I haven’t finished reading the essay yet, but I wanted to go ahead and post it before we run out of time.
So far, so good. Becker proposes (so far) that Camilla takes a place of honor toward the end of the Aeneid, “undercutting” Turnus’s character. She commands the reader’s attention by commanding the attention of those surrounding her within the story. Sure.
But then I get confused. The essay talks about Camilla as a character being the embodiment of the general confusion of the Aeneid. Granted, I read a chunk of the Eneas the other night like everyone else, but I can’t say I completely understand that theory– not yet anyway. I suppose I’d have to actually break down and do the reading.