Lavinia

Lavinia is the protagonist and narrator of the novel. She is the daughter of Latinus and Amata, the king and queen of Latium. Lavinia describes her childhood as carefree and devoted to her religious duties. Aside from the abuse that she suffers from her mother, Lavinia's childhood is happy and idyllic until Turnus begins courting her. Lavinia at first resists the prospect of marriage, which signifies the larger social roles she must assume as the princess of Latium, yet she herself begins to understand the importance her marriage holds for the continued peace of her country. When she learns that her fate is to marry a foreigner, she is eager to do her duty and follow the path dictated to her.

Lavinia, like her father, is special for the religious oracles that visit her. In this way, unlike many of the other people in her life, she is...