The Role Of Gossip In The Aeneid

Everyone hears things about a person from one time to another. Gossip never hurts anyone right? Well, wrong actually. Gossip can destroy someone just from a simple rumor spread innocently about them. In The Aeneid, gossip is a main topic that is referenced throughout the story told by a character named Rumor. Rumor’s doings cause people to do irrational things, because of the things they hear. Virgil uses Rumor to show how damaging gossip can be.
Gossip spreads like wildfire, and not in a good way, in which Rumor is a great representation of this. Rumor always has something to say about everyone. Her information isn’t always necessarily good news either. “Now in no time at all through all the African cities Rumor goes- nimble as quicksilver
She spread stories to cause trouble, which it did. Even today, gossip is a major problem and causes many issues with self esteem and self critiquing. In a recent article on the study of gossip, psychological studies proved that gossip is a critical thing. This article correlates with Virgil in many ways. First off, gossip is still major problem even in today’s society. Society portrays gossip as a common everyday thing- that it does not stand as a problem. Gossip is everywhere, and people believe a good part of it- magazines, movies, paparazzi. Propaganda is everywhere. “Given the characteristically negative nature of gossip, it’s not surprising that it is most often told about someone who is not present.” ( par.4). A lot of gossip today is dealing with the negative side of stories. We gossip to make each other feel better about ourselves than the person in the certain circumstance. The effects of gossip make it hard to openly trust and respect a person once you hear things about them. Whether they are true or not.
In the The Aeneid, gossip was a major part and affected the lives of many people involved with Rumor. The characters made rash decisions, with Dido killing herself because of the gossip spread. Gossip is harmful and has more lasting effects than what people think that they have. Gossip will appear in our everyday lives, but it is our job to stop the vicious cycle. Society changes how we trust people. What we choose to do with our information about someone can change a whole