The Resignation of Aeneas

A topic that really sparked my attention during this week’s seminar was the idea of free will. Free will is defined as the ability to act at one’s own discretion and to voluntarily make decisions outside of any external influence. It is, essentially, one’s right to choose freely. It is one’s right to eat cereal for breakfast instead of waffles. It is one’s right to stay inside and do nothing rather than to go out to a party. It is one’s right to move to Italy instead of France. It is one’s right to be an actress instead of a doctor. In our everyday, modern life, free will is the basis of human existence.

A significant contrast presents itself between our modern western society and the lack of free will seen in The Aeneid. In the American mentality, emphasis is highly placed on individualism, the principle of personal independence and self-reliance. Human being are essentially independent entities, separate and autonomous from others. You alone make your personal choices, with no intervention from outside influences. Humans are thus encouraged to make their own personal goals and to pursue their own paths. Today, free will also acts as the pillar of our democracy; for it to function, the people’s freedom of choice must be protected. Limitations exist in a degree as government is influential in political, economic, and social spheres but you ultimately have the power to formulate your own beliefs and act on them. Your own individual rights and freedoms are of utmost importance, seen in the democratic voting system and the Bill of Rights drawn forth in the Constitution.

This concept, so prevalent and ingrained in our society, virtually ceases to exist in The Aeneid and in ancient Roman culture. As discussed in seminar, humans on Earth are subject to intervention by higher beings and predetermined events. They have no control over what happens to them and are instead to be governed by fate and intervention by gods and goddesses. This is embodied in the journey of Aeneas, whose predetermined fate to create a grand city in Italy dictates his actions and his travels. He follows the directions laid out for him in obedience as his freedom to choose his own course of action is compromised.

An instant connection I made when the discussion of free will arose was to my favorite book A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. In the novel, a young delinquent named Alex is chosen to take part in government conducted aversion therapy that aims to “cure” him of his criminal nature. He is conditioned to act against his wishes and to act against his own nature as a model citizen.

Burgess writes in his novel, “when a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man.” Likewise, Aeneas sacrifices his own natural inclinations and instead abides by the commands of fate and higher beings. As the oxymoron clockwork orange suggests, he is no longer a natural being; he is instead a mechanical toy, wound up to act a certain way. Had he been able to act freely against the demands of destiny, his life would have taken a different trajectory (Book 4, 139).

“If the Fates had left me free to live my life,

to arrange my own affairs of my own free will,

Troy is the city, first of all, that I’d safeguard,

Troy and all that’s left of my people whom I cherish.”

The stark difference between the mindset of the West and of ancient Rome presents itself very

clearly. Personal freedom is valued in our modern society while determinism is not only present, but is accepted and respected in Roman culture. As a way to explain the world around them, humans instead accept their given destinies and act in accordance to the commands of fate. This concept then leads me to question: is Aeneas' resulting glory after having reached Italy valid in the western mindset? Is his prestige and grandeur legitimate and authentic if his actions where never of his choosing? In a society that elevates the importance of individualism, personal agency, and the importance of pursuing your own goals, blindly following a path set out for you by others does not seem to be the path of a true hero. Aeneas bears through many hardships and losses while on course to reach Italy but he does so because a higher power had predisposed this great destiny onto him; it was not a goal he had actively chosen. He is merely an agent of another's will. If given the chance to live out his days in comfort with his family far away from war and destruction, he would have taken it. It thus becomes evident that it is free will, the ability to make choices outside of any and all influences, that truly depicts a human's true desires and nature.

Edit/addition: I do believe that it is necessary here to further mention and acknowledge the cultural divide that leads to this perception of Aeneas. While Aeneas’ actions and subsequent submission into the will of others doesn't seem admirable and heroic in the Western mindset due to its individualistic culture, these are factors that are admirable in a culture that values collectivism, like that of Rome. Here, they value the importance of acting to the wishes and living up to the expectations of others. They value devotion to country and family and view humans as interdependent. While he may be respectable and heroic in the collectivistic mindset, his actions still lack the fundamentals that are deemed admirable in a purely Western mindset. The fact remains that he would have chosen a different path for himself if he had been given the chance. He goes to Italy, he endures the wrath of Juno not by choice, but by resignation. I hope it is not too extreme to say that in a culture that values following your own determined path and not living your life by the will of others, as the ones who root for those who defy the status quo, as the ones who root for Ferris Bueller, as the ones who root for Winston Smith, the actions of Aeneas do seem somewhat cowardly. By following the commands of others and withstanding forces that he himself would have avoided like Juno, he proves that his actions can be perceived as submissive instead of headstrong in the individualistic mindset.