Saturday, March 3, 2018
The Story of Dido and Aeneas
After Troy fell to Greece in the Trojan war, Aeneas was one of the few Trojans who was not enslaved or killed. He and a small fleet escaped and set sail for Italy. He was informed by the household gods that he was to found Rome on the Italian peninsula. He wandered around the Mediterranean for years going from island to island, until one day his ship crashed due to Juno sending a storm his way. His fleet ended up at Carthage in Africa. The Queen of this area was Dido. Dido and Aeneas had a long-lasting love affair, and eventually had some sort of marriage. The problem was that they were in Carthage for a little too long. Aeneas had a duty to serve as he had to found Rome. He eventually realized this and after Dido requested that the Trojans stay for a little longer, he sadly had to leave for Italy. Dido was heartbroken. Her first husband was killed by her brother, and she swore to never love a man again. She fell in love with Aeneas and eventually killed herself after Aeneas left her. Hopefully, this brief summary can help you guys understand the many references to Dido and Aeneas better throughout the Wasteland.
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To better understand Dido's tragedy, I think it's important to also go into greater detail on the story of her ex-husband. According to Virgil, Dido was married to wealthy, young man named Sychaeus. She was happy in this marriage; however, her brother, Pygmalion, was jealous of Sychaeus' wealth and murdered him. Sychaeus then appeared in a dream to Dido and told her the truth about his death, to escape from her hometown, and where his gold was located. After this series of events, Dido swore to never love another man. However, as Bruce explained, she fell for Aeneas. Dido is truly the definition of a star-crossed lover, and it's unfortunate how her life was dictated by the actions of the men surrounding her. I think if anything this could correlate with other women in "Waste Land" who are restricted by the men around them such as the woman in the bar.
Just to add on some more, I think it's also important to understand that Dido was considered a great ruler in Carthage. She was revered and respected, and both men and women treated her as their rightful leader. They thought she was clever and powerful. She managed to build a whole city, after all!
But then Aeneas came along.
Okay, okay, I know some people think Aeneas is super duper awesome and all that good stuff. I'm not completely disagreeing. I'm just saying, he wasn't very...considerate of Dido, shall we say.
Dido had sworn off men after Sychaeus' murder, rejecting suitors left and right, including powerful ones. But after Aeneas told his poignant tale, she started to realize her desire for him. She tried to stay away, but...obviously she did not.
Anyway, Aeneas did basically promise her a union. Sure, it wasn't a formal ceremony or anything, but it was still a promise. But then the gods gently remind Aeneas he's gotta get out of Carthage so that Rome can be founded! So he leaves Dido.
Not only does he leave her, he tries to COVER UP the fact that he's leaving! He discreetly rebuilds his fleets and intends to run away in the middle of the night—gee, what kind thanks for Dido's generosity towards Aeneas and his men, even putting all loving feelings aside.
Dido begs him not to go, but Aeneas has to fulfill his destiny/his duty.
Hey, I'm not saying Aeneas should have ignored his destiny, I'm really not. I'm just saying, maybe he shouldn't have promised to stay with Dido and then take advantage of her trust and love.
Clearly there was a lack of sincere communication between Aeneas and Dido in the end, as Eliot alludes to in his poem. Not to mention Dido's suicide, death being the ultimate disconnection.
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