The arrest and imprisonment of Appius Claudius resembled Verginia’s death in several ways. Verginius, a prosecutor in the trial, underlined that Appius “who had annulled the right of appeal was himself making an appeal” (Livy 232). He connected the outcomes of Appius’s decisions with the current situation and made the latter guilty of all his crimes, unfair judgments, “arrogance and cruelty” (Livy 232). Verginius also remembered that Appius “put a weapon into a father’s hand to use against his daughter” (Livy 233). Verginia’s homicide was the only chance to uphold her freedom, as well as Appius’s suicide was the only solution for him when he “had no hope” (Livy 232). Finally, the same way Verginia’s father, grandfather, and fiancé protected the girl in vain, Gaius Claudius interceded his nephew under fear of “imprisonment and chains” (Livy 234). These matches served as parallels between the two significant deaths in the story.
Work Cited
Livy. The History of Rome: Books 1-5. Translated by Valerie M. Warrior, Hackett Publishing Company, 2006.