Virgil is kind of a misogynist. I mean, I get it. In his time, men and women were not viewed as equal, so it makes sense that his story would reflect that, but that doesn't mean I can't critique it.
Virgil's misogyny seeps into his description's of Juno and Dido. The most obvious is when he writes, "...Woman's a thing/Forever fitful and forever changing," which is said by Mercury during Aeneas' dream (Virgil 116). Virgil depicts the fight between Jupiter and Juno as a domestic quarrel between husband and wife. Keep in mind this is depicted before an audience that knows Jupiter is superior. He has the power.
If that isn't enough, Virgil does something similar with Dido and Aeneas. He portrays Dido as the one who is less responsible. She is portrayed in a "Juliet-like" role in which she kills herself for love, meaning she has left her city without a leader. In contrast, Aeneas is portrayed as one bound to his duty to find Italy and found Rome, leaving Dido to guide his people. Based on surface level analysis, the man, Aeneas, is more responsible than the woman, Dido.
While I don't agree with what Dido did entirely, the loss of her lover is not the only thing she had to grieve over. Dido has already lost her first husband. She is a widow, leading a country by herself. She finally decides to choose to love someone again, not only because she experiences feelings for Aeneas, but because she, as well as her sister(so we know Dido is not just biased towards him because she loves him), knows his soldiers will strengthen her city, meaning she makes her decision to be with him, in part, for her people. They both choose to sleep with each other, and whereas Dido does so not only because she loves Aeneas but because she knows his army will strengthen her kingdom, Aeneas' actions are the result of a momentary abandonment of his true duties and responsibilities. Based on my knowledge of the time in which this story takes place, Dido would have been talked about worse than Aeneas was as it was acceptable and even praised for a man to sleep around, but not so for a woman. Rather than marrying her ceremoniously, Aeneas leaves, meaning he has taken her honor.
Dido does not just kill herself because she is heartbroken over a boy. Dido kills herself because this is the second time she's experienced the loss of a love, she has lost an army for her people, and she has had her honor stolen and will not be respected as a ruler in the same way ever again. Virgil chooses not to emphasize these things, choosing rather to portray her as a weak and irresponsible ruler who kills herself for love, while he portrays Aeneas as a duty bound leader, so yeah, I'd say he's a bit of a misogynist.
P.S. I commented on Caroline's and Abigayle's posts.
First of all, yes. Second of all, YES! Third, YES! You captured the true powerful Dido that everyone (including myself) skipped over. She is a female ruler in the age of misogyny! Virgil mentions this once, and then he ruins her character in a way that is still used today. How many stories are there with a strong, female lead who is "softened" by a man? How many stories start out with the dilemma of a "single woman in her 30s?" I love your post! We need more Dido.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very interesting in a highly men led culture how necessary it is to maintain it. In Ancient times and even moving into the Middle Ages there was an almost fear of women. In order to keep and man led culture and embrace the widespread fear they must portray women in a bad light. The continually show some as rash or irresponsible not in a stoic like control of their emotions which in their eyes makes them terrible rulers. Contrast to today and there is an overwhelming sense that women are not to be feared and respected in our culture. American society has had this massive push in modern feminism that simply disrespects femininity. Christianity Acknowledges that there are natural good differences between males and females without exacerbating them. Modern Feminism seeks to disrespect and completely disregard any gift that makes a man unique for the sake of lifting the female to an ideal of goddess-like stature without holding her to the standards by which men are required to live up to in the same circumstances. I agree with you that we see and absolute upside to our culture in the Aeneid as far as the relations between men and women.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Strangely enough, the gods view them almost as equals. In this time period love was seen as something separated from marriage and business. So it makes sense that it was portrayed to us as a distraction. But yeah, Virgil's thought of a Queens mentality might not be very accurate to say the least.
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