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Reading Lavinia

Author : Kumar Luv      Blog :Vakrokti      Date: 9/9/2012 5:52:00 PM


Every reader fills the text with his own strokes. When Augustus asked Virgil to create a national poem – he decided to pick a bit-player from Iliad and turned him into a hero, penning his adventure and giving him a role in laying foundation of Rome. Centuries later, Ursula Le Guin does something similar – she retells the last 6 books of The Aeneid from the point of view of a bit-player in the original – Lavinia.

Her Lavinia is self-aware, but the world she paints is believable in every aspect. Originally just a pale shadow of Helen, Lavinia now reveals aspects of the original work that are difficult to understand for a casual reader – the contradictions in the pious Aeneas suddenly become very understandable. Virgil could have never written a character like this – it has very modern sensibilities. But Le Guin never turns away from the original work, never strikes a false note. She is the most loving reader Virgil could find.

A great read.

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