It seems like the Romans and Greeks agreed on a common theme when it came to writing: where love goes, tragedy follows.
The Greek point of view has a shorter summary. Paris chose Aphrodite, and it was all downhill from there. Because Paris 'loved' Helen so much, he had to steal her from her husband. This, of course, leads to the fall of Troy- after an absurd amount of drama. Helen is hated for being the kind of beautiful that causes cities to be destroyed. Troy being destroyed leads to the Roman point of view, where Aeneas leaves Troy and meets Dido. Venus sends Cupid to make Dido fall in love with Aeneas, and she becomes a Roman-day fangirl.
Like most fangirls, Dido falls in love with the tragic backstory of her foreign hero, and she cannot stop thinking about his "courage" and "words" (Virgil, Book IV, lines 1-3). Finding a friend or family member to vent to is the next stage in being a fangirl. Dido's victim is Anna, her sister (Book IV, line 8). Dido begins her shift from normal to radical when Anna encourages her love. Juno is like the fangirl's clueless mom who just wants to support her daughter. Juno arranges with Venus for Aeneas and Dido to be married (Book IV, lines 102-104). Dido and Aeneas throw away their responsibilities as they show their passion for one another (Book IV, 193-194). Thus, Dido has a fangirl's dream come true, and all is well.
"That first day is the source of misfortune and death" (Book IV, line 169). All is not well. In the same way Dido is a Roman-day fangirl, Aeneas is a Roman-day Geralt of Rivia. He cannot escape his destiny or fate. "...he was to be one who'd rule Italy, pregnant with empire..." (Book IV, line 229). Aeneas is not fated to love, he fated to rule (toss a coin). He leaves, and Dido feels betrayed. After all, her entire world revolved around him for a few days. As a result of her grief after Aeneas's betrayal, she resolves to kill herself. Luckily, there is peace in death.
"There [the Fields of Mourning], those whom harsh love devours with cruel pining are concealed in secret walkways..." (Book VI, lines 442-443). There is not peace in death, apparently. Dido is doomed to roam the "Fields of Mourning" for the rest of eternity, pining after Aeneas.
And so ends the tragic tale of the Roman-day, radical fangirl. Rest in peace.
P.S. I commented on Haylee Lynd's post and Jessef Leslie's post.
Awesome post! Your comparisons were so accurate. It seems that every time the gods intervene in human affairs, bad things happen. But what would these stories be without their tragedies? Such high emotions in the characters brings readers and listeners to high emotion and deeper feeling.
ReplyDeleteI am SO HERE for Dido being a radical fangirl! I had never thought of it this way. It really reminds me of the way girls were going after Edward Cullen back when Twilight was popular. So many hours of people's lives are dedicated to chasing something that they can't and won't have. What a lesson to learn!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your comparison of Aeneas to Geralt of Rivia!! The Witcher is one of my favorite series and honestly, the comparison of the two is perfect. It makes perfect sense and simultaneously makes me very very happy:)
ReplyDeleteI love this take on Dido so much! I have seen many people speak about her as “the first Juliet,” but never before have I heard her called a die-hard fan girl. Many tend to look at the tragedy, but you make a great point by highlighting just how superficial it all is.
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