A Study of the main female character's failure to escape from her sufferings in Percy Bysshe Shelley's the cenci

Teetrawan, Anni (1997) A Study of the main female character's failure to escape from her sufferings in Percy Bysshe Shelley's the cenci. Bachelor thesis, Petra Christian University.

Abstract

This thesis is basically a study of Percy Bysshe Shelley's The Cenci. By analyzing the main female character, Beatrice Cenci, the thesis writer is interested to know how far Beatrice's sufferings affect her that she needs to murder her father and also why she fails all her efforts to escape from her father's cruelty. The writer intends to prove that Beatrice's sufferings are such that she needs to murder her father and also her failure to escape from her sufferings is the result of the strong patriarchal concept in the society at that time. To accomplish the objective goal of thesis, the use of characterization, setting, some psychological theories and historical review as the literary approaches is necessary. The evil character of Cenci creates the sufferings on Beatrice, his daughter, as Cenci continuosly abuses her physically, emotionally and sexually. As a normal human being who cannot stand such pressure, Beatrice tries to escape from her sufferings by doing almost anything she could. However, all of her efforts to escape fail because she is blocked by the society, law and the Church. Finally, Beatrice decides to murder Cenci to escape from her sufferings. Ironically, instead of ending all her sufferings, she is sentenced to death by the Pope in order to defend the patriarchal system in the society.

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