Prompt 3: An Examination of the Male-Female Relationship using Dido and Aeneas

So Dido pleads, and her poor sister carries

these lamentations, and she brings them back

for lamentation cannot move Aeneas;

his graciousness toward any plea is gone.

Fate is opposed, the god makes deaf

the hero’s kind ears.

Book IV, Lines 602-608, p. 94

These lines describe Dido’s final attempts to delay Aeneas’ departure, calling upon her sister to appeal to Aeneas’ senses of decency and propriety. Of many themes suggested by this passage, including the conflicting roles of duty against desire, fate against free will, past and future against the present, one of the most prevalent is the opposition of male and female. Specifically, the male-female antagonistic relationship represented in this passage is that of Aeneas and Dido. Although much of the story would seem to suggest the strictly polarized opposition of the rational, civilized male against irrational, anarchist female, this passage demonstrates the ability of each partner of the relationship to exercise their own free will in choosing the sake of self or the sake of the city. In the first book, Juno demonstrates the ability of the female to corrupt and alter the judgment of male, Aeolus. This evidence contributes to the idea of the corrupting nature of women over normally reasonable man. Within the fourth book, Aeneas appears to wander off course as he succumbs to his basic human desires in his relationship with Dido. Although demonstrating human nature would not appear particularly harmful, human nature suggests his individualism, which runs contrary to the idea of sacrificing the sense of self for the sake of the city. Individualism suggests free will and an ability to alter fate, both of which contradict the idea of the inevitable founding of Rome by the ancestors of Trojan hero, Aeneas. In this passage, Aeneas demonstrates the ability to exercise restraint. Similarly, within the story Dido reveals her ability to maintain control over Carthage, thus exhibiting herrational, civilized nature. Ultimately, Dido makes the choice to pursue her personal passions. The argument could easily be made that the female characters in The Aeneid always act in an irrational, overemotional fashion, but with a deeper look at Dido, the nuances of this male-female antagonism are revealed. Succumbing to individualism does, in a sense, demonstrate disregard the sake of the city, but neither gender suggests a sense of utter conviction to either choosing the sake of the individual or choosing the sake of the city. This passage highlights Aeneas’ ability, as much as Dido’s ability, to exercise that choice. Once Aeneas makes that choice, his humanity is stripped away, as his “kind ears” are “ma[d]e deaf”. Once Dido makes her choice, she pursues, in a way, the most selfish decision imaginable by killing herself, in another sense abandoning her role as leader. In a similar manner, Antigone, can be construed as incredibly strict in its delineation of the male-female relationship as a confrontation of the concepts of personal desire and the sake of the city. But both Creon and Antigone demonstrate nuances in character until their respective choices to support city and personal desires eventually provoke the stagnation of each character. This passage helps validate the nuanced nature of the male-female relationships in The Aeneid, as Dido chooses to pursue her individual desires and Aeneas reject his for the sake of the city.

Aeneas vs Antigone--Self Sacrifice

For the purpose of my third paper I would like to focus on the concept of self-sacrifice in order to compare and contrast the characters of Aeneas and Antigone. As depicted in their respective literary pieces, the two characters share many similarities: they both face many challenging obstacles, which keep them from living in the present, in order to fulfill their familial, god-directed duties. However, despite the fact that both characters ostensibly share the significant similarity of sacrificing ‘self’, there arises a sharp contrast between the two upon closer analysis. Antigone is passionately and unwaveringly dedicated to her duty to the point of obstinacy throughout Antigone. On the other hand, Aeneas requires much more external motivation. He must, in a sense, be pushed to fulfill his fate, his duty. Thus, by examining Antigone in light of Aeneas, the nobility of her actions and self-sacrifice become more significant and honorable.

Focusing on exposing Aeneas’s character, lines 476-484 of Book IV of The Aeneid perfectly illustrate his lack of internal motivation:

“For often as the night conceals the earth with dew and shadows, often as the stars ascend, my father’s anxious image approaches me in dreams. Anchises warns and terrifies; I see the wrong I have done to one so dear, my boy Ascanius, whom I am cheating of Hesperia, the fields assigned by fate.”

