Feminae Horribiles: Depictions of Women in BBC's I, Claudius (1976)

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Feminae Horribiles: Depictions of Women in BBC's I, Claudius (1976) CALIFORNIA ST ATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS THESIS SIGNATURE PAGE THESIS SUBJvlITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILUvlENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY THESIS TITLE: Feminae Horribiles Depictions of Women in BBC's/, Claudius (1976) AUTHOR: Melissa Leanne Haire DATE OF SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE: May 4, 2021 THE THESIS HAS BEEN ACCEPTED BY THE THESIS COMMITTEE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENTOF THE REQUIREMENTSFOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY. Dr. Darel Engen THESIS COMMITTEE CHAlR SIGNATURE DATE Dr. Jill Watts Jill Watts (May 12, 2021 23:13 PDT) THESIS COMMITTEE MEMBER SIGNATURE DATE Dr. Julia Lewandoski THESIS COMMITTEE MEMBER SIGNATURE DATE Feminae Horribiles: Depictions of Women in BBC’s I, Claudius (1976) Melissa Leanne Haire Haire ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………. iii Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………… iv Introduction………………………………………………………………………………… 1 Historiography……………………………………………………………………………… 3 Ancient Rome as Seen on TV……………………………………………………………... 14 The Women of I, Claudius………………………………………………………………… 16 The First Empress of Rome: Livia………………………………………………………… 17 Like Grandmother, Like Granddaughter: Livilla………………………………………….. 25 The Adulteress: Messalina in the Ancient Sources………………………………………… 27 “A rigorous, almost masculine despotism:” Agrippinilla in the Ancient Sources………… 30 Different Interpretations: Depictions of Men in I, Claudius………………………………. 33 The Less Murderous and Less Active Women of I, Claudius……………………………… 35 The Matron: Antonia………………………………………………………………............... 35 The First Daughter of Rome: Julia in the Ancient Sources…………………………………. 37 Morally Upstanding: Agrippina in the Ancient Sources…………………………………….. 42 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………… 44 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………. 46 Haire iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr. Darel Engen for encouraging me to pursue a master’s degree and for his continuous support, constructive criticism, and valuable insights as I worked through this process. I would like to thank Dr. Jill Watts for her unwavering support and insightful comments on my thesis and digital project. I would also like to thank Dr. Julia Lewandoski for her constructive and helpful comments on my work. To my fantastic cohort of fellow students who made these last four years easier to get through, thank you. I would like to thank my family and friends who were always willing to listen to me ramble about the Ancient Roman Empire and would look at drafts of my work whenever I asked. Much appreciation to my coworkers who always inquired about my well-being and offered words of encouragement as I worked through the program. Most of all, I would like to thank my parents, Belinda and Wayne. Without their support, I never would have made it this far. Haire iv Abstract In this thesis, I argue that the depiction of Augustan women in I, Claudius (1976) does, at times, offer hints of slightly more enlightened and modern views of women that cannot be found in the ancient sources; however, the show still tends to stereotype its female characters in a manner not unlike that perpetrated by the men of ancient, patriarchal Rome. It villainizes women by portraying them as obsessive supporters of monarchical government and thus against both the Republic lauded by the ancient elite sources and the democracy highly valued by Americans. Non-villainous women are otherwise reduced to little more than objects meant to further the plot rather than as active subjects within the plot. Based on Robert Graves’ novels I, Claudius (1934) and Claudius the God (1935), which in turn drew on the ancient Roman writers, Tacitus, Suetonius, and Dio Cassius, the series covers the period of the early Roman Empire beginning in 24 BCE during the reign of Augustus and ending with Claudius’ death in 54 CE. With little credible primary source information available regarding the women of the early Roman Empire, and that solely from the perspective of men of the Roman elite, the producers of I, Claudius reveal their own biases against women when they readily and uncritically accept these hostile views of women. Keywords: history, women, ancient, Rome, television, I, Claudius Haire 1 Introduction Ancient Rome has long been a popular subject for modern filmmakers and audiences. The popular BBC miniseries I, Claudius (1976) provided viewers a glimpse into Roman imperial life and, at the same time, reflected some of their own modern realities. With the generally scant amount of primary source material available to those behind such television representations of the ancient past, it is easy to see how the producers’ own biases in