Marlowe's Dido
Ganimede
Gender
Desire
"I, this is it, you can sit toying there,
And playing with that female wanton boy"
"Here the Curtaines draw, there is discovered Jupiter dandling Ganimed upon his knee, and Mercury lying asleepe."....So, Ganimede clearly has the affection of Jupiter.
Femme boy, and Venus is super jealous
Wants jewels and brooches and to "hug" Jupiter one hundred times.
"dandling": really emphasizing the age difference here.
Juno is characterized as a B, while Jupiter can bone down with boys and gift them his wife's wedding jewelry and that's cool.
Dido wants love. Her desire for Aeneas leads to heartbreak and death
Aeneas wants to fulfill his destiny. His desire conflicts with his desire for Dido.
Theme: Desire vs Duty
Gods manipulate desire, but how useful is this theme IRL?
Women
Dido: HBIC
Venus and Juno: Goddess
Men
Aeneas: Trojan hero and leader
Jupiter: King of the Gods
Boy fluffer
Juxtaposes his grief with that of famous women
Challenges traditional female roles as a powerful Queen.
Challenges traditional male roles with his grief and love
Influential over mortal: challenges ideas of male power