"Hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned." This popular saying, paraphrased from The Mourning Bride by William Congreve, was written nearly 1,600 years after Virgil's Aeneid. Even so, the quote speaks to the Aeneid's exploration of the relationship between female characters and the emotion of fury. In his epics, Virgil often chooses to portray his female characters as possessed by fury. Whether prophetic, in love, mad, or filled with martial rage, the mortal women portrayed in the Aeneid embody different emotions all, surprisingly, expressed with the same Latin word. An exploration of selected mortal women from Virgil's epic shows the myriad meanings of the term "fury," as well as the almost complete power this emotion has over mortal women. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The Sibyl, a prophetess who narrates and guides Aeneas's destined journey through the underworld, is possessed by a prophetic fury that serves as the source of her knowledge and power. The frenzy that eventually captures the “terrible Sibyl” is in stark contrast to the calm and collected nature of the “pious Aeneas,” thus heightening the impact (6.11,14). The prescient fury that makes the Sibyl terrifying and powerful is not initially imposed on her. Rather, he instructs Aeneas on the necessary sacrifices and vows to summon the god Apollo. The fury that fills the virgin Sibyl manifests itself externally in various ways; “[Her] face / and color suddenly change; his hair / is disheveled; his chest heaves, and his wild heart / swells with frenzy” (6.67-70). Even more striking, being possessed by fury increases the Sibyl's outward appearance of power: “[S]he is now higher; / his voice is more than human" (6,70-71). Although she initially accepts Apollo's use of her, she later struggles with the power he holds over her. In fact «[s]he has not yet given in to Phoebus: / she rages, wild, in her cave, trying / to drive the great god from her bosom» (6.109-112). The Sibyl no longer invites or encourages the presence of fury, controlled by Phoebus. This change is understandable, especially when Apollo's treatment of his prophetess is elaborated. The god "tires his delirious mouth" and "shapes with overwhelming force" his "wild heart" (6.112-113). The physical and mental changes that fury enacts in the prophetess Sibyl clearly establish the dominion of this emotion over its host, even when it is initially sought voluntarily. Like the Sibyl, Dido initially accepts, even embraces, the power that passionate fury has over her. Rather than ignore or control the feelings she develops for Aeneas, the Queen instead chooses to speak to her sister Anna about the matter. She confides that “Aeneas is the only man to move / my feelings, to overturn my changing heart. / I know too well the signs of the ancient flame” (4.25-27). Through discussion with her confidant sister, Dido increases and rationalizes her emerging attachment to Aeneas. For her part, Anna only increases the queen's ardor. “These words of Anna's fueled the fire in Dido. / Hope has burned away his doubt and destroyed his shame” (4.74-75). As in the case of the Sibyl, once Dido accepts the fury into her bosom, the emotion becomes uncontrollable and frenetic. In a frenzy, she begs the higher powers - Ceres, Phoebus, Bacchus and Juno - to reunite Aeneas and her. It is at this point that the previous, subtle pleasure that Dido had gathered from her frenzy disappears: How / can vows and altars help one unbridled in love?Meanwhile the flexible flame devours her marrow; The silent wound continues to live in her womb. Unhappy. Dido burns. Through the city He wanders in his frenzy...[I]nsane, seeks the same banquet, Once again prays to hear the trials of Troy, Once again hangs on the narrator's lips. (4.86-91,102-104)The goddess Juno, seeing the plight of the frenetic Dido, uses her power to plot the union of Aeneas and Dido in a deserted cave during a sudden and powerful storm. Living together in decadence satisfies both lovers for a time, but Jupiter is unwilling to allow Aeneas to stray from his destiny of founding the Romans. Therefore, when Dido's zeal for Aeneas is met with pious determination to fulfill her destiny, the fury that Initially made her so desire Aeneas that it transformed into furious and furious anger, another aspect traditionally associated with the word. When Dido learns of her lover's clandestine departure, hysteria consumes her once again, for “Her mind is helpless; furious, / inflamed, she raves throughout the city" (4.402-403). This frenzy turns into furious anger against Aeneas, heaping threats on him. He says: I hope / that you will drink your torments to the dregs Among the rocks of the sea and, drowning, you will often cry The name of Dido. Then, though absent, I will hunt you with blackened brands... Depraved, then you will pay your penalties. (4.523-527.530) Very quickly, the fury that has heretofore been characterized in Dido as passionate and loving, as well as furious and angry, transforms once again. The frenzy inside the Queen takes on a new air of madness and delirious madness when she decides to commit suicide. By deceiving her sister, Dido constructs a pile of objects—Aeneas's clothes, sword, and other personal items—that are closely tied to her relationship with Aeneas. Once the pile is complete, Dido takes her own life with the sword, but death is slow in arriving because "she died / of a death neither deserved nor fatal, / but miserable and before her time / and driven by sudden frenzy" (4.958) -961). It was the fury inside Dido that pushed her to hastily commit suicide; mania left her unable to move forward after Aeneas' departure. Virgil's perspective is clearly shown when Dido pays the ultimate price for knowing that the ever-changing frenzy, with its fierce and powerful passions, is impossible to control. Dido is shown at the mercy of an ever-evolving fury that she is unable to stop, even to the point of death. Similar to Queen Dido, Queen Beloved of Laurentum indulges in passionate love, furious anger, and finally delirious madness. , forcing her to face the consequences the fury brings to her and her kingdom. However, unlike Dido, Beloved neither desires nor in any way causes the frenzy to surpass her. Juno, however, in her desire to prolong Aeneas' struggles, asks Allecto to poison the queen's mind to start a war between Aeneas and Turnus, her daughter's promised suitor. “Then from her grey-blue hair the goddess threw / a serpent into the depths of Beloved's secret bosom, / so that, driven mad by the monster, it would put / her whole house at odds” (7.458-461). The fury that overcomes Beloved is metaphorically compared to an “infection” that penetrates “with damp poison” into her mind and body (7.468). Immediately Beloved, like Sibyl and Dido, shows physical signs of emotional upheaval. The delirium "struck her senses and entangled her bones / in the fire", as well as causing "the force / of flame throughout her chest" (7.469-471). The madness that Allecto unleashes in the Queen leads her to argue with her husband, King Latinus, who relents only after his hysteria has made her furious throughout the city. Her frenetic behavior makes her nothing.