Lavinia is Ursula K. Le Guin’s take on Vergil’s second half of the Aeneid. In the epic, Lavinia, daughter of King Latinus, is a central character and catalyst for events; however, Vergil gives her no dialogue, only a brief mention as the most minor of characters. While we had met Creusa and the infamous Dido, Lavinia’s betrothal to Aeneas, the subsequent civil war, and their eventual marriage, is never depicted in the Aeneid, because Vergil died before it could be finished.
Le Guin finally gives Lavinia a voice in this beautifully written book about pre-Julian Rome, where people have “a strong sense of duty, order, and justice”. Because the book takes place during the early republic, the places and people have a sense of austerity, very unlike the usual decadence one associates with Rome.
The book begins with Lavinia’s childhood, her closeness with her father King Latinus, and her fear of her half mad mother Queen Amata, who has never forgiven her for surviving a plague that took her other two sons. However, King Latinus dotes on her (“You are the light of my eyes, daughter”) and thus she grows into an intelligent and pious woman, often visiting the sacred grove of Albunea, where she meets the shade of Vergil. Their conversations are so interesting; the naive maiden and the man who mysteriously foretells many events in Lavinia’s life. In fact, he tells her he is a “vates“, or soothsayer, as Lavinia does not know the meaning of poet. Vergil’s regret, and knowledge of his impending death are always weaved into his conversations with Lavinia, and her wit and personality often come through in these one on one conversations with Vergil.
“I favor none of them.”
“Why is that?
“Why should I? Where can a man take me that is better than my father’s house? What do I want with a lesser king? Why should I serve Lares that re not my family’s Lares, the Penates of some other woman’s storerooms, the fire of a foreign hearth? Why, why is a girl brought up at home to be a woman in exile the rest of her life?”
Eventually Lavinia grows into adulthood and is promised to Turnus, King of the Rutulians. Her mother pushes for this match; whether it is because he reminder of her lost sons or perhaps because she is a little in love with him herself is never really made clear. Of course, prophesy eventually dictates that Lavinia is meant to marry a foreigner, and Turnus in his anger incites a civil war against Aeneas and his men.
Le Guin follows Vergil’s work closely; she simply fills in the areas that Vergil left sparse, and thus illuminates corners of the Aeneid that we never knew existed. This is an excellent book for those interested in the classics or historical fiction. Read another quote from Lavinia!
