1. Caligula realized his desires and determined what was necessary and what was unnecessary. When the girl he loved died, he says that love was only a trivial "want". He then goes on to explain that he needs some sort of happiness, or purpose. Chasing the moon gave him a purpose and because of that, he was happy- and should he die; he would die happy. When the people enjoying their meal are referenced, Caligula refers to that happiness as a sort of self-deception. Therefore Caligula has realized what can be summed up as the meaning of life. He does not need simple distractions in his life (ex. the love he felt for the now deceased woman), but rather a meaningful purpose such as taking the moon.
2. The patricians know that Caligula is a deep thinker. One mentions that he was too fond of literature and the overall implication is that Caligula can get deeply emotional. I cannot confirm or deny what Caligula does in his free time but I do believe that he has achieved a different plane of thinking. The fact that that Caligula is not even sad about the loss of his beloved Drusilla shows that he is thinking in broader, universal terms.
No comments:
Post a Comment