After re-reading Juno's speech in book 1.34-71 (pp. 4-5) and reading her speech in book 7. 286-320 (pp. 149-150),7.557-560 (p. 157) and 7.621-623 (p.158), think about and respond to these questions:
- How has the motivation behind Juno's actions changed from book 1 to book 7?
- How are the storms similar and different between book 1 and 7? (You will have to dig beneath the surface a bit for this one.)
- Juno herself opens the Gates of War - what inference can you draw about her emotional state from this action?
5 comments:
1. The motivation behind Juno's actions has changed from book 1 to book 7. In book 1 Juno's motivation for her actions is revenge. She seeks revenge because Aeneas was fated to destroy Carthage and go to Italy. Carthage means so much to Juno and she loves it more than her homeland of Samos. .Juno will do anything to get rid of Aeneas and his men. "Am I to admit defeat and give up my attempt to keep the king of Trojans away from Italy? So the Fates do not approve!" (33-35). Juno wants to gain revenge so badly that she does not care what gets in her way. She is enraged and is giving into furor. She ends up persuading and manipulating Aeolus to start a storm to get rid of Aeneas and his men. We can see that in book 1 Juno is trying to stop Aeneas and his men from going to Italy. In book 7 Juno ends up seeing Aeneas and his men again. Juno is bring back old feeling for her motivation of her actions and is "...pierced by bitter resentment". (293) Juno now sees that Aeneas and his men are Italy and she is more infuriated than in book 1. Because in book 1 Juno tries to stop Aeneas from going to Italy and now in book 7 he is in Italy, Juno is filled with anger. She was not able to stop him but now in book 7 she is willing to defeat Aeneas and delay his fate.
2. The storms in book 1 and 7 are both similar and different. They are similar because they both are created to defeat Aeneas from his fate. The storms are also similar because in book1 Juno uses Aeolus to help create the storm and in book 7 Juno uses Allecto to help with the storm. The storms are different because in book 1 the storm that is created is externally. Aeneas and his men in book 1 are sailing and go through this vigorious storm. In Book 7 the storm in internal. Juno releases Allecto to arouse anger. Allecto inflicts anger on Amata by breathing fire into her. Allecto approaches Turnus and disguises herself as a nurse while he is sleeping an convinces him to fight Aeneas. He refuses, but then Allecto ends up stabbing him in the heart with burning fire and then Turnus goes mad and says he will fight.
3. Juno open the Gates of War in book 7. The inference that can be made about Juno's emotional state is that she is personified as furor. Furor is chaotic, emotional, and anger. Juno is embedded in all of these and by opening the Gate of wars we can see how tied up in her emotions she is and that she is only focused on getting her way and stopping Aeneas from reaching his fate.
I disagree that Juno's motivation to destroy Aeneas has changed because her motivation is still revenge. In book 1 Juno wanted to take revenge when she found out from the Fates that Carthage was fated to fall by Aeneas' hands. In book 7 I believe a different stage of her revenge begins. After Carthage fell from Aeneas' thoughtless actions, I believe Juno comes to reality of Aeneas' fate.
I disagree with the notion that Juno's motivation behind her actions in book seven is different from her motivation in book one. Juno's motivation has always been to torment and torture Aeneas and the trojans, for as long as they live. Juno has become so infused with furor that every little detail of her actions is directed towards torturing Aeneas and the trojans. Ultimately, she has not changed her motivation and probably never will.
I agree with Steph that Juno's tactics she uses are very different from books on and four. in book one she creates an external storm. In book 7 she creates an internal storm. Juno saw the success she has in book four when she sent Cupid to breather love into Juno, creating a disastrous emotional storm. Now in book 7, Juno goes infects very influential people, Amata and Turnus, and attempts to start major chaos and war.
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I agree with Steph that Juno becomes almost the personified version of furor in the scene when she opens the Gates of War. She becomes totally obsessed with not only the idea of the Trojans suffering but with war and bloodshed in general. It is almost as if she wants someone to suffer because anyone’s pain will make her feel better for her inability to stop Aeneas.
I agree with Steph that the motivations between book 1 and 7 changed from revenge to anger. However, another important concept that should be noted is that in book 1 it was for her country, but in book 7 it is more of a personal debt with herself since she couldn't stop Aeneas from reaching Italy. Probably, it is a sign of weakness. And the storms are different because in book 1 it was more of a physical storm and in book 7 it is more, like Steph say "internally". And they are similar because both storms aim to destroy Aeneas. The inference that I can draw from Juno opening the Gates of War is that she has become a perfect symbol of furor by being threaded into her irrational feelings.
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