The Role Of Creusa In The Aeneid

As the saying goes, “women: you can’t live with them; you can’t live without them.” In The Aeneid, composed by Virgil, the protagonist Aeneas comes into contact with a multitude of women who either facilitate or inhibit his mission of founding a new home for the Trojans to settle. Creusa is Aeneas’ first wife who is responsible for telling him about his destiny and offering him peace in times of loss; Dido is the Carthaginian Queen who is filled with love for Aeneas by Venus in an attempt to find aid for Aeneas’ long journey; and Lavinia is the Latin Princess who has been fated to be the wife of Aeneas and is the cause of the Latin-Trojan conflict. A closer inspection of the differences of these three women is also important for understanding traditional gender …show more content…
He does this in an attempt to reinforce gender roles in the society of the time and shed light on the risks of women stepping out of those limitations. Creusa is the first wife of Aeneas and the mother of their child Ascanius. Though her appearance in the poem is very brief, her impact is tremendous. Her character is responsible not only for providing Aeneas with a brief overview of what is in store for him in the future, but is also for shedding light on what the role of women were during these times. In The Aeneid, Creusa makes her first appearance in Book 2 where Aeneas recalls the story of how the Greeks ravaged the city of Troy. In an attempt to survive the brutality of the Greeks, Aeneas leads a group of Trojans out of the city, where he says “then come, dear father. Arms around my neck: / I’ll take you on my shoulders… / whatever happens, both will face one danger, / find one safety” (2. 921-24). He tells Ascanius to grab hold of his hand and instructs his wife to follow him “at a good interval behind” (2. 925). This illustrates the way in which women in pre-Roman days were treated and represents their roles in society. He ensured that his father and son were