Titans in Creation: An Ugly Depiction of Power’s Corruptive Nature
Titans have stood tall in human mythology and storytelling for centuries, illustrated and imagined as humans magnified: physically and figuratively. Thousands of years ago, the ancient Greeks passed down myths of their titans, the children and descendants of Uranus (heaven) and Gaea (Earth). Centuries later, these titans and their accompanying mythology persist in human creation as seen in Francisco Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son, a painting completed in 1823 that depicts an estranged titan, Saturn, devouring one of his children. Similarly, titans are a part of modern global pop culture, found in Attack on Titan, a manga and animated television show first aired in 2013, where titans similarly consume humans. Reflecting on the human resemblance of titans, it is reasonable to say that the historical prevalence of titans is due to them acting as a vessel for a reflection of the human psyche. When this is taken in consideration with how both the context of Goya’s work and the titan subplot of Attack on Titan involve governmental abuse, it becomes clear that there is a representative dynamic between ugliness and power’s corruptive effect on humankind. Parallels with the Christian creation story show that the warning of titan ugliness regarding the corruptive nature of power is universal and enabled by the innate free will of humanity. While optimists or pessimists might argue for the innate goodness or innate evil of humanity, the manner in which power corrupts the morally blank slate of humanity shows that this is not the case. Humans can be good or evil, but what is innate to humanity is the free will that enables these outcomes. The symbolic use of titans in Attack on Titan and in Francisco Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son shows that ugliness is representative of power’s ability and tendency to corrupt this blank slate.
The physical resemblance of titans and humans, in addition to the revelation that titans are in fact transformed humans, indicates that titans are reflective of the human psyche in Attack on Titan. The contents of this myth and painting have similarities with the titans in Attack on Titan, an animated Japanese show that tells of a human population driven to the brink of extinction, surviving in walled cities that protect them from titans. Titans, giant figures that similarly resemble humans in an unnatural way, discriminately consume humans. The human population lacks understanding of the origin or biology of titans, until the true enemy is later revealed. Humanity is not on the brink of extinction, as the population within the wall believes — there exists an industrialized world that is intent on maintaining control over the population within the walls, the descendants of a previously genocidal ruling population. Titans are simply tools used by those in power: descendants that are discovered in the ‘mainland’ are transformed into titans that then terrorize the walled population as ugly, human-eating monsters. Thus, titans are transformed humans, suggesting that the resemblance penetrates past the physical layer into the psychological.
The personal context in which Saturn Devouring His Son was painted, in addition to the humanistic resemblance of Saturn, shows how titans are depicted in art as a reflection of the human psyche. The Greek myth of the King of the titans and the father of time, Saturn, consuming his newborn children to prevent the prophecy that he would be usurped by his child, is depicted in Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son. The painting portrays a giant figure that resembles a human but is simultaneously monstrous due to its unnatural proportions and lack of genitalia. The dark background and shadows of Saturn’s body stand in sharp contrast to the bright white body and red blood of the normally-sized human body that he is consuming — his child. The Guardian, Madrid-based columnist Stephen Phelan, describes the process in which a deaf Goya painted this work in isolation, on the walls of his house, meant for no one to see. In fact, the name attributed to the painting is not even of his devising. Extrapolating from this we see that painting was wholly an act of introspection for Goya, meant only to express the contents of his mind, accordingly depicting Saturn as a reflection of his human psyche.
As both the later plot revelation of Attack on Titan and the underlying context of Goya’s work involve governmental abuses, titans are used as reflections of the human psyche to show how, for humanity, power corrupts. The personal context in which Goya painted Saturn Devouring His Son sheds light on the striking parallels between the painting topic and historical events, as Britt-Marie Schille, faculty member at Webster University’s Department of Philosophy, references in her comparison of Goya’s work to that of Louis Bourgeois. In the 1810s, the decade before the painting was completed in 1823, Goya had recently experienced the tumult of revolution in Spain, with King Ferdinand VII being overthrown by a left-leaning party, only for King Ferdinand VII and French allies to return to power through force three years later. Saturn devours his son; the Spanish government brings death and despair to its citizens — its children. Abuse of government similarly underlies the ugliness of the titans in Attack on Titan, as the ruling government transforms humans into titans as a means of maintaining dominance. In this context, titans are not morally ugly themselves, as one might argue. Titans eat humans mindlessly, driven not by a moral ugliness but by the choices of other individuals that have been corrupted by power. The ugliness of the titans is representative not of the psyche of the transformed human but is representative of the moral ugliness of the creators of the titans — the government in power. Likewise, given the historical context, Saturn is not morally ugly himself, but is representative of the morally ugly actions of the Spanish government. The physical ugliness of titans is indirectly representative of the human psyche in that humans are not innately morally ugly but can become so through the corruptive nature of power.
Just as titans resemble humans physically and reflect on them psychologically, the ugliness of titans is twofold. What makes titans ugly is not just their physical appearance, but the humanistic paradox that surrounds them. In both Saturn Devouring His Son and Attack on Titan, titan bodies are reminiscent of human bodies but lack genitalia, are massive, and have unnatural and skewed proportions. The appearances of titans contribute greatly to their ugliness, but it can be argued that the appetite of titans is the foremost reason for humanity’s characterization of titans as ugly. However, a quick glance at a zoo says otherwise: lions, crocodiles, and tigers all eat humans yet are considered beautiful. What cements the physical ugliness of the titans is their inhumane and paradoxical actions. In Attack on Titan, titans are transformed humans doomed to mindlessly eat their own kind; in Saturn Devouring His Son, Saturn devours the very children that he procreates. Purposeful actions are taken by both creators to emphasize this paradoxical inhumanity. Goya purposefully makes the consumed body an adult, and not an infant, implying that Saturn’s child is aware of what is happening, just as how in Attack on Titan the titans’ victims are shown, in detail, struggling and screaming before being eaten. No horror is spared in either work, with the bright colors of the devoured body standing out in contrast to the darkness of Saturn and the blood of titan victims being splattered across comrades and civilians alike. These emphasized paradoxical actions, taken with the unnatural yet human-resembling appearances, drive home the ugliness of titans due to their inherent unnaturalness: humans tend to view as ugly that which they do not understand.
