Lily
Background
Lily is an eponymous play focussing on a recent rape victim who is convinced by her friends that she should not speak out about her ordeal. This attitude forms the society known as ‘Rapeculture’, a relatively contemporary concept. It is the idea that society today trivialises rape and gives the impression that it is acceptable for the act to happen. The notion revolves heavily around the fact that is not what society does, but more what society doesn’t do: “when it comes to rape culture, the most menacing beast is the one we don’t see”.[1]
It is argued that those who partake in Rapeculture, especially those who enjoy jokes about rape, are “more likely to blame the victim, fail to take rape seriously and support lower sentences for rapists”.[2] It is also argued that it is not only men, the main perpetrators of rape,[3] but also women who do not support rape victims and excuse degrading and unwelcome sexual behaviour.
Rapeculture allows those who commit rape to be excused of their crime. For example, a recent study found that only forty per cent of rapes are reported, and only three per cent of rapists “spend even a single day in prison”.[4] Furthermore, the societal nonchalance surrounding rape has caused some to place blame on victims by accusing them of lying about their ordeal; approximately only two to eight per cent of rape reports are false, yet a study found that students believe that up to fifty per cent of reports are fabricated.[5]
In terms of Rapeculture in the arts, it is interesting to note that rape is often depicted by its aftermath, rather than the physical act itself[6]. This is the aim of Lily; at no point will the audience witness Lily’s rape, only the immediate aftershock of her ordeal. It is interesting to note that in his article ‘From Victim to Victor: Women Turn the Representation of Rape Inside Out.’, G. Roger Denson states that it is women who choose to represent rape in this way, rather than men’s original “climactic, narcissistic, even heroically idealized adventure of male self-realization in action”.[7] The fact that men appear to be comfortable with portraying “the actual acts being perpetrated”[8] in art shows that Rapeculture is prevalent everywhere.
Staging considerations
The chief obstacle when staging this morality play would be the representation of the rape itself. The subject of rape can be offensive and frightening for viewers, therefore it would be difficult to tastefully represent a rape onstage. Furthermore, it could be argued that by attempting to portray rape in a tasteful manner, it trivialises and belittles the matter, further indulging Rapeculture.
Mieke Bal argues that is impossible to represent rape on stage as “the experience is, physically, as well as psychologically inner”, stating that “rape is by definition imagined”. This is why Lily shall only examine the immediate aftermath, existing “only as an experience and as a memory”.[9] Lily will enter the stage during Truth’s first speech, wearing a torn dress and dishevelled appearance, representing the immediate repercussions of the attack.
Dramatis personae
Lily
Truth
Fear
Pity
Meda
Blame
Ignorance
Double Standards
Silence
Justice
Full plot outline
The play opens with the character Truth, lamenting on how modern society is more focused on avoiding the seriousness of rape, rather than helping victims speak out against their perpetrators, allowing excuses such as “music, or clothing, or a few cold beers”, “and in turn offering undeserving salvation” to rapists. Truth mirrors the role of both the Messenger in Everyman, by introducing the play and its main character, but also of Good Deeds, the friend that offers unwavering support to the protagonist throughout the play.
Truth introduces Lily to the audience during the opening monologue, explaining how she “beg[s] for needless forgiveness at every door”. The name Lily, derived from the Latin ‘lilium’, was chosen due to its connotations of purity[10]. This is to symbolise that the ordeal Lily has been through does not make her any less pure or innocent than the average girl, which some of the allegorical characters will insinuate. Lily is immediately portrayed as placing blame upon herself, stating that the way she is dressed may have provoked her attacker, before beginning her journey to find a friend to support her.
The first friend she encounters is Fear. This character is named Fear as a way of symbolising that rape can scare those associated with the victim into silence, for fear the attacker may then pursue them. Fear makes ridiculous, dishonest excuses so that he does not have to help Lily in her quest to bring her attacker to justice, much like the character of Cousin in Everyman, who argues that “cramp in [his] toe”[11] prohibits him from assisting Everyman.
