Class in I, Claudius. A classless society has never existed. But, Britain has always been a country markedly

Transcription

1 Class in I, Claudius A classless society has never existed. But, Britain has always been a country markedly divided by class distinctions. In examining another society heavily divided by class the early Roman Empire Robert Graves evinces his thoughts on the victims of the British class and social structures. He uses the Emperor Claudius in his novel I, Claudius to scorn the gentry s maltreatment of the bourgeoisie, but in doing so, displays his own apathy for the lower classes. In presenting the mindsets of the ruling nobility, Graves speaks superciliously about its treatment of the politically lower classes, but fails to mention any effect on the economically poor classes. While Graves extensively discusses government politics, he conveniently ignores their impact on the common citizens. The plebeians are only mentioned if they impacted the court in some way and even then through the lens of what the nobility thought about them. Even when Graves mentions Tiberius s policies, he discusses only the military, commodity prices, and infrastructure (303). The impact of these policies on the hoi polloi is not considered. The populace is a non-character in the book, there to go along with whatever is given them. Graves considers the wellbeing of the public insignificant. When Postumus is killed while leading a revolt, Graves doesn t even bother mentioning what the sailors who were revolting did when Postumus didn t show up (225). Graves assumed that the plebeians couldn t do anything on their own, and that without an upper-class leader, they would inevitably fail in their mission to rebel. As respected men are executed, faced with the false charge of treason and as Caligula spent frivolously just to ride a horse to the Bay of Baiae, Graves doesn t note the public s reactions (381). Graves does not care about the common citizens thoughts on this extravagant spending and gives them little regard. When Caligula began to throw people into the sea, only the deaddrunk, the decrepit, the aged and little children failed to save themselves. Not more than two or

2 three hundred were drowned (384). Graves easy ignorance of the deaths of citizens is preposterous. Graves not only neglects the plebeians, he dismisses any value of their lives. While he generally ignores the commoners, Graves is disgusted by descendants of slaves, treating them as disgraced by that very fact. Sejanus, while immoral, is still shown to have redeeming qualities. Graves shows his successor, Macro, to be wholly evil, having a far greater appetite for blood and far less compunction in shedding it. Graves explains this discrepancy: Sejanus was at any rate the son of a knight; Macro s father had been born a slave (345). Graves assumed that an evil character can be explained away by descent. This is since he subconsciously holds to the belief that those of better lineage belong in a higher class. Antonia refuses to speak with Caligula about Gemellus s death in the presence of the malicious Macro because the matter is not for the ears of the sons of slaves (368). In the novel, Antonia s action has a sense of righteousness about it, as she bravely commits suicide thereafter. Subconsciously, Graves supports a form of social stratification based on heritage with which he has been raised. When Graves tries to show how base Blandus is, the worst insult he can think of is that one had not to go far back in the Blandus line before one came to slaves (340). When a slave comes to check on the dying Tiberius, the only explanation Graves offers is that the slave wanted to see what he could steal from the death-chamber (351). While Graves pretends to be socially liberal, he can t help his tendencies to consider lineage an important measure of a person s character. In a country like Britain, where class is associated with family, this signifies that Graves perceives the historically subdued to be more unrefined than those with a worthy ancestry. In contrast to his ignorance of the lower classes, Graves does his best to ensure the reader understands that the gentry ransack the wealthy. He perceives the affluent to be the true workers of society and the ones that are maligned by the undeserving nobility. Cassius Chaerea is a loyal

3 soldier who is never given any heed by the ruling class. He constantly displays great acts of bravery, saving the army from rebellion on more than one occasion. He was The man who brought back the eighty from the Teutoburger Forest. The man who saved the Rhine bridge (189). For all his bravery, he gets no medal, no position to write home about. Graves makes sure to highlight that in contrast to Cassius s unrewarded bravery, the noble Castor, though he had no part in the war was also advanced a degree in magisterial rank (153). Graves wants to emphasize that Cassius, just like all other upper-class or middle-class members of society, is not given what he deserves in favor of nobles who have done little. Similarly, after Caligula bankrupts the Treasury in his foolhardiness, he extorts money from the wealthy via unfair auctions. Graves tries hard to make the case that the wealthy who have worked for their money are continuously ripped off by the gentry. That is why he harps on Caligula s skinning (404) of the rich through auctions, sending the indebted to become swordfighters (385), and the bullying way he got people to deposit into the Drusilla Fund (395). This is also why Graves spends much of the book discussing the various rich men unfairly killed by Tiberius and Caligula. He fears a society in which wealth is punished. Hence, he mentions that Charges of treason were now brought against the twenty reputedly wealthiest men in Rome (388) by Caligula and that Tiberius expected rich men to leave him at least half their estates in their wills (341). Graves portrays these characters negatively and contrasts them with the affluent but constantly defrauded protagonist, Claudius, who while a noble, is treated like an upper-class outsider (289). Graves would rather see a society in which hard work and subsequent wealth are protected from the prying hands of the ruling class. Throughout the novel, Graves slyly opines on the women s rights movement and the dangers it will bring. He is clearly aware that women are no longer the tranquil damsels-in-

4 distress that they were perceived to be before World War I. Using a discussion between two freedwomen, he explores the inherent dangers of an increase in female power. He writes satirically about women s new freedoms, under the guise of being empathetic to the feminist cause. Referring to abortion, he writes, What a blessing it was that those Greek doctors were so clever (88). Women who have an old-fashioned hankering for children can always buy a child for adoption (89). Graves inserts this section only to make the case that the increasingly prevalent feminist attitudes of women will embolden them to demand a greater share of control and independence, while neglecting their primary household duties. He litters the book with examples of women with new-found power hurting society. Livia is an empowered egotistical monarch who ruins any hope of forming a republic and gives Rome a poor successor so that she would be named a Goddess (313). Plancina takes charge and bosses around soldiers to perform comical maneuvers due to her jealousy of Agrippina (253). Graves fears handing over such great power to creatures innately concerned with petty politicking and suspect to such base emotions. Amongst women, only Claudius s servants and mistresses, who are naturally subjugated by their status, are portrayed positively. Graves tries to display the modern woman as one unsettling society by rejecting previous social norms and staking a claim higher up in the social order. While attacking the foibles of those high in power, Graves defends the rich against intrusions on their wealth, while batting nary an eye at the poor. He finds the commoners incapable of doing much of any note. He believes that lineage matters a great deal in determining the character of a person, finding descendants of slaves to be the worst kind of humans. In the meantime, Graves charges the gentry with flippantly wielding power that iniquitously destroys the work of the rich. Graves also fears the increasing power of women, providing a snapshot of

5 what will happen as women learn to be as powerful as men. While appearing progressive, Graves exposes his beliefs to be deeply entrenched in former class structures.

6 Works Cited Graves, Robert. I, Claudius. New York: Random, Print.