Research Article

Wartime Rape in Boudica by Tristan Bernays

Volume: 6 Number: 1 May 10, 2026
TR EN

Wartime Rape in Boudica by Tristan Bernays

Abstract

Framed within Susan Brownmiller’s commentary on rape as a weapon of war and related sociological scholarship, this article examines Tristan Bernays’s Boudica (2017) to interrogate the implications of women who fight in wars. The play focuses on the warrior-queen Boudica, who stands out as a rare instance of female military command, leading the Iceni revolt alongside her daughters. However, this exceptional leader position does not prevent Boudica and her daughters from assault and gang rape by Roman soldiers, demonstrating that martial agency offers no immunity from gendered violence. Moreover, their dependence on male-led tribal armies reveals the structural constraints of female authority within patriarchal warrior cultures. Boudica thus complicates narratives of warrior heroism and illuminates the contradictory experiences of women in wartime.

Keywords

Ethical Statement

The manuscript builds upon a discussion of the play originally presented in Florentina Gümüş’s PhD dissertation, “Rape in Twenty-First-Century British Theatre,” supervised by Prof. Dr. Yeliz Biber Vangölü. The authors of this article confirm that this research does not require a research ethics committee approval. The authors of this article confirm that their work complies with the principles of research and publication ethics.

References

  1. Baaz, Maria Eriksson, and Maria Stern. “Why Do Soldiers Rape? Masculinity, Violence, and Sexuality in the Armed Forces in the Congo (DRC).” International Studies Quarterly, vol. 53, no. 2, 2009, pp. 495–518. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2478.2009.00543.x.
  2. Bernays, Tristan. Boudica. Nick Hern Books, 2017. Drama Online, http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781784604455.00000003.
  3. Brownmiller, Susan. Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape. Ballantine Books, 1975.
  4. Cockburn, Cynthia. The Space Between Us: Negotiating Gender and National Identities in Conflict. Zed Books, 1998.
  5. Cohn, Carol. “Women and Wars: Toward a Conceptual Framework.” Women and Wars, edited by Cohn, Polity Press, 2013, pp. 1–35.
  6. Cohen, Dara Kay. “Explaining Rape During Civil War: Cross-National Evidence (1980–2009).” American Political Science Review, vol. 107, no. 3, 2013, pp. 461–477.
  7. Ensler, Eve. The Vagina Monologues. Virago, 1998.
  8. Lambert, Tonya Marie. “Gang Rape.” Encyclopedia of Rape, edited by Merril D. Smith, Greenwood Press, 2004, pp. 86–87.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

British and Irish Language, Literature and Culture, Contemporary Drama Studies

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

May 10, 2026

Submission Date

December 4, 2025

Acceptance Date

March 17, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 6 Number: 1

APA
Gümüş, F., & Biber Vangölü, Y. (2026). Wartime Rape in Boudica by Tristan Bernays. IDEAS: Journal of English Literary Studies, 6(1), 14-27. https://doi.org/10.62352/ideas.1835951
AMA
1.Gümüş F, Biber Vangölü Y. Wartime Rape in Boudica by Tristan Bernays. IDEAS. 2026;6(1):14-27. doi:10.62352/ideas.1835951
Chicago
Gümüş, Florentina, and Yeliz Biber Vangölü. 2026. “Wartime Rape in Boudica by Tristan Bernays”. IDEAS: Journal of English Literary Studies 6 (1): 14-27. https://doi.org/10.62352/ideas.1835951.
EndNote
Gümüş F, Biber Vangölü Y (May 1, 2026) Wartime Rape in Boudica by Tristan Bernays. IDEAS: Journal of English Literary Studies 6 1 14–27.
IEEE
[1]F. Gümüş and Y. Biber Vangölü, “Wartime Rape in Boudica by Tristan Bernays”, IDEAS, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 14–27, May 2026, doi: 10.62352/ideas.1835951.
ISNAD
Gümüş, Florentina - Biber Vangölü, Yeliz. “Wartime Rape in Boudica by Tristan Bernays”. IDEAS: Journal of English Literary Studies 6/1 (May 1, 2026): 14-27. https://doi.org/10.62352/ideas.1835951.
JAMA
1.Gümüş F, Biber Vangölü Y. Wartime Rape in Boudica by Tristan Bernays. IDEAS. 2026;6:14–27.
MLA
Gümüş, Florentina, and Yeliz Biber Vangölü. “Wartime Rape in Boudica by Tristan Bernays”. IDEAS: Journal of English Literary Studies, vol. 6, no. 1, May 2026, pp. 14-27, doi:10.62352/ideas.1835951.
Vancouver
1.Florentina Gümüş, Yeliz Biber Vangölü. Wartime Rape in Boudica by Tristan Bernays. IDEAS. 2026 May 1;6(1):14-27. doi:10.62352/ideas.1835951

IDEAS: Journal of English Literary Studies is published by The English Language and Literature Research Association of Türkiye (IDEA).