`to What Extent Is Sexual Desire Inherently Violent?`

Sexual desire is a trait which can differ vastly from one individual to another, there are certainly many contributing factors such as gender, age, one's social environment and exceptional circumstances that may befall anyone at a particular time. Sexual desire is certainly a theme that is prevalent in both Miguel de Cervantes' 'La Fuerza de la Sangre' and 'La Española Inglesa', and in the medieval castilian and latin depictions of Saints from the european period of classical antiquity. I will examine the links between fundamental sexual desire and violence, both from a modern objective stance and from the context of the aforementioned sources whilst also critically comparing the ideas presented among the various sources. To conclude I will present the progression of the connection between sexual desire and violence from the time period of the source material to the modern era and adopt a definitive viewpoint on the extent to which sexual desire is inherently violent.

Modern scientific research lead to the discovery that "Young men experience peaks in criminal behavior and testosterone production at around the same ages" and testosterone levels have a direct impact on both the desire to reproduce and the tendency for aggression (Barber) . Even more recent research, "lead by David Anderson, a neurobiologist at the California Institute of Technology" (Devlin), has revealed that the centres in the brain responsible for both aggression and sexual desire are very closely located to each other and certain neural pathways within them overlap, "The very mechanism that helps to decide quickly between these two behaviours {Sexually motivated behaviour and aggressive behaviour} in social situations could lead to pathologies where the two behaviours are not kept separate from each other"; Proving that there is certainly a relationship between lewd behaviour and aggression. So by stimulation of the neural area associated with sexual desire it is possible if not probable that the area related to aggression is also stimulated. In 'Fuerza de la Sangre', Cervantes presents a scene in which the notion that sexual desire and violence are closely related is supported. The man given the alias Rodolfo becomes overly infatuated with Leocadia upon merely glancing her, and his first measure is to abduct her and violate her.

"Pero la mucha hermosura del rostro que había visto Rodolfo, que era el de Leocadia, que así quieren que se llamase la hija del hidalgo, comenzó de tal manera a imprimírsele en la memoria, que le llevó tras sí la voluntad y despertó en él un deseo de gozarla a pesar de todos los inconvenientes que sucederle pudiesen. Y en un instante comunicó su pensamiento con sus camaradas, y en otro instante se resolvieron de volver y robarla, por dar gusto a Rodolfo"

This backs the idea that sexual desire and aggression may be very closely related emotions as he does not once think of trying to seduce her, or as was traditional in this time given that it later occurs in the tale, attempting to organise a marriage with her, but only resorts to physically overpowering her. Furthermore having already violated Leocadia, Rodolfo attempts to repeat the act with the previously unconscious girl, but "Finalmente, tan gallarda y porfiadamente se resistió Leocadia, que las fuerzas y los deseos de Rodolfo se enflaquecieron" (Cervantes, 107). At the time of this incident Rodolfo is described as a young man "hasta veinte y dos tendría" an age when typically hormone levels including those of the aforementioned testosterone run high and as such may lead to more aggressive behaviour. Also, the idea that testosterone provides a link between lust and violence is backed further as "crime rates tend to decline as age increases, as do testosterone levels within men" (Barber) which we see at the end of "La Fuerza de la Sangre" when Rodolfo once again lays eyes on Leocadia but the second time he proclaims "¿Es por ventura algún ángel humano el que estoy mirando?" showing that where once sexual attraction was once accompanied by violent and evil measures, now is met by feelings of amity.

Sexual desire is a very powerful motivator as it stems from an urge to reproduce which is one of the deepest-rooted and most powerful human instincts. Sexual desire is also far more influential in the male psyche owing to the fact that, fundamentally, males need to compete to reproduce. This is purely because of the nature of the sex-specific reproductive organs, that means women can choose their partners based on desirable traits and personal affections whilst men need to compete to reproduce and it is this competitive nature that leads to higher levels of a sexual yearning among them. The element of violence therefore is typically suffered by the female gender of a species. With humans this is no different and given that men are ordinarily larger and more physically powerful than women of a similar age and ethnic race, when sexual lust overrides morality, violence can provide the means to an end. Furthermore given that historically in many cultures worldwide and still in certain cultures today, women were regarded as second class citizens and inherently inferior to men in most, if not all aspects of life, it meant that the prospect of persecution for those who committed violent acts out of lust, was lessened and posed less of a deterrence than it does in the western capitalist world today for example. As is shown in the account of saint Margaret the virgin martyr of Antioch, "As the husband is the head of the wife" (Ryan, 1993) men were the dominant gender in the city's society (circa 304 AD) and depicts a time in which she "was a young woman who had to overcome the weakness of her sex" (Ryan 1993) it is clear that the lack of power that women had and their inferiority in both societal and physical contexts made them vulnerable as was also shown in 'La Fuerza de la Sangre' when "Rodolfo charged at Leocadia, and, seizing her in his arms, made off with her; she was not strong enough to defend herself", here both contributory factors are displayed, both the fact that Rodolfo's high stature and social superiority gave him complete reassurance that he could so do as he wished, "riches, noble blood, perverted inclinations, too much liberty, and evil companions, were the causes of his perpetrating excess of arrogance" and also how his tangible strength allowed him to abduct Leocadia without any notable resistance. In the year 2000 on US public radio, Susan Brownmiller, a feminist scholar, debated the concept of sexual assault with Craig T. Palmer and Randy Thornhill, professors of anthropology and biology respectively (Ochert, 2000). Palmer and Thornhill argued that rape was an "alternative mating strategy" and a "natural, biological phenomenon and a product of our evolutionary heritage" but Brownmiller disagreed and believed that rape was "an attempt by men to dominate and control women" (Ochert, 2000). So there are different perceptions of sexual assault in the modern world. Thornhill`s and Palmer's thesis supports the idea that sexual desire and violence are closely related and have a tendency to be experienced as parallel emotions, whereas Brownhill supports the latter argument that sexual desire is violent due to the physical and sociological superiority of males in society.