Upon reaching the borders of Libya, Aeneas becomes complacent with the idea of staying in Carthage as Dido’s lover. Ignoring his duty, he spends his time either by Dido’s side or working to expand her city. Clearly, his actions stand in opposition to his designated fate of founding Rome, and Mercury descends from heaven as a reminder. Shaken by Mercury’s warning to forge forward, Aeneas relates the above passage to Dido in his explanation for leaving. Thereby it is revealed that Mercury’s was not the first warning that Aeneas received. Rather, his father has appeared before him many times in his dreams. In these dreams, Anchises, by Aeneas’s own account, frightened Aeneas and made him feel remorseful for keeping Ascanius from reaching Ausonian soil. The importance of this passage lies in the fact that Aeneas’s dream was recurring, and every time it happened he was scared and made to recognize the effects of his actions. Yet, in spite of this, he continued to remain seemingly content in Carthage. It was not until after the amalgamation of his paternal and the divine messages that he succumbed to his designated fate. Hence, Aeneas, as revealed here, is not internally driven to fulfill his duty, rather he must be propelled forward by external forces.

TO HER YOU WERE LIKE A VISIBLE GODDESS

In the poem “To Her You Were Like a Visible Goddess,” Sapphos utilizes diction and similes to describe what it is like to witness true beauty and to be in love. The poem starts with an unknown woman being described as a “visible goddess.” In using the word “goddess,” Sappho is able to convey beauty and a majestic vibe towards this person that she is trying to describe; she is able to make it seem like this person’s beauty is unrealistic because no one can reach this level. She then goes on to compare the woman to the “rose-tipped moon.” The rose is a flower that is typically used to be symbolic of romance and love. The moon is what brings light to the dark nights, showing that her beauty can shine through the darkness of the night and be visible to all that seek it.

The last two stanzas of the poem describe a new day and moving on after having witnessed and fallen for such beauty. Sappho tries to describe the morning through the use of “dew” that appears early in the mornings and says that it is still beautiful with the “roses bloom, and tender parsley and honey-flowered clover.” It still describes a beautiful scenery. However, by the last stanza, Sappho reveals that in the end, she is still sad that this beauty has past and that she can no longer witness it nor experience this romance. Sappho says at the end that her spirit is “wasted with yearning, heart comsumed with pain,” describing how heartbroken she still is after she is no longer able to be around this love. Though the day still seems fine with a fresh new start, ultimately, she is still sad to some extent about this loss that she is experiencing.

Sappho

Even though Sappho’s poem, “To Her You Were Like a Visible Goddess,” depicts the beauty of love, it also conveys the idea that love can be painful. However, Sappho concludes her poem by suggesting that even he pain left behind by an unsuccessful relationship can be accepted and overcome.

For instance, the poem opens with Sappho referring to a woman as a “goddess,” thus, suggesting that this woman is truly beautiful. To explicate, Sappho places Atthis on a pedestal along with the divinities, hence, placing her side-by-side to the most beautiful beings in the universe—the gods. Furthermore, in order to further depict Atthis’ beauty, Sappho employs a simile. Sappho proclaims, “she is-as conspicuous…as the rose-tipped moon surpasses all the stars after the sun has set.” Once again, Sappho highlights her love’s beauty, for she compares Atthis to the moon. Nonetheless, she also suggests that her loved one surpasses all other woman in beauty. It is interesting to note that Sappho utilizes the moon in her simile, in order to convey the idea that her lover brings light to the night. In other words, without Atthis’ love, Sappho is lost in the darkness.

In a similar vein, Sappho proceeds to highlight the beauty of nature: “roses bloom, and tender parsley and honey-flowered clover.” This use of imagery by Sappho has dual effect. First, it suggests that Atthis brings beauty to her life, for she is the moon that brings about joy into her life. To explain, for Sappho Atthis represents everything beautiful there is, and she places Atthis above everything else in this world. Next, maintaining the motif of nature in mind, it is appropriate to state that nature has various cycles. For instance, as the day ends, the sun sets and the moon rises to illuminate the darkness. Just as the sun has set Sappho’s and Atthis’ relationship is over, yet with the rise of the moon, a new day awaits. Sappho hints that a new day with countless opportunities to find a new love awaits her.

Nevertheless, the last stanza reveals her true state of emotion—she is heartbroken. Sappho solemnly says, “her spirit wasted with yearning, heart consumed with pain.” Sappho refers to herself as being consumed with pain, for she yearns for Atthis. Lastly, Sappho perhaps utilized the third person, in order to distance herself just like she was attempting to distance herself from Atthis’ memory. In all, it is axiomatic that Sappho wanted to illustrate the joy and beauty love brought to her life. Nonetheless, she also highlights the pain left behind by an unsuccessful love and how she must proceed with her life.

