Tamar’s Desolation: a Visualization of Her Silent Presence Through Manchester by the Sea

Abstract

Abstract Amnon brutally rapes his half-sister, Tamar, while Absalom, her full brother, is said to have silenced her. It is no wonder that she is desolated. However, commentators have provided two distinct interpretations in which she is either devastated by the rape or by the silencing. Since she is violated, she is disconsolate. Or in most feminist readings, Tamar is ravaged by the silencing after the event. While both readings are possible based on the different versions of the text, Tamar is never silenced. Instead, the reference to her desolation reflects the incarnation of the violation on her body; she expresses the event through her embattled body. This type of desolation is most visually demonstrated in the Academy Award winning screenplay, Manchester by the Sea, in which Lee Chandler, the main character embodies the unspeakable, the death of his three children. Both Lee and Tamar bear their stories in their silent presence.