There’s No Crying in Government: Romulus, Brutus and the Toxic Suppression of Grief

Jaclyn Neel examines the role played by visible grief in the early Roman exempla of Romulus and Brutus and its relation to hegemonic and toxic masculinity in the Roman world. These exempla are contrasted with the historical case of Cicero’s strong reaction to the death of his daughter Tullia. Although the cases of Romulus and Brutus, who respectively killed a brother and had sons executed, are extreme, their refusal to show grief highlights the restraints placed on ideal male behaviour. Later Romans show extreme discomfort with the killings and the non-emotional reactions to them, which suggests that they were viewed as toxic behaviours in the late Republic.