Sexual desire as has been noted, stems from deep rooted instinct within all humans though specifically males. Love however, or moreover the general idea of affection is also a powerful motivator and serves as evidence that sexual desire can be experienced devoid of violent inclination as when one experiences a sexual urgency and an emotional affection for another, the desire for their affections to be requited can eradicate any tendency toward violent measures. Another of Cervantes' 'Novelas ejemplares' serves as testimony to this notion that sexual desire can be wholly affectionate. "Al principio le salteó amor con un modo de agradarse y complacerse de ver la sin igual belleza de Isabel, y de considerar sus infinitas virtudes y gracias, amándola como si fuera su hermana, sin que sus deseos saliesen de los términos honrados y virtuosos" (Cervantes, 3) here Cervantes describes the feelings of Ricaredo towards Isabel, they are innocent and, as mentioned, honourable, there is no mention of any aggression or lewd thought from him "porque la noble condición suya, y la estimación en que a Isabela tenía, no consentían que ningún mal pensamiento echase raíces en su alma" (Cervantes, 5). In this example of sexual desire, it is shown that it is not solely Isabel's physical beauty that attracted the attention of Ricaredo but also her personality and grace that lead him to desire her, and he states "tu corporal hermosura me cautivó los sentidos, tus infinitas virtudes me aprisionaron el alma" (Cervantes, 37). So the concept of desire in 'La espanola inglesa is treated by Cervantes in a radically different manner to the way it is presented in 'La fuerza de la sangre' it is met with equal sentiments of affection and virtuous respect; there is no reference to any notion of violence or aggression and it supports the idea that sexual desire need not be inherently violent. The account of Saint Mary of Egypt provides more evidence that sexual desire can be experienced devoid of aggression as when she recounts her past sinful life as a prostitute, "I plied my trade as a public woman and never refused my body to anyone", and the time she spends alone in the desert "troubled by temptations of the flesh" there is no reference to aggression or violence, but only that she experienced various carnal temptations in their purest form and "conquered them all". (Ryan, 1993).

From modern scientific research there is evidence to support both that sexual desire shares a conscious and a subconscious connection with violence as well as evidence to support the idea that there may in fact be no connection whatsoever. The scientific material supports the thesis that sexual desire is in fact associated with violence and although the source material presents situations wherein love and religious dedication supersedes the necessity for violence, the modern scientific research is the most thoroughly investigative and explanatory. The evidence for the overlapping of neural pathways between the centres for reproduction and aggression is "irrefutable" (Devlin) and explains how sexual desire can often be met with violent tendencies. The argument that sexual desire turns violent in the light of female inferiority falls short as it is demonstrably the case that although the physical ability of men to overpower women in many cases is a supporting factor in the prevalence of rape, especially, it would seem, in the period of classical antiquity through the medieval ages, it is not the reason for it. To surmise, the evidence of the scientific research noted and the supportive testimony of the source material is undoubtedly persuasive that the neural processes behind sexual attraction and violence are so similar that they can encourage both emotional traits to be demonstrated in some form simultaneously, so whilst it has been identified that there are situations and circumstances in which the likelihood for violence to occur from sexual desire can be mitigated, it appears that in situations where sexual desire is involved yet there are no feelings of affection nor a convincing enough moral character within the perpetrator, violence can and has historically proven to be a means by which to sate those carnal desires, set instinctively in the brain as reproductive urges, thus in permitting conditions, sexual desire may become inherently violent.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barber, Nigel Ph.D. 'Sex, Violence, and Hormones'. Psychology Today. Online: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast/200907/sex-violence-and-hormones (accessed December 21st 2014)

Cervantes, Miguel de, (1967) 'Obras Maestras: Novelas Ejemplares'. Barcelona: Editorial Iberia S.A.

Devlin, Hannah. 'Scientists discover link between sex and violence in the brain'. The Australian. Online: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/scientists-discover-link-between-sex-and-violence-in-the-brain/story-e6frg8y6-1226003514769?nk=57c85abdb435392d2866f40cda31f68b (accessed December 21st 2014)

Ochert, Ayala, (2000) 'Why men want to rape'. Times Higher Education. Online: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/features/why-men-want-to-rape/150003.article (accessed 22nd December 2014)

Ryan, William Granger, translated., (1993). 'Jacobus de Voragine: The Golden Legend': Readings on the Saints, 2 vols. Princeton, NJ: University Press. 235.2 JAC