Evolution of Ideal Literary Characters

The Greek and Trojan aristocrats of the Iliad seem inhuman in comparison to modern ethical values. Instead of viewing the world in the context of right and wrong, they instead experience everything as glorious or shameful. The violence portrayed in works by Homer (The Odyssey), Sappho, Aeschylus, and Euripides seems to lack true purpose. There is no triumph of good over evil, and the authors fail to portray characters with qualities that make them seem human. Other works such as Augustine’s Confessions, Machiavelli’s Prince, and Virgil’s Aeneid contain subject matter, which more resembles modern man.

Augustine’s autobiographical work Confessions is sometimes considered the first Western autobiography. The text follows Augustine’s journey from a sinful life through the struggles he faces as he converts to Christianity. By describing the sinful events of his youth, he implies that human personalities and behaviors have foundations in vices such as selfishness and egotism. Furthermore, he believed that man continuously faced a desire for freedom synonymous with the concept of ‘disobedience’ and that this desire was so powerful and deeply rooted in human nature that it may be impossible to overcome. Augustine’s modern understanding of morality is described by his struggles with disobedience as he realizes that the guilt and unhappiness he felt after committing a sinful act did not quell his desire to sin again. His internal struggles between right and wrong are still relevant for modern readers, who can easily identify with the feeling in application to their own lives and decisions (185-190).

Additionally, Augustine’s autobiography attempts to tackle the question of faith. Even in today’s world, many people are opposed to Christianity because they do not understand how God can allow good and evil to coexist. Augustine describes his own strife in the difficult process of converting to Christianity with his observations that there seemed to be no justice in living a virtuous life. God did not always punish the wicked and reward the virtuous. Augustine attempts to find justification by proclaiming that it is necessary for God to work in mysterious ways. He thought it was important for Christians to face trials that challenged their faith, believing the struggle was imperative for their faith to exist. If every person who embraced God and acted decently was rewarded, then sinners would selfishly convert just to obtain the rewards for their faith (192). Augustine’s views on religion are very different than the ones expressed in Homeric texts. Homeric characters obsessed over pleasing their gods, who they believed to be in complete control over the world. Even Sappho’s poem “Hymn to Aphrodite” in which Sappho calls upon the goddess to help ease the pain of her broken heart implies that “Aphrodite will touch us even if we don’t want to be touched” (58). However, Augustine instead discusses religion as something practiced by free will. People have the ability to choose whether they will live righteously or sinfully and are responsible for their own lives (33-34).

Machiavelli’s Prince is another work bearing more resemblance to modern man. Instead of addressing why there are civil societies and governments in place, Machiavelli places emphasis on the idea that the world lacks stability. He uses examples from Roman history that portray the tragic struggle “in which power gives way to excesses, or the degeneration of rule, leading in turn to mob democracy and disorder, followed by the assumption of power by a new leader, and so on” (201). This modern message reminds the reader that chaos is always possible in the future and that power is something that can always be taken.

Power is also an issue between men and women. In Homeric texts, women are often viewed as property in contrast to the modern idea that genders should be equal. This creates a significant distance between the readers of today and the characters of these texts. However, Dido’s character in Virgil’s Aeneid challenges the male-dominated world of her time (11). When her character is introduced, she is portrayed a confident ruler over Carthage. Virgil reveals the strength of her character with her determination not to get married again, opting instead to remain single and honor her dead husband’s memory. Prior to Aeneas’ arrival, Dido is competent ruling without male assistance and has an aura of loyalty that is usually associated with male characters. However, Dido falls in love with Aeneas as part of the gods' scheme to keep Aeneas in Carthage. Her obsessive love is portrayed realistically by the emotions that overpower her; the reader is able to relate to her suffering and feels the intensity of her love and pain (148). Interestingly, Virgil portrays love as a destructive force. It destroys Dido, who finds herself unable to return to her dignified position as her city starts to fall into chaos. She eventually commits suicide, an act serving to emphasize the importance of honoring duty and destiny over emotion (151-156).

Modern human values revolve around the idea of right and wrong. Humanity has spent years creating and refining laws that govern our society. These laws are drastically different from the aesthetics of texts by Homer, Sappho, Aeschylus, and Euripides, who fail to recognize the existence of free will. Without free will, people are reduced to pawns in a game that seems to have no purpose. Modern man demands a hero to live for more than glory. They want their heroes to exhibit qualities such as pity, compassion, and perception in addition to strength. Augustine, Virgil, and Machiavelli composed works with characters that are much more self-aware, and thus appeal much more to the ideals of modern society.

Work Cited

Denby, David. Great Books: My Adventures with Homer, Rousseau, Woolf, and Other Indestructible Writers of the Western World. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. Print.