In the play, both Tamora and Titus Andronicus hold power when they are able to deceive each other. Throughout the majority of the play, Tamora uses her vulnerability as a woman to sustain her power in the empire. She appears to submit to Emperor Saturnius as she agrees to marry the Emperor. However, she only agrees to the marriage to become the empress of Rome and to hold the greatest power one could ever have in Rome to avenge her son's death. Furthermore, she plays the role of a generous woman to deceive her enemies and Saturnito into believing that she is capable of forgiving Titus Andronicus. However, he plans to enact his revenge on Titus Andronicus by making him suffer the loss of his family. “No, no sweet emperor, we must all be friends. The tribune and his nephews kneel to ask for pardon. I will not be denied. (Mowat and Westine 43). In this passage the empress hides her true motivations: to make Tito suffer behind words like "sweet emperor" and "friends". He also appears to need the emperor's permission to pardon his enemy. However, the empress clearly tells the emperor “I will not be denied” (Mowar and Westine 43), which shows that the emperor obeys her and she is the one in power. To convince his sons to rape Tito's daughter, Lavinia, he also uses words like “I spilled