Historical Perspectives. Madison: U of Wisconsin P, 1988. 40−61. Mikalachki, Jodi. The Legacy of Boadicea: Gender and Nation in Early Modern England. New York: Routledge, 1998. Mattingly, David. An Imperial Possession: Britain in the Roman Empire. New York: Pen- guin, 2006. Roberts, Michael. “The Revolt of Boudicca (Tacitus, Annals 14.29-39) and the As- sertion of Libertas in Neronian Rome.” The American Journal of Philology 109.1 (Spring 1988): 118−132. Schwebel, Stephen M. “What Weight to Conquest?” The American Journal of In- ternational Law 64.2 (1970): 344−347. Skene, William Forbes. The Highlanders of Scotland: Their Origin, History and Antiquities with a Sketch of their Manners and Customs. London: John Murray, 1836. Tacitus, Publius Cornelius. The Annals of Imperial Rome. Trans. Michael Grant. Lon- don: The Folio Society, 2006. Tacitus, Publius Cornelius. The Agricola and the Germania. Trans. S. A. Handford. London: Penguin, 1970. Tennyson, Alfred. “Boadicea.” Poems of Alfred Tennyson. Boston: J. E. Tilten, 1865. 629−632. Watts, Dorothy. Religion in Late Roman Britain: Forces of Change. London: Routledge, 1998. Wells, Peter S. The Barbarians Speak. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2001.

236