Lavinia

Ursula LeGuin's Lavinia tells the tale of the second wife of Aeneas, mentioned only briefly by Virgil. Most notably Lavinia is mentioned in an omen "the day before Aeneas lands in Latinum, Lavinia's hair is veiled by a ghost fire, presaging war". LeGuin's story creates a life for Lavinia from when she was the young daughter of King Latinus, until her death many years after her marriage to Aeneas. In the book Lavinia sometimes goes to a sacred spot where a poet talks to her of Aeneas, her forthcoming marriage to him, the war that will ensue and the three years they will have together before his death. This brings an undercurrent to the story of Lavinia knowing that she exists only because the poet created her, which also gave her immortality but only a flicker of life.

I always enjoy Ursula LeGuin's books, and Lavinia is no exception. She care to bring the reader into the world through small details of day to day life and simple rituals. Though an easy read, the book is well written and thoroughly researched. The afterword describes the care taken in mapping out the region southwest of Rome where the story takes place.

Lavinia raised in me a lot of questions about Aeneas and makes me think I would like to read the Aeneid. After which I will probably want to read Lavinia again. So this may not be the end of discussing Lavinia and Aeneas on the 880blog.