Lavinia
By Ursula K. LeGuin
The Short Take:
This book is absolutely beautiful – a dream to read. The title character makes a brief and voiceless appearance in Vergil’s (LeGuin’s spelling) Aeneid. LeGuin gives her a life worth reading and treasuring.
Why?
I had never read LeGuin before. I knew she was a highly respected writer in the science fiction genre. I had no idea what a treat was in store for me.
This thoroughly enjoyable novel tells the story of Lavinia, a minor character in the poet Vergil’s masterwork, The Aeneid. However, in that epic poem she never utters a word.
LeGuin takes care of that. Beautifully. Her Lavinia is a fully realized character, very much the young Latin princess of her time: quiet, demure, a dutiful daughter to be given in marriage as her father decides. But she has a mind of her own and a subtle strength that serves her well in shaping her fate. Lavinia possesses all the qualities of a thoroughly admirable heroine.
That is as it should be. The point of Vergil’s book was to reveal that the bloodline of gods and heroes led to their descendants, the Augustan Caesars; as well as to pay homage to traditional Roman values of family, honor, and country. Lavinia and Aeneas were the founders of that Augustan line.
The first chapter of Lavinia dwells on the very condition of being: whether Lavinia exists outside the poet’s mind; how even though the poet made her real, she is also real outside his poem. It creates the perfect introduction to this far away time, when omens and prophecies seriously mattered and history and myth are so thoroughly intertwined.
LeGuin keeps her novel firmly grounded in the traditions and religion of 12th century BCE Italy, but eliminates the interference of Roman gods found in the original poem. Even though her book’s basis is a poem about a myth, her work feels more like a historical novel than a fantasy thanks to this change. LeGuin even made a serious effort to match the mythical and actual landscape of the towns and battles in Lavinia to strengthen the book’s realistic feel.
The story’s arc extends far beyond the realm of The Aeneid, creating a full and fascinating life for Lavinia. LeGuin stays true to Vergil’s core message, but this is no mere continuation of his poem. This is Lavinia’s story, filled with passion and pain.
Want Some Plot?
While in a sacred place, Lavinia encounters the spirit of the poet who created her. He tells her something of her future, Aeneas, and the wars he will bring with him. This knowledge influences her subsequent actions. She subtly resists efforts to marry another Latin king, which helps to trigger the foretold war and all its disasters.
These events are in The Aeneid. But that is just the first part of this book.
Lavinia also knows just how long she an Aeneas will live together – again an influence on her actions. After his death, she is torn by the unruly behavior of Aeneas’ son who came with him to Italy, even as she strives to protect the son she herself bore Aeneas. She is conscious of her own position in history – though she knows her poet left her voiceless and in the shadows.
In many ways, Lavinia acts as a stand in for all the unsung and unknown women of times both ancient and modern. But that does not make her life – or story – any less meaningful.
Click here to check out LeGuin’s website for information on this and her many other books.
