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Article: 'Lavinia': Ursula Le Guin champions Vergil's neglected heroine.(FEATURES)(BOOKS)(Book review)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- April 8, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Yvonne Zipp
Classical pop quiz: Name the bride in "The Aeneid." Oh, I'm sorry. Dido is incorrect. (For those of you who checked the book information: no fair!) If the name escapes you, it's not surprising.
As epic maidens go, Vergil's Lavinia seems pretty forgettable to modern eyes. She shows up, blushes prettily when the gods decree she has to marry the Trojan hero Aeneas, and says nary a word. The only thing memorable was her hair, which caught fire in a mystical portent of war. (I'd like to see the Rachel pull that off.)
There's no clever trickery, a la Penelope; ill-fated prophesying, a la Cassandra; or heartbroken suicide, a la, ...