When is Violence in Fiction Art?

Judith Beheading Holofernes by Caravaggio (1599)

Violence in fiction is nothing new. It was already in Gilgamesh's and Homer's epics; it was in the Bible. It has been part of literature as long as literature itself has existed. Often, violence has been uncommented like an axiomatic aspect of what it is to be human and an integral part of history.

However, sometimes, it has sparked debate. With poorly hidden delight (but not entirely without disgust)…