Aeneid Paper
Kara Jarvis
Dr. Holmes
ENG 210
15 November 2013
Cardboard Villain or Overlooked Hero?
French novelist, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, once said “As for an authentic villain, the real thing, the absolute, the artist, one rarely meets him even once in a lifetime. The ordinary bad hat is always in part a decent fellow”. These words lead me to believe that Turnus from Virgil’s Aeneid is not a true villain at all, rather, he is simple a misunderstood, misinterpreted counterpart to Aeneas. Although we can be sure that Turnus is an antagonist in the piece, he also possesses noble characteristics that make him more than just a villain such as dedication to battle, capacity for true sacrificial love, and an unmatched courageous confidence. Reading this work for the first time, I developed negative feelings toward the character of Turnus, but after further examination I have found more honorable features in him. Why then, are we led to feel such aversion to what may be a good man?
In contrast to Homer’s Iliad, The Aeneid begins with only Aeneas’s Trojans. We do not learn of the Latins nor do we learn of Turnus until later in the story during Book 7. Because of this delay in introduction, we form a literary type of bond with Aeneas and the Trojans. We find ourselves in favor of the Trojans through their trials and we hope that they meet their final destination. As a result, when Turnus enters the plot, he seems to be destroying a plan that we already had for our characters. This disruption contributes to our distaste to Turnus from the moment of meeting him. In The Iliad, Homer begins the story “in medias res”, or in the middle of things, in the heat of the battle. Because of this design, we come to know both the Greeks and Trojans at the same point in time. We are given the opportunity to weigh the pros and cons equally before forming an opinion of either side. The Iliad is obviously told from the Greek point of view, giving Hektor a disadvantage at the favor of the audience;
Dr. Holmes
ENG 210
15 November 2013
Cardboard Villain or Overlooked Hero?
French novelist, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, once said “As for an authentic villain, the real thing, the absolute, the artist, one rarely meets him even once in a lifetime. The ordinary bad hat is always in part a decent fellow”. These words lead me to believe that Turnus from Virgil’s Aeneid is not a true villain at all, rather, he is simple a misunderstood, misinterpreted counterpart to Aeneas. Although we can be sure that Turnus is an antagonist in the piece, he also possesses noble characteristics that make him more than just a villain such as dedication to battle, capacity for true sacrificial love, and an unmatched courageous confidence. Reading this work for the first time, I developed negative feelings toward the character of Turnus, but after further examination I have found more honorable features in him. Why then, are we led to feel such aversion to what may be a good man?
In contrast to Homer’s Iliad, The Aeneid begins with only Aeneas’s Trojans. We do not learn of the Latins nor do we learn of Turnus until later in the story during Book 7. Because of this delay in introduction, we form a literary type of bond with Aeneas and the Trojans. We find ourselves in favor of the Trojans through their trials and we hope that they meet their final destination. As a result, when Turnus enters the plot, he seems to be destroying a plan that we already had for our characters. This disruption contributes to our distaste to Turnus from the moment of meeting him. In The Iliad, Homer begins the story “in medias res”, or in the middle of things, in the heat of the battle. Because of this design, we come to know both the Greeks and Trojans at the same point in time. We are given the opportunity to weigh the pros and cons equally before forming an opinion of either side. The Iliad is obviously told from the Greek point of view, giving Hektor a disadvantage at the favor of the audience;