Salome

Salomé explores the idea that visual spectacle can be a dangerous thing due to its links to desire and sexual attraction. Throughout the play, many characters caution one another not to look at other people. Being exposed to the gaze of another is dangerous, yet also empowering. This contrast between the vulnerability of being a spectacle and the power inherent in inspiring desire suggests that beauty can disrupt hierarchies.

Throughout the play, many characters are forbidden from looking at one another, signifying the risk of aesthetic qualities inspiring sexual desire. The Page of Herodias repeatedly tells his friend, the Young Syrian, not to look at Salomé, warning him “you must not look at her… something terrible may happen” (7) and “do not look at her. I pray you not to look at her” (9). The Page’s warnings turn out to be warranted, as the Young Syrian’s desire for Salomé eventually leads him to die by suicide. In contrast, Herodias repeatedly warns Herod not to look at Salomé because she is protective of her own marriage and her daughter’s virginity. Unlike the Page of Herodias, who wanted to protect his friend from heartbreak, Herodias’s critique of Herod’s gaze is a way to restrict his sexuality to the bounds of their marriage.