Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin
The protagonist of Vergil’s The Aeneid battles for Lavinia, the king’s daughter, with whom he is destined to create an empire. Lavinia herself is completely silent. In a book that transports us to the semi-wild world of ancient Italy, when Rome was a muddy town near seven hills, Ursula K. Le Guin gives Lavinia a voice.
Up until the suitors arrive, Lavinia has only known peace and freedom. Her mother desires that she wed the attractive and ambitious Turnus. However, according to omens and prophecies made by the sacred springs, she must wed a foreigner, she will start a bloody conflict, and her spouse won’t survive long.
Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin
59 used from $2.83
Free shipping
Amazon.com
The world seeps into you as you read Ursula Le Guin’s simple yet encompassing writing. I sensed the strength of Lavinia’s religious rites and the consolation she derived from her connection to the past; I experienced the labour involved in making cloth and smelled the meat of animals offered as sacrifices to the gods. For her, piety was as palpable and genuine as the salt she collects from the salt flats.
Lavinia is introduced to you as an 18-year-old girl who is content in her home and cares for her father, King Latinus’, domestic gods. She has a loving father and a distant relationship with her mentally ill mother, Amata. She is obedient yet also independent and willpower.
You view the men and women in Lavinia’s life, the hearth gods, and the domestic duties through her eyes. Being married off to one of the many suitors seeking a partnership, her life is about to change. Despite her numerous virtues, she lives her life as the daughter of her father. She is merely fortunate that her father wants her to be happy and realizes she does not desire any of the available suitors; her destiny will be decided without her. All of this changes when, while visiting a holy site, she sees the poet Vergil. He claims that she is his creation, a claim that she finds confusing but nevertheless takes seriously.
In more specific terms, he informs her that she will wed Aeneas, a stranger who has been restless since the fall of Troy. The power of omen and prophesy is tremendous for Lavinia and Latinus. Conflict develops between the settlers who come from across the sea and the suitors from Lavinia’s own country, upending her future. Aeneas will triumph, but he must do so in a way that may reconcile the two peoples.
