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A New Roman Woman
When examining the works of Propertius and Tibullus as descriptions of a new Roman woman, a number of things must be examined. First, to what extent does each poet refer to the power of romantic or sexual love as that which restricts or hurts them in contrast to the power of women in general. Second, what is the contrast between women's sexual liberty and that of men. Third, how does the current-day reader determine whether the works of each poet are representative of reality.
The following passage by Propertius assures us that it is the power of women and not simply the power of sexual or romantic love that binds a man. Here he recommends the activities between a man a boy. He reasons that such a match will not bring the pain and heartache of romantic or sexual love with a woman.
"‘I offer to my enemies
such heterosexual joys
and to my friends some good advice:
find your delight in boys.
...
When boys are mad a single word
will often make them stop;
but she will have your very blood
to the last drop.'"
(Propertius, 57-58)
This very passage assures the reader that there is something unique about the love of a woman, or the quality that a woman brings to love that damages a man. Because such love and such sexual pleasures would certainly be available between a man and a boy, it is apparent that when Propertius speaks of his pain, he attributes it wholly to women and not solely to love itself.
However, it is misleading to suggest that Propertius equates women with pain. More specifically, he seems to equate a woman's unfaithfulness with pain. While he labours on and on about the joys of sexual love with a woman and his prowess at pleasing her, often no more than a line will pa...
... middle of paper ...
...stery, however, at the very least it is evident that their was inner strife among men when weighing the freedom of high-born ladies to engage in sexual romance with them, to their freedom to engage in it with other men.
Bibliography:
Fantham, Elaine. Women in the Classical World.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.
Peradotto, John; Sullivan, J. Women in the Ancient World: the arethusa papers.
Albany: State University of New York Press, 1984.
Pomeroy, Sarah. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: women in classical antiquity.
United States: Schoken Books, 1975.
Propertius. The Poems of Propertius.
Indianappolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company Inc, 1972.
Tibullus. Tibullus: the poems.
Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd, 1972.
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In the 1930s, who would have perpetrated violent acts against women in the name of sexual gratification yet still hold expectations that women take care of them? By making men in general the placeholder for “you” in the poem, it creates a much stronger and universal statement about the sexual inequality women face. She relates to women who have had “a god for [a] guest” yet it seems ironic because she is criticising the way these women have been treated (10). It could be argued, instead, that it is not that she sees men as gods, but that it is the way they see themselves. Zeus was a god who ruled Olympus and felt entitled to any woman he wanted, immortal or otherwise.
In order to prove the first premise, this essay will begin by examining the last line of the couplet which argues that the lovers are trying to "cure the secret sore". This line prompts the idea that love is a sore that needs a cure, but it also raises two questions: (1) why does the speaker call love a secret sore? And (2) how does the speaker use this imagery in the rest of the poem? In the poem's mythology, love is a sore left by Love's arrow (which probably alludes to Cupid's handy-work) as described in the first line of the poem: "he who feels the Fiery dart/ Of strong desire transfix his amorous heart". The "secret sore" can also refer to the idea that Love's wound is concealed (as an internal injury), and thus cannot be helped by external/physical remedies. The speaker argues that even sex proves unprofitable in trying to cure love: "Our hands pull nothing from the parts they strain,/But wande...
Lucretia and Dido are both viewed as ideal Roman women. The story of Lucretia is found in Livy’s Early History of Rome, while Dido is written about in The Aeneid by Virgil. By looking at Roman values, the story of Lucretia, the story of Dido, their similarities and differences, a background of Livy and Virgil, as well as the similarities and differences of Virgil and Livy’s views toward them, Dido and Lucretia can be seen as exemplary Roman women.
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--- Goddesses, Whores, Wives and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. New York: Schocken Books. 1995, 2010. Kindle Edition. Location 2733 of 6360.
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