Can the cross be beautiful? Can a crucifixion be aesthetic?

Of course not, if you consider the historical reality of the punishment of crucifixion in ancient times. The brutal, and furthermore state-ordered killing of a human is in my opinion one of the most disdainful facets of human civilisation, of which we still haven’t freed ourself. The dying of a person is rarely “beautiful”, rarely “aesthetic”, let alone erotic.

It is likely that the fascination with crucifixion stems from its apparent historical remoteness (we believe ourselves free of such barbarism, even though recent happenings keep on contradicting that), while at the same time having a strongly subversive presence in a Christianity-orientated society. Even little children know about the the way and circumstances of the death of Jesus Christ, grow up with the depiction of the crucified, without being able to properly process this. The suffering is endowed with an aspect of the godlike, the impalpable, which is further strengthened by the teachings of the church. The cross becomes something to aspire to; one “bears the cross with joy” and “follows the saviour.” The cross is praised with near lustful intensity—especially in the scriptures of medieval mystics—and the pictures of Christian martyrs more often than not contain the expression of sexual ecstasy.

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Tags: about crucified women, female crucifixion

The bande dessinée Songes Coraline tells the story of a young woman responding to a curious ad for a new maid. When she arrives at the estate of a victorian inventor, she is overwhelmed by the strange apparatuses and devices that greet and surround her, and more than a little confused by what it is exactly that the job entails. The somewhat lusty butler hints that she is to distract the master of the estate from his constant work.

Soon, Coraline finds out that the master is a young boy, at times brusque, at times erudite, but always busy with another invention. The young woman is confident that she will be able to handle the boy, but when she wakes to strange noises at night and finds another world within her wardrobe, things take a turn for the worse.

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Tags: erotic graphic novel, graphic novel, review, songes coraline, victorian