Lily then attempts to reach out to neighbours Ignorance and Double Standards. These two characters are connected because they both symbolise the societal sense of naivety regarding rape. Ignorance attempts to convince Lily that the best thing for her and everybody else is to “move on” past the incident and forget it ever happened. Double Standards begins giving her advice on how to stop the same thing happening to her again, with hypocritical statements such as “Be obtainable, but not too available” and “Dress to get a man’s attention, but stay classy at all times”. Statements such as these are contradictory and have long been regarded as sexist. Neither of these characters encourage Lily to speak out about the rape.
Lily knocks at the doors of Media, Pity and Blame. Media tells her it is not her fault that she was raped, but it was also not the fault of the rapist either, as music, television and the internet nowadays teach men how to treat women; he tells it would be unfair of her to report him as many men act in the same way. Pity convinces Lily that reporting her rape would only cause more hurt, as her friends and family would treat her differently and her life would never be the same again. Blame is much more aggressive than the other allegories, accusing Lily of lying about her ordeal, and then arguing that perhaps she tempted the man, implying that it was her fault that the man pursued her.
The last antagonistic character Lily encounters is Silence, who represents all of her alleged friends, much in the same way that Fellowship is portrayed in Everyman. Silence calmly tells Lily that her peers are all correct, and the best thing to do is to stay silent.
Throughout the play, Truth has shrunk further into the shadows of the stage, and is curling up in symbolism of Lily’s confidence of her innocence, weakened by the other characters’ lies. Truth gives a final speech, stating that her friends’ excuses are only to cover up the seriousness of rape, convincing Lily that her friends are wrong and that Justice, the last character to revealed, will prevail. Justice encourages Lily to believe that she is no less pure than any other person; what has happened to her will not taint her, and neither will reporting the crime.
Opening scene extract
HERE BEGINS A TALE OF BETRAYAL, IGNORANCE AND STRENGTH, OF HOW SOCIETY REACTS TO RAPE AND HOW ONE WHOSE BODY HAS BEEN VIOLATED BY SUCH AN ACT SHOULD NEVER PLACE BLAME OR SHAME ONTO THEMSELVES, AND IS IN MANNER OF A MORAL PLAY.
TRUTH.
There are two kinds of evil people:
Those who commit and those who ignore.
I pray you turn your head and watch this girl
Beg for needless forgiveness at every door.
[Enter Lily]
See how her friends, once loyal and true,
Turn away from her in time of need
And give her reason not to tell her story,
All because of this society, indeed.
See how Pity, Blame, Media, Ignorance
And those Double Standards and Fear
Unite to give her attacker excuses,
Such as music, or clothing, or a few cold beers.
Perhaps you do not see it, as well as me or her,
But this society does not understand such violation,
Preaching ‘do not get raped’ in place of ‘do not rape’
And in turn offering undeserving salvation.
Lily, look at me. Who is to blame for this?
Why do you look down at your feet?
And why do you refuse to make eye contact?
Do not look so down with defeat.
LILY.
Please don’t look at me, I feel so dirty.
I must wash my hair, my feet, my body
And burn these damn clothes —
Mother always said this dress was gaudy.
And these shoes!
What on earth was I thinking?
I was feeling so good before this happened,
Laughing and dancing and drinking.
This house, I know it!
I’ve seen it before.
Perhaps my friend will help me.
I shall knock on his door.
[Enter Fear]
FEAR.
Lily, good evening!
It’s a bit late to be knocking.
Why do you look so down, dear?
Your appearance is shocking.
LILY.
Do not judge me, good sir,
For I know this sounds suspicious.
But this man I met at a bar
Turned so nasty and vicious.
He ripped my dress and pulled my hair
And pushed me down the street,
But when I told him, “no, please stop”
My face he began to beat.
I’m sorry I had to bother you, sir,
And so very late at night,
But could I please use your phone?
I’m sorry if I gave you a fright.
FEAR.
Unfortunately, our phone’s not working
And there’s no mobile signal here.
You’ll have to find another house.
Maybe they can help you, dear.
LILY.
I’m scared that man is pursuing me,
Please don’t leave me alone.
FEAR.
I’m sorry, I just can’t risk it.
I hope you find your way home.