Anna's Close Reading

Sappho's poem "To Her You Were Like A Visible Goddess" depicts the heartbroken tale of a lost female lover through the use of metaphors, descriptive language, and allusions. In this poem, Sappho talks, possibly about herself, in third person. She uses the pronoun "you" to talk directly to the female ("goddess") who left her heartbroken to make it seem as if the poem was written specifically for this woman.

In the first stanza, we see that this female was the object of her affection, who caused Sappho to sing "her greatest delight." We can infer that this female isn't actually a goddess because of the use of the word "like," indicating that Sappho viewed this woman as divine and placed her on a pedestal. By saying this, Sappho conveys how much this woman means to her. Sappho goes on to talk about how her heartbreak has made this woman stand out to her among all the Lydian woman. Sappho mentions that as the sun sets, the moon rises, and "its light spreads equally over salt sea and flowering fields." In this phrase, Sappho is basically saying that although this relationship is ending, she will move on and spread her love to others.

Conveying her acceptance of moving on, Sappho uses descriptive words, like "bountiful dew pours down," "roses bloom," and "tender parsley and honey-flowered clover" to describe the vast opportunities and beauty of new beginnings. Although Sappho will move on from her heartbreak, she suggests in the last stanza that she won't forget her former lover.

Close Reading: To Her You Were Like a Visible Goddess

Sappho’s poem To Her You Were like a Visible Goddess is a poem about the beauty of love and the ironic beauty of pain. While the first four lines establish the relationship as a female-female relationship, the speaker is actually a third person who has been observing the relationship. The speaker is speaking to the audience, which is Atthis, the lover who was “like a visible goddess.” The imagery in the first stanza establishes the beauty of Atthis when the speaker equates her beauty to that of a “visible goddess” or the beauty of a goddess visible in a human being. However, the use of past tense makes it clear that the relationship between the two female lovers is over. Now, the former lover is described by the speaker as “conspicuous among Lydian women… after the sun has set…” It’s interesting to note the speaker’s use of simile. The image the speaker conjures for the reader is a very beautiful image, which serves to show the audience that the former lover’s beauty has transcended the normal standards of beauty. This transcendence, however, is ironic as it comes after she has lost the love of her lover (the audience member). The poem continues to use the image of the “rose-tipped moon” to illuminate the “salt sea” and the “flowering fields.” But the light of the moon is so bright that that it also highlights the details of the field: “bountiful dew pours down roses bloom…” Since the rose-tipped moon’s light is a simile for the beauty of the former lover, stanzas two and three essentially state that the beauty of the former lover is so radiant that she enhances the beauty of people around her. Yet, the irony of the poem becomes apparent in the final stanza. Despite the fact that her beauty and her conspicuousness among Lydian women show that she is physically better than ever before, the former lover still feels pain over her lost love with Atthis.

Todd's close reading

“To Her You Were Like A Visible Goddess”

The poem begins by seemingly speaking to the reader. It starts off by telling the reader that, in the eyes of an unnamed woman, they were like a goddess. Sappho goes on to write that the reader’s singing was this person’s greatest delight. This can be interpreted as saying that everything that the intended reader of this poem does makes the woman happy. It can be assumed that this woman was in love with this goddess figure. I find it interesting that Sappho writes the poem from a third person perspective while also including the reader. I believe that there was an intended subject for this poem, and yet through saying “you were like a goddess” Sappho immediately is engaging all readers. In this way, everyone can feel like they are connected to this poem. After the first three lines, the poem shifts from past to present tense. Sappho uses the metaphor of the night to describe the woman in the poem. Sappho compares the woman to moonbeams illuminating dewy field, which bloom with roses. The scene that is created shows the reader that the woman stands out from others because of her beauty. However, this woman also stands out from the other women for a darker reason. It seems as if she is fated to be trapped in the night. She is a beautiful person who seemingly cannot experience the light of day. This can be seen through the phrase “but she walks there…her spirit wasted with yearning, heart consumed with pain”. This pain and imprisonment in the darkness is supposedly caused by the actions of the intended reader. This woman loved her and is trapped by the idea that that love is not returned to her. This could possibly be because the intended reader simply does not love the woman back or because the intended reader is dead. In either case, the woman is distraught and left to waste her beauty in the darkness.