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The Suicide of Lucretia
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Though I absolve myself of wrongdoing, I do not exempt myself from punishment. Nor henceforth shall any unchaste woman continue to live by citing the precedent of Lucretia.
—Livy, History of Rome1(p81)
Poor hand, why quiver’st thou at this decree?/Honor thyself to rid me of this shame;/For if I die, my honor lives in thee;/But if I live, thou livest in my defame.
—Shakespeare, The Rape of Lucrece2(p28)
The virtuous Lucretia was raped by Sextus Tarquinius, the son of the tyrannical king of Rome, in the 6th century BC.3 Afterwards, although she was the victim, Lucretia committed suicide. Fearing posthumous disgrace when Tarquin threatened to kill both her and a male slave and make it appear that she had been caught in adultery with the slave, she yielded her body to him but not her mind. Her suicide was motivated by shame, not guilt; she felt anxious about how . . . [Full Text of this Article]
James C. Harris, MD
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
Le Suicide
Harris
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2008;65:744-744.
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