Relationship Between Aeneas And Dido example essay topic

In the book The Aeneid we have an example of a marriage that is full of danger leaving us with very little evidence of reward. There are rewards and dangers that come with marriage, it is unfortunate but a relationship involving a knight is not full of much reward. It is different then the rewards and dangers that a couple who are not of warrior or knight status would have. The relationship between Aeneas and Dido is an example of a marriage and can demonstrate many of the rewards and dangers that come along with marriage.

Aeneas and Dido had a relationship with many holes in it, meaning it was not very stable. The love for Aeneas that Dido has is in fact increasing with the sorrow stories she hears. She has vowed never to re-marry since the death of her husband Sychaeus. Love is a very strong power; you cannot control it: as we see what happens to Dido.

Anna, her sister, claims that by marrying Aeneas she will increase the strength of Carthage by the warriors that follow him. Dido is confused and in love with Aeneas, which allows the city to fall apart. This is the first sign that we see that there will be many obstacles involved in the relationship of Aeneas and Dido. This is definitely a danger that comes along with love. Love is so powerful it can stop a city from functioning properly in The Aeneid. As well as stopping an army, which it does to Aeneas.

His love for Dido causes his men to get off track and delaying their arrival to Italy. Once again we are seeing another obstacle, which is going to cause ruckus among the lives of Aeneas and Dido. Early in the text we see that there are already many problems that are occurring due to the love that they have for one another. Jupiter reminds Aeneas of his destiny after he hears that Aeneas and Dido find each other in the cave after the storm and make love. Jupiter makes him aware of the fact that he is destined for Italy and that he must leave immediately. Aeneas is surprised by this and can't tell Dido.

He tries to gather his men in secrecy. Dido, who had her suspicions, confronts him. She is very upset and insults him by saying he has no honor. Aeneas does feel for her but tries to remind her that he has no choice and must go on with his journey to Italy. He tells her that this is what the Gods have told him to do and he must do as they say. After he leaves Dido kills herself because of his departure.

There are so far no rewards that have come out of the relationship of Aeneas and Dido. We are seeing an example of distrust and betrayal among the two. Well, at least no long term rewards. Everything that is happening to them is evil and making them feel worse then they did before the relationship.

The career of Aeneas was interrupted by the relationship and the career of Dido is gone forever since she kills her self due to the fact the Aeneas had to leave her. The career and life of Dido has completely diminished. She once vowed never to re-marry. I believe she should have stuck by her word and never gotten into a relationship with Aeneas. As we can see from the examples and from the text itself nothing good came out of this relationship. In the end we have a man who has to leave and a woman who can no longer bear it that she must kill herself.

The fact that he is a warrior is what made this relationship come to a halt. He has orders to follow, the Gods want him to do certain things and go certain places, which he must comply with. This is what ruined the relationship. If he was an ordinary man and not of warrior status his entire relationship with Dido would have been something completely different. Warriors have a very serious oath that they must follow.

They are warriors, they fight and travel when needed and ordered. A marriage involving a warrior usually consists of leaving behind the woman when he has to go fight somewhere. It is not a very stable relationship. We see married couples today and there is a term used 'dysfunctional,' that is what this relationship can be compared to. The image of marriage in which the text leaves us with is not very gleaming.

Marriage, here in the text, is made out to have evil and unwanted results. There seems to be nothing good that comes out of marriage. The careers of both have been hurt and issues of trust arise. This is an example of what marriage for a knight or warrior would be like. It is full of danger and only has short-time rewards. Small pleasures that in the end I think are not nearly worth the trouble and stress each partner goes through.