The development of Beatrice is a transference of power that we see in the play because she becomes just like her father and uses her power to do a cruel thing and murder him. This metaphorically represents the French Revolution because Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the Directory and used his power against others, just like how Beatrice became a tyrant ordered for …show more content…
A romantic hero is a literary archetype referring to a character or individual, in this case Beatrice, that has been rejected by society, that rejects established norms and conventions, and has herself as the center of her own existence. We can see how Beatrice is rejected by society in Act 1 when she describes the guests at Cenci's dinner table and how they ignore her plea to protect her and how they leave as soon as Cenci tells them to do so (1.3.132-140). This demonstrates one of the characteristics of a romantic heroine.
Romanticism is a movement in the arts and literature that originated in the late eighteenth century. It emphasized inspiration, personal feelings, and the superiority of an individual. This movement emphasized intense emotions. It brought more attention to such emotions like understanding, appreciation, and inspiration. These feelings or emotions were experienced in confronting the new aesthetic categories of the sublimity and beauty of nature. Romanticism assigned a high value to the achievements of "heroic" individualists and artists, whose examples, it maintained, would raise the quality of …show more content…
The Cenci discusses many of the Romantic concerns, especially the plight of the Individual and Nature against the corruption of authority. Beatrice is a Romantic Individual who is forced to stand up to the abuse perpetrated on her by authority. Beatrice is a Romantic hero and illustrates the Romantic theme of “the exceptional figure in general, and a focus on his passions and inner struggles” (“Romanticism”). Her duality of nature, being kind and fierce, only increases the Romantic nature of her identity. Beatrice was an exceptional figure in her tenacity and bravery, and her hero status is underscored by her perceived powerlessness as a