We are finally introduced to Turnus here in book 7. Vergil lays some groundwork in this book to set him up as Aeneas' antithesis for the second half of the poem (just as Dido was in the first half).
After reading the following passages about Turnus: 7.414-477 (pp.153-154), 7.575-578 (p. 157) and 7.595-598 (p. 158), how would you summarize Turnus' character? Does he have what it takes to be a great leader? Why or why not? (Consider looking at our Moodle wiki about the qualities of a good leader before you answer this.) How is the similar to and different from Aeneas?
Vergil and the Muses
2nd Century Carthaginian Mosaic (lonestar.texas.net/~robison/visual_trivia.html)
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In my opinion, Turnus is not quite equal to Aeneas. He seems to act with pure emotion, and it does not appear that he thinks things through. In lines 414 to 477 of book 7, the Fury Allecto visits Turnus in the middle of the night to urge him to go to war with King Latinus in order to disobey the Fates and marry Lavinia. After this conversation, Turnus immediately ransacks his own room in order to try to find his armor in a fury of emotion. He shows a display of furor here. I think Turnus is similar to Aeneas because both men are brave warriors. Both men are very passionate, and both love their countries. But, Turnus seems to be controlled entirely by furor, just like Aeneas was in Book 1 when. The difference between the two men is that Aeneas has developed more pietas, and he displays it frequently. Turnus, on the other hand, seems to be completely consumed by furor. He has only himself the fact that he wants to marry Lavinia in mind when he decides to assemble his army to march to Latium. He does not care about anything except his own interests.
Action on emotion, as we all know, leads to many problems. I would have brought up when Aeneas give completely into emotion in book one after the storm we saw how he lacked pietas. Yet later, in the underworld, Aeneas has a grasp on his emotions, we saw this in the reaction to Dido. This is important because Aeneas has to mature as a leader in order to succeed. Turnus needs to be more mature, he needs to realize this situation for what it is, an impossible endeavor.
I realy like when you say, "Turnus, on the other hand, seems to be completely consumed by furor." It realy is important to realize this.
I agree with Rob that Turnus is not exactly equal to Aeneas for a variety of reasons. For instance, the development of Turnus' character in book seven is drastically different from Aeneas' character development throughout his entire journey. During Aeneas' development he starts out in book one by acting with pure emotion and self-desire. However, as time passes he begins to act more and more with sensibility and trust in the g-ds. He also develops the ability to make his own decisions and become more independent, rather than relying on the g-ds to lead him. The same cannot be said for Turnus' character development in book seven. Originally, when the fury Allecto visits Turnus, his arrogant nature forces him to ignore and push aside the advice and orders of Allecto. Then, as book seven progresses, Turnus begins and consistently acts with aimless abandon. Therefore, Aeneas and Turnus are opposite when it comes to the development of each person's character. Moreover, because Turnus acts with incredible ignorance and self-desire, to gain Lavinia's hand in marriage, he becomes further unable to be a good leader because a good leader must be conscious of the needs of his people. Therefore, Turnus' self-desire and want of personal power fully enable him from being a good leader. In turn, the large difference between Aeneas and Turnus is that Turnus does not have what it takes to be a good leader while Aeneas does. However, the process each takes to developing their personal characters is the large similarity since each experiences what the other does except in the opposite order.
I think that Turnus is equal to when Aeneas was a leader in the beginning of the book. Yes, Turnus is acting on pure emotion, but so did Aeneas in book 1. Aeneas was not developed at all and showed no sign of pietas. Aeneas had no confidence and showed that to his men. During the storm scene in book 1 Aeneas was completely given into furor. In my opinion, i think that Turnus is like Aeneas in the storm scene. He does not think things through. Like Aeneas now, who has realized his destiny and is developing pietas, Turnus needs to go through experiences to develop. Aeneas has gone through so much and has been able to develop. Turnus is giving into furor now but once he has experiences and gains confidence he will develop like Aeneas.
I actually think it's rather difficult to judge Turnus' level of pietas in Book Seven, mostly because of the events leading up to his spiral into furor. When we first meet Turnus, he is being confronted by Allecto and actually brushes off her attempts to enrage him at first. It is only after she has revealed herself as a Fury and stuck a torch into his chest that he is overcome with...well, fury. This shows several things--first, that Turnus is like Aeneas in his need to see things before he can believe them. He has a difficult time with blind faith, which suggests that his pietas is somewhat lacking. However, his initial need for evidence before jumping to conclusions suggests that he is levelheaded and not usually quick to anger. He is probably a good leader because of this, as he is unlikely to make assumptions without gathering sufficient information first. I don't think he will be so effective after being put under the influence of Allecto though. When he leaps into war it is because of offenses done to him personally, not to protect his people or for any other reason. This is bad leadership. So ultimately...I would have to say that Turnus begins as Aeneas' superior, but becomes a lesser leader after being affected by aforementioned Fury. Aeneas, in comparison, is clearly inferior with his initial behavior in Book One's storm scene, but improves considerably with divine aid.
Turnus seems to act purely on emotion; furor. When the fury Allecto visits him, he's so moved by her words that he doesn't bother thinking his actions through before he attacks Latinus. Because of this, he doesn't have all the neccessary skills to become a good leader. Aeneas essentially began at the same point as Turnus; obsessed with fighting for a cause (in Aeneas's case, Troy and anything to do with it). However, Aeneas is no longer entirely controlled by furor, and now knows that his first instinct/emotion is not neccessarily the one he should trust while making decisions.
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