Book 11 Reflection

I'm so close to being done. Just three more blog posts!!

I haven't had much to say about women for a few books, so I'll start my blogpost with them. Camilla finally appears for battle. She is fierce. So are the women of her squad. Camilla is different from most women in the novel, because she has no desire to marry whatsoever. She has "[fosters] eternal love for her weapons and for her chastity," a lifestyle very different from that of most women (583-584). She was brought up by a man, and now finds herself equal among men. This to me says a lot about gender roles. Because Camilla grew up outside of the social world, she had no concept of what a woman was supposed to be like, so she just went with what her father taught her. Her story also shows that women could be as strong as men, but because they are not brought up like men (it's against social customs), they do not get a chance to prove it. Nowadays, this has changed dramatically and you find a lot more Camilla's in the world than you had before. Although Camilla is a truly inspirational and magnificent woman, she is killed at the hands of a man after killing many more. However, this only makes her story all the more memorable and moving to the reader.

I don't think I've ever addressed how Virgil puts a lot of emphasis on Aeneas "being a good man," but his moral character in the book is something Virgil makes an example of (106). He is called "righteous Aeneas" many times throughout the epic, and is praised by all for his just actions. I wonder if he was born righteous, and therefore fate selected him to be the father of Rome, or if he was created righteous by fate because she already knew he was going to found Rome. An example of Aeneas's goodness is when he agrees to the terms of the treaty, giving his foes a chance to think without fear of attack. However, when this is broken, it's also another moral issue within the book. It is no doubt looked at as making the wrong choice, but Turnus tends to do that a lot. Although he has great courage, he is too bold and does not know when it is appropriate to fight, and when it is not. However, Turnus is not driven to make this decision all on his own. He is tempted by Drances, who allows his jealously to get the better of him and bothers Turnus. Latinus is the last character that I would like to explore in morals and this is why: he is king, and he should be able to stop the fighting. Possibly, he is not brave enough to stand up to Turnus, but it takes bravery to portray good morality, especially when society is doing the opposite. Although the king knows the fighting is wrong, and it saddens him deeply, he cannot control it and therefore, appears to lack moral character.
P.S. Are human sacrifices okay? Is that even legal? Aeneas sends them, so I feel like that makes it okay, but it's another morals question that I'm having trouble answering.

I think the tragedy of a parent outliving their child is a sadness that no parent is equipped to or expects to live with. When Evander is given back the body of Pallas, his grief is so obvious and heartbreaking, and that was a really difficult part to read. (However, I think that Aeneas, by respectfully sending him a funeral parade shows great moral character and love for his ally). Furthermore, I wonder if Turnus actually loves Lavinia. He doesn't seem overly capable of loving anything but glory, and it makes sense that he would have he king's daughter to be his bride, because that would only bring him further glory. Love of a person's status and love of a person themselves are two very different types of love and seem to be mixed up here in the joining of Lavinia and Turnus, (and in all arranged marriages for that matter) but I suppose it's not their fault. My last comment about love is also about jealousy. Jealousy is love for something someone else has, but loathing for them because you do not have it yourself. Drances is jealous of Turnus's glory in war because he has never gotten that himself, and he hates Turnus, because Turnus has; therefore, he tempts Turnus during the king's meeting, and makes him look like the bad guy.
One question, why do women let their hair down when they are grieving? I've seen that a couple times in the book and was wondering what the significance of that was.

Instead of looking at how the gods intervene in this book, I'm going to talk about the meaning of their intervention. Religion has always been a tool that humans use to fill in a gap about the unknown (in my opinion), and because it explains things that people don't understand, they cling to it like spider monkeys. Humans do unexpected things sometimes, and I'm not sure quite why, but when people can't explain things, they generally always find a way to. I don't know why, sometimes they just like having an explanation, no matter how feeble it is. This is where the gods come in. Whether Virgil portrays them as real beings or as literary devices, the story wouldn't make sense without them, so he had to put them in there. Moreover, The gods in the epic are so much like humans, it's almost humorous, because under all of their divine powers, they are just average. Virgil portrays them very human-like and makes them very relatable to the reader, giving them another reason to connect with the book even deeper. The Divine Intervention topic is wearing out on me a little bit, but I'll write about it for my last blog just for poop and laughter.

Well, the epic is ending, and I still don't have good conclusions about fate. I do think however that Aeneas's acquiescence to fate is somehow related to his righteousness. I mean, he knows that his life would not have turned out the way it did if fate hadn't swayed him to do her bidding, but he goes with it anyway, even if he doesn't want to (112). That's a really hard thing to do, especially because he isn't getting a direct reward, just a promise that his posterity will succeed. Of course he gets glory and the promise of a good life for his son, but Aeneas wanted to spend his life differently. Maybe Virgil is saying that fate controls our lives for a reason. Free will is good to have, and we are given it somewhat, but fate ultimately controls the outcome, because it has a plan for all life. I just wonder what the plan is, and why it is the way it is. In line 725, Jupiter is described as the "Sower of Life for gods and for humans," and that could be interpreted as Jupiter being the master of fate, although it is never directly said in the epic. I bet that Virgil leaves us with a lot of questions unanswered on purpose. Smart people tend to do that...:)