Which author says Aeneas's will and decisions are his own, distinguishing his situation from other characters?

• A. Richard Jenkyns
• B. Camps
• C. Deryck Williams
• D. Kristine Perkell

Answer: (B)

Agency in the Aeneid—how much control Aeneas truly has over his path and choices—is what this item centers on. Camps argues that Aeneas’s will and decisions are his own, which sets him apart from other figures who appear more determined by fate or by immediate emotion. In Virgil’s epic, Aeneas repeatedly faces important choices where he must balance duty (pietas) to the gods, to his people, and to his own moral compass. His move to renounce personal happiness for the sake of the future city, the endurance through long wandering, and his ultimate acceptance of a preordained destiny are presented as acts of deliberate decision rather than mere results of fate pressing on him. This emphasis on intentional agency distinguishes him from characters whose actions seem driven more by external forces or impulsive passion. Other scholars may foreground fate or emotional drivers in shaping events, but Camps highlights Aeneas’s capacity to choose within those constraints, making his will distinctly his own.