Teaching Vergil's Aeneid through Ecofeminism

I. Introduction

When teaching the Aeneid recently, I have introduced ecofeminism as an interpretive tool. Ecofeminism has emerged within the last twenty or so years as a branch of feminist studies.² Its concerns with both women and the earth, I have found, appeal to many of today's students and help them find the text more pertinent—and making the Aeneid pertinent and meaningful is perhaps the greatest challenge we face.³ Once students understand the principles of the theory, they have a template for examining the text and developing their own relationship with it.⁴

I introduce the term through three preliminary precepts. The first is that, in western culture, there has historically been a strong association between the earth and the female. The second is that the dominant forces which have shaped western culture are masculine (or androcentric).⁵ Finally and most importantly, ecofeminists assert that those androcentric forces have subjugated both the earth and the female.⁶ When presenting these concepts, I use iconographic evidence which demonstrates that although ecofeminism may be a relatively recent development, its tenets express ideas long embedded in western culture (see Addendum).

II. The Earth, Nature, and the Female

Ecofeminism emerges from the observation that the earth, the natural environment (or untamed nature, including wild animals), and the female have historically been closely associated. This idea helps familiarize students with a longstanding cultural attitude. Students may already recognize the earth goddess Gaia, the agricultural goddess Demeter or Ceres, or the term "Mother Earth" (see Addendum I). Quickly reviewing the story of Gaia and Ouranos from Hesiod's Theogony introduces the concept that all living things originate from the primordial female being, who gives birth to the male parthenogenically (opposites generate opposites). Discussing the simultaneous union of and conflict between these male and female entities lays the groundwork for presenting a series of binary oppositions (i.e., male/female, heaven/earth, light/darkness, reason/emotion, etc.) which are an important aspect of ecofeminism. Generally, pietas in the Aeneid lies on the male side of the spectrum, since (as portrayed in Aeneas) it evokes self-control, adherence to social structures, and is overwhelmingly practiced by males; furor is more often associated with females (Juno, Dido, Amata, Allecto), particularly in its destructive aspects; the "constructive" side of furor is a "battlelust" exhibited almost exclusively (save for Camilla) by males who serve the nation (and is therefore "positive").⁷

III. Western Culture and Androcentrism

Like feminism, ecofeminism maintains that the principal forces shaping western culture are masculine. Ecofeminists thus observe associations of gender in the commonly expressed opposition between culture and nature. This idea is central to the Aeneas legend. As Aeneas transports the household gods from Troy to Italy, he serves as a guardian of cultural inheritance by carrying his father, representing the past and tradition, on his back as he ushers in the future, represented by his son Ascanius; patriarchy and pietas could not be more visually affirmed. Simultaneously, the female element of the family, his wife Creusa, remains a merely spectral influence. This image, the traditional representation of Aeneas, is commonly found in ancient sculpture, coinage, wall paintings, and later illustrations (see Addendum II).

IV. Subordination of the Earth and the Female

Ecofeminism also asserts that the androcentric forces shaping western culture have subordinated both the earth and the female. Ecofeminists recognize that these dominant male forces have adopted two principal views of women and nature: women are either fertile, nurturing, and benevolent, or wild and prone to unpredictable, uncontrollable behavior.⁸ The latter view justifies the female's subordination at the hands of the male, who acts as a protector of social order that must control both the earth and female to prevent the reemergence of chaos. This perspective is reinforced by the oppositional split which characterizes so much of western thought. Hence, to such oppositions as male and female, culture and nature, ecofeminists...