[Exit Fear]
Endnotes
[1] Elizabeth Plank, ‘Rape Culture is Everywhere – Watch Your Favorite Sitcoms Prove It’, PolicyMic, 16 January 2014. <http://www.policymic.com/articles/79111/rape-culture-is-everywhere-watch-your-favorite-sitcoms-prove-it> [accessed 27 February 2014]
[2] Plank, 2014.
[3] Jerrold S. Greenberg, Clint E. Bruess, and Debra W. Haffner, Exploring the Dimensions of Human Sexuality, (Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2000), p. 575.
[4] RAINN, ‘Reporting Rates’, Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 2009. <http://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/reporting-rates> [accessed 26 February 2014]
[5] Kimberly A. Lonsway, Joanne Archambault, & David Lisak, ‘False Reports: Moving Beyond the Issue to Successfully Investigate and Prosecute Non-Stranger Sexual Assault’, The Voice, 3 (2009), pp. 1—11 (p. 2).
[6] G. Roger Denson, ‘From Victim to Victor: Women Turn the Representation of Rape Inside Out.’, Huffpost Arts and Culture, 11 July 2011. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/g-roger-denson/facing-the-interior-and-t_b_1073672.html> [accessed 27 February 2014]
[7] Denson, 2011.
[8] Denson, 2011.
[9] Mieke Bal, Looking In: The Art of Viewing, (London: Routledge, 2004), p. 100.
[10] Behind the Name [online], ‘Lily’ (2013). <http://www.behindthename.com/name/lily> [accessed 23 February 2014]
[11] A. C. Cawley (ed.), Everyman and Medieval Miracle Plays, (London: Orion Publishing Group, 1993), pp. 195—225 (p. 209).
Bibliography
Books
Bal, Mieke, Looking In: The Art of Viewing, (London: Routledge, 2004).
Bertens, Hans, Literary Theory: The Basics, (Abingdon: Routledge, 2001)
Cawley, A. C. (ed.), Everyman and Medieval Miracle Plays, (London: Orion Publishing Group, 1993).
Greenberg, Jerrold S., Bruess, Clint E., & Haffner, Debra W., Exploring the Dimensions of Human Sexuality, (Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2000).
Halse Anderson, Laurie, Speak, (Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2009).
Happé, Peter, English Drama Before Shakespeare, (New York: Addison Wesley Longman Limited, 1999)
Lytle Holstrom, Linda, & Wolbert Burgess, Ann, The Victim of Rape: Institutional Reactions, (New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1983).
Walker, Greg (ed.), Medieval Drama: An Anthology, (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2000)
Online
Behind the Name [online], ‘Lily’ (2013). <http://www.behindthename.com/name/lily> [accessed 23 February 2014]
IndiaTV web team, ‘Women protest outside Delhi Police HQ protesting rapes’, IndiaTV, 19 December 2012. <http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/women-protest-outside-delhi-police-hq-protesting-rapes–19180.html> [accessed 26 February 2014]
Javed, Noor, ‘Vancouver student’s photo of leg reflects how women are judged based on skirt length’, The Star, 17 January 2013. <http://goo.gl/b8BK2R> [accessed 27 February 2014]
Lonsway, Kimberly A., Archambault, Joanne, & Lisak, David, ‘False Reports: Moving Beyond the Issue to Successfully Investigate and Prosecute Non-Stranger Sexual Assault’, The Voice, 3 (2009), pp. 1—11.
Matthews, Dylan, ‘The saddest graph you’ll see today’, The Washington Post, 7 January 2013. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/07/the-saddest-graph-youll-see-today/> [accessed 27 February 2014]
Plank, Elizabeth, ‘Rape Culture is Everywhere – Watch Your Favorite Sitcoms Prove It’, PolicyMic, 16 January 2014. <http://www.policymic.com/articles/79111/rape-culture-is-everywhere-watch-your-favorite-sitcoms-prove-it> [accessed 27 February 2014]
RAINN, ‘Reporting Rates’, Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 2009. <http://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/reporting-rates> [accessed 26 February 2014]
Pictures
Lake, Rosea, ‘Judgments’, Cargo (2013) <http://cargocollective.com/rosea/Judgments> [accessed 27 February 2014]