In class wed we discussed the fallout of Aeneid and Dido's relationship: one that was so delicately forged, and then so violently destroyed. Aeneus and Dido both suffered the crippling despair resulting from their spouse's untimely death. Aeneus arrived in Dido's kingdom as a guest, immediately following escaping his fallen City of Troy. With his family and home destroyed in a blaze of Greek vengeance, Aeneus is forced to start anew, regardless of his obvious vulnerabilities. Dido, fresh off some hardships of her own, has been ruling her kingdom since her plotting brother murdered her beloved husband in an attempt to usurp the thrown. unbeknownst to both Aeneus and Dido, Aeneus' mother, Venus, instructs the God of Love, Cupid, to shoot Dido with one of his magical arrows, immediately causing Dido to fall deeply in love with Aeneus. Dido and Aeneus both struggle to shed their connection in fear of dishonoring their late spouses, but their love proves to be too strong and they forge a relationship. Enveloped completely by their love, Dido loses sight of her goal of rebuilding and restructuring her kingdom, and in turn she loses her public support.
Then, in a divine turn of events Aeneus is visited by Mercury, the messenger God, who tells him that in order to fulfill his destiny he must journey to Italy, where he is to start an empire o previously unimaginable proportions. On cue Aeneus begins ramping up for his voyage. Dido learns if Aeneus' plans to leave and is destroyed. She confronts Aeneus, but to no avail. Crushed again, Dido is left in her kingdom, surrounded by darkness, and encapsulated in fear, she takes her own life atop a makeshift shrine to Aeneus.
Throughout the entirety if the Aeneid is clearly the hero. Still, unlike most works of this time period Dido, a female character, is depicted in a position of power. But, I question whether or not Dido possesses the internal strength to lead, and o web be in control. She is a leader of a kingdom who has survived opposition to rebuild/restructure a paradise in her own likeness, BUT she accepts her destiny as a failure when she takes her own life. In class we discussed suicide as being an exposition in control, but I believe it is in weakness. We have seen our heroes battle monsters, defeat spells and curses, escape the clutches of demigods, and even laugh in the face of the gods themselves; but when Dido, a 'female heroin', is faced with another heartbreak and a displeased kingdom she takes the easy way out and removes herself from
The situation, rather than fight for herself. Suicide is an escape, and some may say that staging an escape is an exercise in control. But, is it really, when what you are escaping from is helplessness?
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