54 pages • 1 hour read
Robert HarrisPompeii: A Novel
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2003A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius is the active volcano which towers over Pompeii in a literal and figurative sense. The eruption of the volcano at the end of the novel destroys the city and brings the narrative to a close. The sheer destructive power of the volcano in this moment is an important symbol of the power of nature. Since the beginning of the book, Vesuvius has lingered on the horizon. The shape of the mountain is distant and inscrutable; only when Attilius approaches the mountain does he actually begin to understand its true shape and power. Until it erupts, the characters do not even know that the volcano is active. The characters' reactions deepen this symbolism of nature’s power. When Vesuvius erupts, Pliny is immediately drawn to it. The character whose enduring legacy will be his detailed study of nature decides to set sail toward the erupting volcano. He feels a sudden need to document this powerful moment for the benefit of humanity. Similarly, Attilius is one of the only characters to grasp the innate power of the volcano. He tries to warn people, though they often ignore him. The distant mountain is a symbol of nature's power, even before it erupts.
The Romans' relationship with Mount Vesuvius reveals their comparative lack of power. The Roman Empire is the largest and most powerful force in the known world during the period in which the characters live. The Romans can build aqueducts which allow them to defy nature and build cities in previously unlivable places. Despite this apparent mastery over nature, the volcano reminds the humans of their inherent weakness. Once the volcano begins to erupt, there is nothing that can be done to stop it. Vesuvius destroys cities and kills thousands of people. The speed and thoroughness with which it wipes out Pompeii is a reminder to the arrogant humans that their imperial achievements mean nothing. The Romans' relationship to the volcano symbolizes first their arrogance and then their weakness. Their belief that they do not need to worry about the volcano and then the sudden realization that they cannot hope to stop the eruption is a symbolic reminder that all the power of the Roman Empire is nothing compared to the power of nature.
Once Vesuvius erupts, the people must reckon with a new reality. The scale of destruction wrought by the volcano is, in essence, an apocalypse in miniature. For those in Pompeii, this is the end of the world. The way in which the characters reckon with the apocalypse represents their sudden fear of their own hubris. They view the volcano as a divine punishment, a message sent from the gods to remind them of their debauchery, corruption, and immorality. In this sense, Vesuvius is an important symbol for the characters who are spiritually invested in religion. The divine retribution of the volcano is a spiritual symbol of social collapse, functioning as a religious symbol for the characters themselves, even if the modern audience is able to recognize the volcano as a natural rather than a divine force.
The Aqueduct
The aqueduct system is a symbol of Roman power and ingenuity. Through the power of the aqueduct, places such as Pompeii can support a population far beyond that which could otherwise live in the area. The aqueducts allow the empire to flourish, not only through providing fresh drinking water to the local people but also through the irrigation of the land. For the first time in human history, parts of Italy can sustain huge populations of people, allowing the economy and the state to be boosted as a result. The aqueduct is, therefore, an essential part of Roman civic life, asserting the Roman Empire's ability to assert dominion over the natural world and expand itself in perpetuity.
Almost as soon as Attilius arrives in the Bay of Naples, the aqueduct stops working. The symbol of Roman power and the temple to Attilius's private religion of engineering ceases to function, presenting a pressing problem to everyone in the area. Without the aqueduct, people will die. As soon as the water is rationed or cut off, people panic. Riots break out and society begins to tear itself apart. The loss of function in the aqueduct changes the symbolic meaning of this piece of vital infrastructure. Whereas the functioning aqueduct symbolizes the power of the empire, the non-functioning aqueduct symbolizes its fragility. No matter how many lands they conquer or armies they defeat, no matter how many aqueducts they build and no matter how many infertile lands they turn into arable land, the Romans must acknowledge the brittle nature of their own existence. The aqueduct, as soon as it stops working, becomes a symbol of imperial hubris and the sudden lack of water is a symbolic reminder of the inherent fragility of the human body, regardless of imperial success.
Houses
In Pompeii, houses are symbols of wealth and power. The larger and more luxurious a person's house, the more wealth and power they possess. The wealthy and the powerful live in secluded villas, with walls and gates which separate them from the rest of society. Their houses have multiple stories, swimming pools, and fisheries which are not available, not affordable, and not attainable for many of the people in society. The characters acknowledge the inherent symbolism of houses. Ampliatus is a former slave who makes a vast fortune by speculating on property in Pompeii. He buys the house next to his former master Popidius as a demonstration of his increased social stature and his renewed wealth. Through a series of schemes, he comes into ownership of Popidius's house. The former slave now owns his former master's house and forces his former master to pay him rent. This evolving relationship is a symbolic demonstration of the shifting power balance in the city, in which Ampliatus demonstrates his newfound power through the properties that he owns and the houses that he inhabits.
At the end of the novel, everything is destroyed. Ampliatus's property empire crumbles and rich and poor neighborhoods alike are buried under tons of ash, pumice, and debris. The volcano is a great social leveler, in that the destruction is meted out to rich and poor indiscriminately. In this sense, the houses which are destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius are a symbolic reminder of the fleeting nature of life. Ampliatus dedicated his life as a free man to accumulating a vast portfolio of properties through illicit means. The magistrates in the city indulged his corruption and lived in their own massive villas. When the volcano erupts, however, everything they owned is destroyed and they are buried alongside the poor and the desperate. By destroying the houses at the end of the novel, the volcano performs a symbolic levelling of society, eradicating the social classes that were once so rigidly enforced.
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By Robert Harris
