Rome and Slaves as Objects

[lesbiassparrow]

I've been looking around at some reactions to tonight's episode and besides the ugh! incest reaction (which I share) I've been seeing some 'how could Eirene not find Pullo attractive and be all cold towards him' comments. I find those bizarre. Yes, I like Pullo, but being a slave and knowing you have to sleep with your owner would surely make a difference in one's reaction: she knows she's a sexual object, that she will surely end up his bed and that's got to make him seem scary and threatening. Why should she find him attractive? Because he tosses a nice bracelet at her? Because he is kind to her? He's still her master, still controls what she does and doesn't do. Why should she do anything but resent him? Still, I think it's interesting that Rome went there with a sympathetic character.

The Octavia/Octavian scene was a little unexpected. I mean, with a mother like Atia Octavian is surely desperate for some affection from a woman who isn't trying to prostitute him with his uncle but still... I guess they've just decided that the Romans must be shown as the people who break all boundaries of taste and morals and incest was about all they had left. I am currently waiting for the bestiality scene where someone has passionate relations with their horse/elephant/animal of the week.

And poor Cato. I finally felt for him and Scipio. But where is Cicero? And Mark Antony?

Also togas were horrific, hot items of clothing and hard to hang on people properly - no wonder Niobe was all 'hands off, don't sully the outfit!'

Comments

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of you because Octavian read the Lesbia's Sparrow poem ;)

Re: Pullo. I think what he what desperately was comfort and love and the warmth of Lucius and Niobe's relationship (the warmth that HE helped to preserve, of course) and that he so signally lacks, only he had no idea how to express "I need a hug" with anything other than telling her to take off her dress... Which is just all kinds of sad, really. Just when I think Pullo's kind of a lovable buffoon with a killer's instinct, they keep making me think he's really just a very lonely man.

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

Yay for Lesbia's sparrow and its hopping about.

Pullo...he's a lonely man who gets to have a slave to comfort him. He's still one up on the slave. Under Augustan law he could free her and make her marry him, but I'm not sure that's an option at this point.

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

Oh, absolutely he's one up on the slave - I just felt kind of awful for both of them, becuase it seemed like Eirene kinda sorta liked him and that he had some feeling for her that was different from his other relationships with women and now he kind of completely messed that up (I can't help it! I'm a schmoopy romantic ;)) because he's trying to have what Vorenus does (loving wife, happy family) etc. ... Sigh! I thought it was a very sad and distressing episode in general.

[meret.livejournal.com]

One thing this show has always been consistent about is judging the characters by the morality of their time rather than ours.

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

They have, haven't they? And I am impressed by how they've stuck to that (though in all honesty I don't think the Romans were as blase about sex as the show presents them).

Sadly, though, I am disturbed by how many people posted 'I don't think it would be so bad to be Pullo's slave and why is Eirene not all over him.'