The humanistic paradox formed by the titan’s appearances and actions points to a paradox of the human psyche: through human characters who can purposefully turn into titans, Attack on Titan provides direct representations of how the potential for both good and evil exists within humanity. Historical medicine lecturer at Aberystwyth University, Dr. Alice Vernon, uses her expertise on Renaissance anatomy to explore the humanistic paradox that arises in the appearances and actions of titans in Attack on Titan, saying that titan characteristics “express the fear of looking too closely at what may be considered human”. Specifically, the paradox surrounding the titans reflects the paradox of the very human psyche these titans represent. Early in the show, it is revealed that a select group of humans can harness the power of the titans by transforming into titans at will. Most use their power for war and violence, which might lead one to argue that titan ugliness is therefore representative of the innate moral ugliness of humanity. However, the show later reveals that long ago the King within the walls used his titan-associated power to make a binding vow renouncing war. He understood the corruptive nature of power: “When it comes to great and terrible power, humankind is weak… such is the power of titans, that in human hands it brings ruin” (Season 4, Episode 20). When comparing this with the tragic hero of Eren Jaeger, however, we see that the potential for not only good, but also evil, exists in humanity, and how power can influence which potential is realized. Eren is initially portrayed as a young boy, innocent and driven solely by his desire to free his fellow humans — the perfect protagonist. However, as Eren discovers his power, he becomes increasingly violent and vengeful as a titan. His moral descent is reflected by the increasing ugliness of his titan form, which becomes increasingly inhumane. Eren intentionally transforms into a titan and back to human form; his corruption is not driven by governmental abuses but by the growth of his own power. Taking these examples in hand with the previously established understanding that titans are not inherently ugly — the actions of those in power are ugly — allows us to see that while titans can be ugly, they only become so because of human decisions, which are easily influenced by power.
The aesthetics of ugliness and beauty are representative of not just the human psyche, but of the psyche of the creator — whether that creator is mortal or divine. The creation story, specifically regarding Adam and Eve, provides a fundamental parallel to Eren’s fall from grace and an anti-parallel to the creation of titans in Attack on Titan and Goya’s painting, showing that what is innate to humanity is not good or evil, but choice and free will. These works present ugliness outright through titans and with given context, it is shown that the corruptive nature of power is metaphorically driving the ugliness in these creations. In the Bible, God creates the first humans in his image: the creator’s psyche. Accordingly, in this creation story moral ugliness is not innate to humans but emerges due to the decisions of Adam and Eve. In the dissection of the role of power in the Genesis creation story, Genesis and Power: An Analysis of the Biblical Story of Creation, Schult et al. interprets that Adam and Eve sought to gain the power of God by acquiring the knowledge of good and evil. Taking this interpretation in hand with God giving humanity free will, we see that the initially morally blank slate of humanity was corrupted in the creation story by human choice, influenced by power. One could argue that the introduction of ugliness in the creation story deviates from the concepts behind the ugliness of titans, but a humanistic paradox is similarly observed in Genesis. After their fall from grace, while Adam and Eve are still humans, they have been transformed from the initial state that God created them in, tainted by Satan’s influence. While they retain the appearance of God, they introduce a humanistic paradox in their context by losing their, and all of humanity’s, original holiness. Eren is introduced as a child with pure intentions; Adam and Eve are created in a state of original holiness. Titans, formerly humans, eat other humans; Cain, the son of Adam and Eve, kills his brother, Abel. The blank slates of each story are corrupted by power; both involve individuals enabled by free will introducing ugliness, in one guise or another, into their respective worlds.
The introduction of power into stories of creation — of humans or by humans — often is represented through ugliness, regardless of the fundamentality of the story. As titans reflect the human appearance and psyche, they act as an optimal canvas for painting this ugliness that is representative, directly or indirectly, of the corruptive nature of power. The humanistic paradox used to characterize these titans as ugly is representative of the paradox of good and evil within the human psyche. Humans can be evil but are not innately evil, just as humans can be good but are not innately good. Through the innate free will of humanity, power corrupts the blank slate of the human psyche, twisting individuals into something resembling a human outwardly, but not inwardly. In Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son and Attack on Titan, the ugliness of the titans is indirectly representative of the corruptive nature of power, as governmental abuses of power drive the ugliness produced in the works. Eren and Adam and Eve start from a pure state and fall from grace, with ugliness and their humanistic paradox being introduced concurrently. Regardless of the period or medium — divine, commercial, or personal — ugliness has been used as a physical warning about the dangers that power holds for humans.
References
Phelan, S. (2019, January 30). Goya’s Black Paintings: ‘some people can hardly even look at them’. The Guardian. Retrieved February 25, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/jan/30/goya-black-paintings-prado-madrid-bicentennial-exhibition
Schiller, B.-M. (2020). Fantasies of cannibalism in the art of Louise Bourgeois. American Imago, 77(2), 365–393. https://doi.org/10.1353/aim.2020.0024
Scult, A., McGee, M. C., & Kuntz, J. K. (1986). Genesis and power: An analysis of the biblical story of Creation. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 72(2), 113–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/00335638609383763
Vernon, A. (2017). Colossal Bodies: Re-imagining the human anatomy in Hajime Isayama’s attack on Titan. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 8(5), 480–493. https://doi.org/10.1080/21504857.2017.1355835