interpreting the ancient sources can influence these modern reproductions. This is especially true in how producers chose to portray ancient Roman women, whom history often ignores or treats harshly. The choices these producers make in filling these gaps or in readily accepting hostile, patriarchal caricatures of women that are of dubious historical veracity means that these shows say as much about contemporary society as they do about ancient Roman society. This thesis will cover the women featured in BBC’s I, Claudius (1976), set during the early Roman Empire. I, Claudius features an elderly Claudius, the fourth emperor of Rome, recounting the history of the Roman imperial family beginning with the reign of Augustus in 24 BCE and ending with Claudius’ death in 54 CE. The series originally aired in the United Kingdom in 1976 to critical acclaim and subsequently aired in the United States on PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre series in 1977-1978. I, Claudius was immensely popular with American audiences and its impact on modern television continues to be felt. The series was included in Time magazine’s “All-TIME 100 TV Shows” in 2007 and gained many of its actors international recognition.1 Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times argues that I, Claudius didn’t just push the limits of “acceptable” television, it completely changed television, redefining the boundaries of the genre’s possibilities and its ambitions. With its complex characters and multi-toned narrative, not to mention the high quality of writing, performance and direction, ‘I, Claudius’ established a timeline that would eventually 1 James Poniewozik, “All-TIME 100 TV Shows,” Time Magazine, September 6, 2007, https://time.com/collection/all-time-100-tv-shows/ Haire 2 include the rise of HBO and all its cable competitors. This in turn expanded the palette and quality of network drama and, most recently, persuaded AMC executives to begin original programming.2 Jace Lacob of the Daily Beast argues that The success of I, Claudius, both in terms of critical acclaim and commercial triumph, continues to spawn successors. HBO’s short-lived Rome (which overlapped somewhat, towards the end, with some of I, Claudius’ plot), Starz’s blood-spurting Spartacus, and Showtime’s The Borgias all owe a huge debt to this remarkable production; revolving around actual historical events, both shows—laden with graphic sex and violence—are clear descendants of I, Claudius’ vast legacy.3 I, Claudius undoubtedly left its mark in the world of dramatic television. Generally, the representations of Augustan women in I, Claudius perpetuates negative stereotypes of women that have endured since ancient times and which reveal modern male anxieties about women that protect the continuation of patriarchy. Moreover, how the show chose to portray men, about whom there tends to be more primary source evidence available, further reveals gender biases. While the depiction of Augustan women in I, Claudius does, at times, offer hints of slightly more enlightened, modern views of women that cannot be found in the ancient sources, the show still tends to stereotype its female characters. It villainizes them by portraying them as obsessive supporters of monarchical government, just as the ancient, elite Roman male writers did, and thus against the democracy highly valued by Americans. Non- villainous women are otherwise reduced to little more than objects meant to further the plot rather than as active agents within the plot. I will begin with a historiographical review of both primary and secondary source literature. The majority of the information concerning the early Roman Empire, beginning with 2 Mary McNamara, “Critic’s Notebook: ‘I, Claudius’ left its bloody, sinister mark on TV drama,” Los Angeles Times, May 6, 2012, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-may-06-la-ca-critics- notebook-claudius-20120506-story.html 3 Jace Lacob, “PBS’ ‘I, Claudius’ Still Captivates With its Taut Drama,” Daily Beast, July 13, 2017, https://www.thedailybeast.com/pbs-i-claudius-still-captivates-with-its-taut-drama Haire 3 the reign of Augustus, the first emperor of Rome, in 27 BCE comes from the authors Tacitus, Suetonius, and Dio Cassius. While these are considered primary sources, these authors were all writing about events that they did not, in fact, personally witness. It is important to analyze the socio-political context in which these authors were writing and how this shaped their perspective. These sources are, themselves, interpretations of past events and their objectivity, or lack thereof, must be scrutinized. This section will also include an overview of Robert Graves’ background and how this influenced his writing of I, Claudius and Claudius the God. As the novels are also “historical” sources for the show, understanding the context in which they were written and Graves’ own biased interpretation of the ancient sources is
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